Tamron 18-250 14x magnification

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tophalf

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I was reading Digital SLR Photography tonight and they have a competition for a new Tamron lens that is 18-250 and 14x magnification.
Now in theory this seems like a good allrounder for when you want to go somwhere with little kit.
Does anyone have an opinion on this lens, is it "too good to be true"?
At around £500 (£300 delivered on ebay), it seems a lot of lens for little money :thinking:
 
there's a few members with this, but would like to hear more about this one
 
tophalf said:
I was reading Digital SLR Photography tonight and they have a competition for a new Tamron lens that is 18-250 and 14x magnification.
Now in theory this seems like a good allrounder for when you want to go somwhere with little kit.
Does anyone have an opinion on this lens, is it "too good to be true"?
At around £500 (£300 delivered on ebay), it seems a lot of lens for little money :thinking:
Click to expand...

Are you sure you have the right lens?

Tamron 18 - 250 has been around a while and costs about £200.
I got rid of mine because sharpness was lacking.

Could it be the 18 - 270mm that you mean?
 
even if it was the 18-250, still not a bad price lens with such versatile focal length for just a random walkabout, although as above comprise on sharpness.

is sharpness comprised at all focal length though?
 
p1tse said:
even if it was the 18-250, still not a bad price lens with such versatile focal length for just a random walkabout, although as above comprise on sharpness.

is sharpness comprised at all focal length though?
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Could not say for sure, but I tended to use it at 100 - 250mm.
It's a tough call for a zoom lens to perform well throughout it's focal length. However, when a lens disappoints it is very annoying even if the price was good.
 
arclight said:
Are you sure you have the right lens?


Apologies if it isnt a new lens, it was rather late when I was reading and as it was in a competition I was making presumptions (I dont suppose the "small" amount of vodka helped) that it was new.

The lens is: AF18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DI-II LD ASPHERICAL (IF) MACRO

In the mag they say it is worth £500 but as I said from Ebay (Hong Kong supplier) it is available for about £300 including postage.

I currently have a Tamron 70-300 and do feel that sharpness isnt fantastic but then I cant expect miracles as it was quite cheap (I suppose this is why I m asking how good this lens is). I bought it as an extra lens when I got the camera and as I was spending around £1300 on the day I just couldnt justify going crazy on a 2nd lens.

I still cant help but think it looks a cracking allrounder!
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These lenses are great in theory, and TBH they are surprisingly sharp around f/8 or so, all things considered. However...

They are not massively popular because they are expensive, big and heavy, have high maximum f/numbers, and a fair helping of CA, distortion and vignetting. The latter can be fixed in post processing (Canon software even does it automatically) but if you shoot regular stuff in decent light and don't make huge prints, quality wise they suit a lot of people.
 
tophalf said:
arclight said:
Are you sure you have the right lens?


Apologies if it isnt a new lens, it was rather late when I was reading and as it was in a competition I was making presumptions (I dont suppose the "small" amount of vodka helped) that it was new.

The lens is: AF18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DI-II LD ASPHERICAL (IF) MACRO

In the mag they say it is worth £500 but as I said from Ebay (Hong Kong supplier) it is available for about £300 including postage.

I currently have a Tamron 70-300 and do feel that sharpness isnt fantastic but then I cant expect miracles as it was quite cheap (I suppose this is why I m asking how good this lens is). I bought it as an extra lens when I got the camera and as I was spending around £1300 on the day I just couldnt justify going crazy on a 2nd lens.

I still cant help but think it looks a cracking allrounder!
Click to expand...

There are some reviews here:-
http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/showproduct.php?product=344&cat=76

Looks like it was the same 18-250 as mine.
I could not get the results shown in these reviews so changed to a Pentax 55-300 which does give sharp pics.
Click to expand...
 
arclight said:
tophalf said:
There are some reviews here:-
http://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/showproduct.php?product=344&cat=76

Looks like it was the same 18-250 as mine.
I could not get the results shown in these reviews so changed to a Pentax 55-300 which does give sharp pics.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that, seems like it gets some decent reviews but some people dont seem happy about low light performance and when pushing beyond 200mm.

Whilst buying some filters and a tripod today the guy in the shop told me about the 18-270 and reckons that's a better lens again. He also told me that I could part ex my Nikko 18-105 and my Tamron 70-300 and I wouldnt miss them at all as the 18-270 would replace them both in one lens. But would that include low light :thinking:
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I have the 18-250 on a pentax body, and it's my primary travel lens.

I shot this with it at 250mm, handheld
Clicky for it's Flickr Page and the bigger images.


All of the images in my Kyoto set, except for two, are shot with this lens too

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonsouthern/sets/72157617946768561/

Personally, I like the lens, it could be better(faster and with less CA), but I've got primes for when I want the extra edge. This is the perfect walkabout, day tripping, do it all lens for me.
 
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