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Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO Review

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Posted by Patrick on Dec 2, 2008 in Lenses, Reviews

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The AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO is Tamron’s latest effort to attack the superzoom category of lens made popular by the Nikon 18-200mm VR and now the Canon EF-S 18-200. With a focal length of 27-405mm and a maximum aperture of f/3.5-6.3, the Tamron AF 18-270mm features “vibration compensation” good for up to 4 stops, and comes in both Nikon and Canon mounts. With an enormous range, the Tamron AF 18-270mm actually bests the competition, making it an appealing purchase for the consumer looking for the swiss army knife, walk around lens. Of course, these type of lenses are full of compromises, usually not being sharp through their entire zoom range in addition to distortion, and chromatic aberrations. In a review at DPR, they find similar problems with the Tamron AF 18-270:

At wideangle it shows chromatic aberration and barrel distortion (our test sample also exhibited one distinctly soft corner at wider apertures). In the middle of the zoom range the lens is unexpectedly sharp and shows essentially no chromatic aberration, but suffers from rather high levels of pincushion distortion. And towards the telephoto end, the lens is somewhat soft and shows relatively high levels of chromatic aberration, especially at 270mm (although distortion is low).

-DPReview

In general the 18-270mm holds up rather well compared to the competition, though there seems to be a nagging complaint about AF speed, so this isn’t the lens to shoot anything of a dynamic nature. Otherwise it has the same general flaws as the competitors, while offering even more length to the zoom range.

Get the review here.

Get the lens here at Amazon (currently $599) or at B and H Photo Video

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