tnturk wrote:
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
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.