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Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

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Product Description With the advent of the latest 15X zoom lens from Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, the high power zoom lens has steadily evolved from a 7.1X to a 10.7X to a 13.9X and now to the worlds largest zoom ratio of 15X by combining advanced high power zoom design technologies accumulated by Tamron since 1992. The lens covers an angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm wideangle to a 419mm ultra telephoto with just one lens, letting the user capture once-in-the-lifetime images of panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, without having to get too close to the subject and without having to change lenses. Amazon.com Product Description Amazon.com Product Description Camera shake can ruin your photos, particularly when taking telephoto shots or shooting in low light conditions. The Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 macro zoom lens, however, fights camera shake with its state-of-the-art vibration compensation (VC) mechanism, which delivers blur-free handheld images for incredible results. The proprietary VC mechanism employs a three-coil system that moves the VC lens electromagnetically based on signals originating from the movement of three steel balls. The lens element that compensates for vibration is held in place by the balls, so there is little friction and the movement is quite smooth. The end result is a technology that makes it possible to create exceptional images at slower shutter speeds under conditions where a tripod used to be necessary. You can also use subject movement to good effect with the lens, bringing out the contrast between motion and stillness, or shoot without a flash to evoke the genuine atmosphere of the scene. The lens covers an extremely broad range of focal lengths, from an extra-wide 18mm length to a telephoto 270mm length (the 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 419mm). The resulting 15x zoom ratio is the world's largest, representing a wide cross section of Tamron high-power zoom design technologies. Plus, the vibration compensation works throughout the entire zoom range, giving you the freedom to create a wide variety of images. The lens lets users capture once-in-a-lifetime panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, all without getting too close to the subject or changing lenses. Other details include a macro magnification range of 1:3.5, a minimum focusing distance of 19.3 inches, and a 72mm filter diameter. The lens, which measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 3.9 inches long, carries a six-year warranty. Reviews Got the lens and could not wait to use it. The zoom ring rotates oposite what I was use to. Somewhat heavy but the pictures were great. At full zoom the focus was a little slow but I can live with it. Great lens. The many reviews I read about the new Tamron 18-270mm Lens were mostly very good so I took a chance on it, sight unseen. The reviews said it beats its competition in most every way. after using it for a while, it is a very good all around, consumer lens for amateur photographers that allowed me to take several lenses out of my camera bag due to it's wide range of focal lengths. I take landscape and close up nature photos and this lens serves me about 75 percent of the time. It focuses surprisingly close at all lengths. For macro photography I use a Canon 500D close focus filter and an extension tube. Photos are very sharp and are true macros, however, the lens is a bit slow with the extension tube attached. I always use a tripod and set ISO 800. I did my own test of lens sharpness by photographing a newpaper page taped to my garage door. I later examined the RAW files in Adobe Camera Raw at 200 percent magnification. At the very wide and very long settings I found the lens very sharp using aperture settings of f8 to f16. I did have one bad experience that I have yet to explain. I pointed the camera and lens at the sky and zoomed out from 18mm to 270mm. As I looked through the viewfinder I noticed what appears to be serious vignetteing at settings from about 180mm to 270mm. However, I took several photos of the blue sky at a series of different lens settings and did not find any vignetting in the photos. I have only one complaint about this lens and its a big one: if you point the lens up or down there is serious lens creep in the zoom mechanism. There is no provision for adjusting the tension on the zoom control. So, if you point the lens up or down you need to hold it in place while you compose and take you photos. This becomes a really big issue for achieving maximum sharpness and when you are taking timed exposures. Since I do not regularly point the lens up or down at rather sharp angles this is not a major issue, but I expect better from Tamron quality. Although I am new to digital photograph, I have been involved as an amature to semipro in film photography for more than 40 years. My camera platform of choice is Nikon. I pruchased the Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for use on my Nikon D5000 body. I love the D5000's articulating LCD display. My kids are competitive swimmers and divers so I shoot mostly indoors, at a pool, fast action, hand held, in low light. I shot about 1000 action shots with this lens; then it started to stick when pointed down and zooming from 270 mm back toward 18 mm. However, eventhough I was shooting in low light, at ISO 3200, shutter speed 125th of a second, with the lens wide open. Through the entire zoom range, the lens was great until it started sticking during zoom. Pictures were amazingly sharp for the slow shutter speed and high ISO. But alas, a sticky zoom was unacceptable, so I exchanged the Tamron for a Nikon 18-200 VRII zoom and I am happy, accept I miss the extra 70mm of zoom. Picture clarity seems about the same, but I think the VC (vibration compensation) feature on the Tamron stabilizes the lens slightly better than the Nikon's VRII stabilization does. I could tell the difference in the viewfinder on action photos. How, by observing the camera shake reduction of the subject. I would guess the Tamron subtracted an extra F stop over the Nikon 18-200. This, to me, seemed significant at maximum zoom when filming 10 meter tower diving. I need all of the stability I can get. I wish the Tamron's zoom feature didn't start sticking, I liked this lens, a lot, and, it was nearly $300 less expensive than the Nikon glass. By the way, auto focus seemed about as fast as the Nikon, at least when filming swimming and diving. I would recommend this product with some reservation. I bought and use this lens for my Canon 40d DSLR. I've had the lens for about 6 months and its my walk around lens and rarely leaves my camera. I'm not an expert, but I do shoot about every day. With that said, I'll tell you my opinion. At first the reverse zoom took a bit of time to get used to but with muscle memory, I got that down. Whenever I use the camera inside and need to use the flash on the camera, I get a half moon shadow on the bottom of the picture. At first I didn't know what was causing this but after looking at the size of the lens when in zoom I figured out that the light from the flash is hitting the top of the lens and throwing the shadow. If I install my external flash in the hot shoe (which sits higher than the pop up) I don't get this problem, but I don't always have time for that when I'm just trying to grab a quick shot of my son. We just got back from a vacation where I used the camera/lens quite a bit and I noticed another tick with it. Sometimes when I press the shutter button halfway down to get the focus ready, I notice that the front lens will seem to slip or drift down. Almost like its about to break completely. It doesn't happen all the time, maybe one out of 50, and so far it is seeming to hold together. Maybe its nothing but its making me nervous and I'm already starting to research another walk around lens. Would I recommend this to a friend? No. The picture quality is great and if I would have reviewed it right after I bought it I would have gave it 5 stars. But it just doesn't seem to be holding up.