Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II PZD for vacation? I'm going to Spain and Portugal next summer for my birthday (self-present) and I'm thinking of renting a lens for my DSLR (a77) vs...

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I'm going to Spain and Portugal next summer for my birthday (self-present) and I'm thinking of renting a lens for my DSLR (a77) vs taking my FZ-200. I took the latter to Israel in 2016 and for the most part it did the job (zoom range was great to have), but it certainly had it's minuses Does the Tamron have a good enough IQ or do I need the FZ for the insides of cathedrals, etc? (the Panasonic is f/2.8 all the way through). Any sense in bringing both cameras?

MT native Loc: Big Sky Country — Montana

I have that Tamron lens and it would be my go to lens for a European trip. Having been to Europe before, I believe a zoom lens is the way to go so you don’t have to always be changing lenses.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

planepics wrote:

I'm going to Spain and Portugal next summer for my birthday (self-present) and I'm thinking of renting a lens for my DSLR (a77) vs taking my FZ-200. I took the latter to Israel in 2016 and for the most part it did the job (zoom range was great to have), but it certainly had it's minuses Does the Tamron have a good enough IQ or do I need the FZ for the insides of cathedrals, etc? (the Panasonic is f/2.8 all the way through). Any sense in bringing both cameras?

When on a vacation, the rule is to keep it simple. I have several friends who are Nikon shooters who use Nikkor 28-300 95% of the time to the point where that is the only lens they bring.

Lugging both cameras will only make you the individual who is always fiddling with hardware. For the insides of Cathedrals, exposure bracketing gets you the best results.

fantom Loc: Colorado

planepics wrote:

I'm going to Spain and Portugal next summer for my birthday (self-present) and I'm thinking of renting a lens for my DSLR (a77) vs taking my FZ-200. I took the latter to Israel in 2016 and for the most part it did the job (zoom range was great to have), but it certainly had it's minuses Does the Tamron have a good enough IQ or do I need the FZ for the insides of cathedrals, etc? (the Panasonic is f/2.8 all the way through). Any sense in bringing both cameras?

I have the FF version of the lens you mention and I carried it thru several European countries last year and it performed very well. I have it on a Nikon D750 and took landscape shots, pix of paintings in museums and inside restaurants, cathedrals etc. Absolutely no regrets.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

When on a vacation, the rule is to keep it simple. I have several friends who are Nikon shooters who use Nikkor 28-300 95% of the time to the point where that is the only lens they bring.

Lugging both cameras will only make you the individual who is always fiddling with hardware. For the insides of Cathedrals, exposure bracketing gets you the best results.

A few years ago, I took a DSLR and rented a Sigma 18-300. At first, I had difficulty with castles and more so with cathedrals until I tried bracketing. Your recommendation is a good one.

gary robertson Loc: Now living in Sandpont Idaho, from So. Cal

I have one and it is all that I use on trips. Great latitude.

fantom Loc: Colorado

gary robertson wrote:

I have one and it is all that I use on trips. Great latitude.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

planepics wrote:

I'm going to Spain and Portugal next summer for my birthday (self-present) and I'm thinking of renting a lens for my DSLR (a77) vs taking my FZ-200. I took the latter to Israel in 2016 and for the most part it did the job (zoom range was great to have), but it certainly had it's minuses Does the Tamron have a good enough IQ or do I need the FZ for the insides of cathedrals, etc? (the Panasonic is f/2.8 all the way through). Any sense in bringing both cameras?

I would use a Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 and use in camera Clear Image Zoom, multi-exposure HDR/low noise and sweep pano when needed.
.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Personally - I went with the Sigma 18-300mm Macro. I couldn't justify the 57% greater price for the Tamron.

splatbass Loc: Honolulu

I have the 16-300 and use it for travel. Works great.

Exdeltalady Loc: San Diego

I took a trip to France and Italy about three years ago and wanted to pack light as far as camera equipment. I shoot with a Canon EOS 7D and I was encouraged to purchase the Tamron 16/300 lens since it basically does everything and one lens sounded great. I have been very happy with it when I travel. It didn't break the bank either. Being able to do macro, too, without my macro specific lens, was a nice feature of this lens.

TreborLow

I have the Sigma 18-300 on a Pentax K3 and it is very good for general shooting. I find that above 250 it gets a little soft, but no disaster. Light and compact. It moves off from f3.5 to f4 pretty soon above the widest and then steps up around 35mm (f4.5); 65mm (f5.6) and 150mm (f6.3) and stays there to 300mm.
Of course stopping down a bit is helpful.
Closest focusing is about 18 inches in front of extended lens, which is claimed to 1:3 magnification and quite useful! I will also be going on a trip next summer and plan to bring this lens.
Have fun on your trip.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

PHRubin wrote:

Personally - I went with the Sigma 18-300mm Macro. I couldn't justify the 57% greater price for the Tamron.

I was planning on renting...I'm spending enough already with trip, airfare, etc. I currently have (zooms) a 17-50 2.8 and a 70-300 4-5.6. My Panasonic Lumix FZ-200 is 25-600 plus digital zoom. Here are a couple pics I took in 2016 in Israel with the FZ-200. Most of my Israel pics are on my other laptop. I bought the Lumix from another hog because I was concerned about safety with a big camera and because of baggage restrictions. I like the feel of the bigger camera in my hands, though. The Lumix is only 12 MP, has a max aperture of f/8 and really doesn't have a fast enough shutter speed (i.e. taking pics from a moving bus).

lightened, sharpened and saturated. This is from a cabin at a kibbutz across the Sea of Galillee from Tiberius. It's where I spent my birthday during the 2-week tour.

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SOOC?
SOOC?...

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splatbass Loc: Honolulu

I took this picture of white terns with my Tamron 16-300mm on a D7000.