tnturk Loc: Gallatin Tennessee

I am interested in a lens for my Sony a6000. Can anyone translate
Tamron 18-300 F3.5-6.3 Di 111-A VC VXD
Thanks

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Don’t know all the letters, but, f3.5-6.3 means variable aperture zoom lens. VC is vibration control, similar to Nikon’s VR (vibration reduction). I have two Tamron 18-270’s that I really use for whatever it’s worth. Also have a Nikon 18-300 that so use more due to the camera I use it on. I like the feel of it better, but the quality seems very good on both brands.

tnturk Loc: Gallatin Tennessee

Thank you.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

"Di (Digitally Integrated Design) lenses are designed for full-frame and APS-C format digital SLR cameras and feature an optical design tailored to the characteristics of digital cameras. for Canon, Nikon, Sony*

"VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive). The floating system uses two high-speed, high-precision VXD units with advanced electronic control for fast and precise AF performance."

I could not find what 111-A means.

tnturk Loc: Gallatin Tennessee

Thank you I am getting close. The other designation might be LLL-A. Can’t read my own handwriting duh.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

That didn't show up in any search either.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Probably 111-A as you wrote is III (Roman numeral) for third version of this lens. And the A could be a slight update to that third version or mean Auto (exposure or some other redundant piece of information). You might want to read about the lens on Tamrons web site for details.

Canisdirus

Or...you could simply go to tamron's website and find out all about this lens...

https://www.tamron.ca/product/18-300mm-b061/

tcthome Loc: NJ

Huh!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's ridiculous, isn't it. The best thing to do is go to Tamron's site and read a description of the lens. Then look for online reviews.

Canisdirus

Well, it has all the specs and tells him what all the abbreviations mean...what he is looking for.

And yes...anytime I contemplate buying a lens... I always look at what the manufacturer has to say.

tropics68 Loc: Georgia

waite-s Loc: Greendale, WI

I just got one for my a6000. So far am extreemly happy with the performance.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

18-300mm (focal length)

f/3.5-6.3 (It's a variable aperture lens that stops down as you zoom in on a distant subject... That's usually not a great thing.)

Di (Digitally integrated, meaning it is designed to work with the electronics in your digital camera, and it is dust sealed better than film lenses were.)

III-A (For APS-C format *mirrorless* interchangeable-lens cameras)

VC (vibration controlled/stabilized)

VXD (Voice coil eXtreme torque Drive focus motor technology)

Tamron makes great lenses for the price. I worked for a portrait company. We used and sold Tamron lenses by the hundreds. Our favorite was the 28-75mm f/2.8, which was recently revised for mirrorless cameras.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Tamron is the manufacturer :sm02; (one of the "big three" 3rd party lens makers: the other two are Sigma and Tokina).

18-300mm is the zoom range and means this is a "do it all with one lens, just don't do any of it particularly well). It's a convenience lens, covering moderate wide angle to rather powerful telephoto in a single lens, except that you are stuck with always having a fairly large lens on your camera and it likely compromises on image quality, focus speed, and other factors. Perhaps you should have bought a super zoom point n shoot camera instead of an interchangeable lens camera, if you don't want to change lenses?

f/3.5-6.3 is the variable maximum zoom range. At 18mm it has a max of f/3.5 aperture. Once zoomed to 300mm this has decreased to f/6.3, which is about 1-2/3 stops "dimmer", so will pass a little more than 1/4 as much light as at the wide end (two full stops would be 1/4 as much light).

Di-III is Tamron's designation for lenses to fit mirrorless cameras. Just be sure the one you buy has the Sony E-mount, to fit your particular camera. I am not sure why there is an "A" after that designation. It might be to indicate it's a "crop only" lens designed for use on cameras with the smaller APS-C size sensor, like your a6000.

VC is "vibration control". This is Tamron's version of in-lens image stabilization. It helps get steady shots while hand holding the lens (but still use good technique, because 300mm on an APS-C sensor camera is a whole lot of telephoto to hand hold steady).

VXD refers to the motor used to drive the autofocus in the lens. Tamron says VXD stands for Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive linear motor focus mechanism. This is a new designation and I have no idea how well it performs... but I would guess it's like slower, noisier "micro motor" focus drive other manufacturers use in many lenses. Or maybe it's like "stepper motor" AF drives used in some, which are faster and quieter, though not the fastest. Tamron also has "HLD" on some lenses, maybe that's their micro motor equivalent. Or maybe it's more like a stepper motor. Tamron's fastest and most accurate AF drive has been "USD" or UltraSonic Drive, which is much like Canon's USM and Nikon's AF-S. Tamron also has a new "RXD" focus system, which I also know nothing about.

The Tamron 18-300mm Di-IIIA is relatively new, was just announced at the end of September and first available to buy in late October. So there aren't a lot of users or reviews yet. But if you Google it, you can probably find some users and reviews online to get more info and a better idea how the lens performs.