Tamron - Aspherical [IF] MACRO AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Lens-Suitable for Canon

For the price you pay this is a fantastic lens with a great focal range.

The only reason i can think that people would fault this lens would be if they are a professional photographer and i can only think that if you are a pro why are you buying a budget lens in the first place.

Im an amature and i own this lens , the canon kit lens and also the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens.

A lot of the reviews say that this lens has problems focusing quickly in low light. This is true, but i have exactly the same problem with my canon lens in the same light. And the motor noise is no different.

Personally i've been using it for 2 months, its a firm build, great focal range, and the quality is good for what you pay. I use it mainly for travel photography so i don't have to keep swapping lenses for shots.

This lens has had some very mixed reviews, it's a toss up between this and the similar range Sigma as to which is best. Some reviews favour one, some the other.
I decided on this because I've had Tamron lenses before (many years ago) and always found them to be high quality.
I'm very glad I did buy this one!
The lens is not perfect, but for the price it's damn close.
Wide open it's fairly soft at most magnifications, but close it down a stop or two, and the story is very different. Everything seems to sharpen up a huge amount, it then becomes a very capable lens. The colour saturation is spot on, natural and accurate.
Barrel distortion at the wide end is more than acceptable; pincushion at longer settings is also well controlled. Contrast is strong and edge definition is surprisingly good for a lens of this type. Chromatic aberrations are evident, but only in high contrast detail where most lenses exhibit these. They are no worse than on the 18-55 Canon lens I also use.
The construction may be mainly plastic but it handles and feels like a quality, well made product. The zoom ring operates smoothly and evenly, as does the manual focus ring. The overall build feels solid, well designed and durable.
Having one lens that covers such a large range of focal lengths is remarkably convenient. for trips, holidays etc it's the ideal "walk round lens" Not having to fumble around changing lenses means your less likely to miss that shot when the moment presents itself.
All lenses of this type are a compromise between convenience and quality, but I would rather catch the shot and sacrifice some quality in absolute terms, than miss the shot altogether!
For the cost, just over £150, this thing is a steal.

I happen to have this as well as its rival, the Canon 18-200. So please bear that in mind when assessing my review. Secondly, please ignore the (inevitable) forthcoming two thumbs down as I happen to have a complete i--ot, who trolls all of my reviews. In fact, he who always thumbs my reviews down has written more in the comments section of my reviews than anything else on the whole of Amazon, which should say something to you about how much worth you should give to his thumbs down to my review. And now, my review which I hope most of you will appreciate. :-)

Is this a great lens? No. Is this a reasonably good lens at a fantastic price? Yes.

Selling at almost a third of its Canon equivalent, its quality is respectably about 2/3 of the more expensive lens. So on pure price to performance ratio, the Tamron is a winning budget lens and deserves serious consideration mainly if price is an issue to you. Note too that second hand values are strong - whichever lens you choose. So it definitely is worthwhile trying the Tamron first to assess its quality for yourself. Otherwise if you can comfortably afford the Canon, buy that instead - as there are definite differences in overall output quality which, frankly, are noticeable at times.

This Tamron's build quality is first rate, and apart from the fact that it's a not particularly heavy lens, you'd be hard pressed to tell that this is a budget zoom at all. Yet when it comes to output on my Eos 40D, the said differences between the lenses become apparent. In particular, compared to its far more expensive rival, there are two areas where overall quality is compromised: Colour reproduction and sharpness. Colours are restrained at best and otherwise somewhat lifeless. Vibrancy is definitely compromised at this price point, and there is sometimes noticeable chromatic aberration which is absent from photos taken with the Canon. On a more expensive lens this would not be acceptable, though at this price it's most definitely excusable. Having said as much, I still rate the lens highly - purely because it is, without any doubt, so cheap; and definitely not a waste of one's finances when there is such constant demand for these lenses. At the time of my writing this review, the Tamron is comfortably achieving 90-95% of its new price - such is the market demand for a cheap, versatile, go-anywhere, zoom lens.

So in summary, at its current price, it is definitely worth buying if you are on a budget and looking for an incredibly versatile lens for your Canon slr.