Tamron 18-270mm

nickt

Senior Member
I have this lens. Its great for what it is. There are compromises in all-in-one super zooms. Its a decent walking around lens. Good for vacation and casual family pictures. I used it a lot for school functions and family picnic type stuff. It can be soft, so not the best choice for a wildlife lens where you will be cropping the picture a good amount to get closer. Another phenomenon, at close focus range, you don't get the full 270mm zoom. Not a big deal if you are zooming in on kids/pets across the yard, but if you are zooming in on a tiny bird 15 feet away in your yard, it will look more like 200mm. Check the review on DPreview.com, they mention what I am trying to describe with the reduced apparent zoom at close range. Some people get annoyed that the lens barrel will creep when you point the lens downward. That really never bothered me, I tend to have a hand on the lens holding it if I'm shooting down or up.
I am using this lens less than I used to. For a couple of years it was the only lens I used. I now have an 18-105 for my walking around lens and a Tamron SP 70-300 for the farther away stuff.
 

Epoc

Senior Member
I also have this lens. I use it for a couple of things. It is my goto travel lens along with my 35/1.8 if I am on a family, non photography holiday. Also, I actually use it professionally as well (shock horror). Example, I have a client who builds large sheds. He gets me to shoot stills for his website. One minute he wants a shot of a footing which is right there, next shot he wants of a rafter or purlin which can be 50ft in the air. So rather than either 2 bodies/lenses or swapping lenses, the Tammy gets a workout. Like most "super zooms", it is a compromise, but with some smart PP, it can be surprisingly sharp. It does focus breath which is loose some focal length at close focus and lens creep as nickt mentioned. I use one of those rubber wrist bands that were popular with the kids awhile back to stop it creeping and it does have a lock as well. VC is awesome and up to Tamron's usual excellent standard. Here's a couple of example shots I took on a recent cruise to give you an idea of its quality.


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