A. T.

I'm expecting my Tamron any minute today. I was looking for a really good walk-around lens for my D500 and after reading reviews, I decided on the Tamron. I have an assortment of fast zooms and primes but I didn't have a good "all purpose" lens. Comments are ALWAYS welcomed from my UHH family.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Bought one when they first came out. Still have it, still use it on a D500, like it. It has it’s quirks, like the focus ring spins when if AFs, so keep you hand away from the front of the lens. You can’t use the focus ring to override AF, you need to push the switch from AF to MF on the lens when you want to go to MF. I mainly use it as a walk around lens for family vacations. Very versatile. While it’s not the sharpest lens I have, it’s not bad at all and with PP software like Topaz sharpen AI, you’ll get more than acceptable results. Enjoy!

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

We have found it to be an excellent all around lens. It is not terribly heavy and quite versatile. Several thousand nice shots of flowers, bison and many things in between. Kathy exclusively uses this lens on a D7500, D7100 and a few with the D500.

A. T.

Absolutely, I knew it wasn't going to be as sharp as my pro lenses but I just wanted a good all around lens. Thanks for your response and the information.

A. T.

Great......that's what I wanted to hear. Thanks for the response and the information.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

It is a great do it all walk around super zoom lens, but as all lenses of that type, it has a number of
significant limitations. How happy you will be with this lens will depend upon how critical your expectations are.

It is much sharper in the center of the frame than at the edges at every focal length. Stopping down helps a lot, but even at it's best the edges are much softer than the center. Once you get past around 300 mm the lens starts to soften even in the middle. Most people who are not hypocritical may not notice the softness. For others it may be a very frustrating experience.

Like every super zoom there is a noticeable amount of barrel and pin cushion distortion at various focal lengths, but if you shoot raw this is mostly fixable in post processing. There is also noticeable vignetting and chromatic aberration, but again this can be mostly fixed in post processing. To achieve the focal length of 18-400 mm, compared to other superzoom lenses, the Tamron is larger and heavier.

The build is decent for a lens of this type and at this price point and it is updateable with the inexpense tap in console. As pointed out by someone else the focus ring rotates during autofocus.

If you have reasonable expectations for this lens and don't spend too much time pixel peeping you will capture a lot of nice images. I stopped using mine because I realized early on that I'm not a telephoto kind of guy. More than 90% of the images I take are between 15 and 100mm, and I rarely capture an image that is more than 140 mm. But that's just me.

A. T.

Thanks so much for the information. I am super critical of my images; however, only when those expectations are with a lens that's very capable of excellence. With this Tamron, I was simply looking for an inexpensive do all walk-around lens that would yield quality keepers.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

In that case it should meet your needs. I hope you realize I wasn't trying to talk you out of it. I just wanted to help you set expectations. You may be less fussy than me, or more fussy, or the copy you get may give you better results on your camera than I got on mine. In any case, within its genre, it is probably the best do-it-all superzoom available. Here are two images from the same vantage point. The first at 18mm and the second at 400mm. Note at 400mm the image is very soft even though I had the lens supported.

18mm

(Download)

400mm

(Download)

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I have an 18-300 I keep on my camera most of the time. It is more than sharp enough for my needs, and very versatile. 18-400 is even better.

A. T.

Not at all. I really appreciate your explanation and expectations of this lens, I have similar expectations and I realize that this lens is going to yield tac sharp images for the most part. I have enough fast lenses to anything I need. I just wanted a decent do all lens.

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I bought mine when it it was first introduced. It is on my Nikon D7100 probably 90% of the time. Enjoy your new toy.

A. T.

Absolutely, thanks.

awesome14 Loc: UK

A do-all lens is like a sleeveless turtleneck sweater. Just trying to do too much! But, I've never tried a superzoom. So, I don't know how much my opinion coumts.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I think you will like it. Don't currently own one, did try one out (friend's) and I thought it fine, and very versatile. Do own several diff. mount versions of their 18-270 and 18/28-300 VC's (and older non VC versions), like them. They (stabilized versions) hold their own against my Nikon/Canon/Sony/Sigma superzooms. I think that any lens offering a 22.2 to 1 wide to tele capability might have a soft spot/range, but when properly stabilized, you can work wonders with them. As long as your technique is adjusted for the capabilities of this lens, I think you will be quite happy with it.

If you are expecting to snap away without a care and yield razor sharp shots beyond 300mm, maybe not. It will make great shots beyond 300mm, but you will have to work a bit harder (stabilized shots/bracing/resting against something firm) - at least that was my exp. (I am over 70 and not as steady as I once was). I do plan to pick one up for my own use...but my wife says I need to sell some others so there is room in/on my camera armoirs and shelves....so I need to do that first!!!! Tamron's VC is quite good, I can shoot one handed with my D7200/18-270 and yield sharp images, so have fun!!!

DBQ49er Loc: Dubuque, IA

I bought mine used from KEH three years ago. It stays on my D7200 all day every day. My only complaint at this time is the barrel creep when pointing it down. As I understand this is mostly normal, some would suggest a rubber wrist band from an organization like Alzheimers. Not sure what it costs to repair and if is lasts if repaired.