Steve'sDigicams

jpistone · Nov 16, 2005, 12:18 PM

Anyone familiar with the Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) ...? It's relatively new and APS-C dedicated...price seems reasonable. I was always happy with 35mm Tamron lenses years ago, but haven't bought one in quite some time.

maggy · Nov 17, 2005, 11:39 AM

Not from my own experience, I've been told that it has the quality of a Coke bottle when zoomed to 200mm. This very tactfull reviewer was impressed by the Sigma 18-200.

Hards80 · Nov 17, 2005, 2:06 PM

the sigma is a better choice at around the same price.. it is sharper and has less distortion..

jpistone · Nov 17, 2005, 2:57 PM

Can I ask where everyone goes to find these charts on individual lens performance?
Is there a central location somewhere? Is there an explanation of how to read them?

Hards80 · Nov 17, 2005, 3:26 PM

my information comes from various posts on various forumns across the web.. usually from ppl that have owned both lenses or have purchased both lenses and returned the softer of the two following tests..

i think the distortion data comes from the newest issue of outdoor photography i think?

maggy · Nov 18, 2005, 5:10 AM

there are lots of sites with lens reviews, some of them have a long list of lenses most of which are not very recent, often even out of production, other sites review only the most recent lenses. Some of tese have a commercial interrest in pushing expensive lenses.
Newbies should ignore difficult to read graphs. Personal experiences about sharpness, distortion, abberation are very interresting and much easier to read. Try to judge who wrote the review. Steve's digicam is a more reliable source than what I've been told :-)

Sites with lots of user reviews are often more helpful than a single viewpoint. The lens you mentioned is total junk for a regular user of $5000 lenses, but it's top of the bill compared to most lenses fixed on cheap prosumer camera's.

Use Google [your lensmount] [lens brand] [focal distance] review. Don't read them all. It's better to use your time on taking lots of fair pictures to learn how to make the best out of your equipment than to spend too much time (and often money) on buying the best equipment you can't handle.

And remember: most of those famous evergreen pictures were taken with very simple camera's. That's not only true for the time of the box camera's, magnesium flash and sepia prints. The best amateur astronomy pictures are still being made with ... webcams!
My personal favorite lens on my KonicaMinolta Dynax 5D? the Loreo lens-in-a-cap! $25. Fixed small aperture, huge depth of field, no auto focus, no manual focus either, no lens cap to loose, no extra weight.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Steve'sDigicams

Recent Camera Reviews

Most Active Forums

Most Popular Deals

Latest Feature Articles

Nov 16, 2005, 12:18 PM	#1
jpistone Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 28	Anyone familiar with the Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) ...? It's relatively new and APS-C dedicated...price seems reasonable. I was always happy with 35mm Tamron lenses years ago, but haven't bought one in quite some time.

Nov 17, 2005, 11:39 AM	#2
maggy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 6	Not from my own experience, I've been told that it has the quality of a Coke bottle when zoomed to 200mm. This very tactfull reviewer was impressed by the Sigma 18-200.

Nov 17, 2005, 2:06 PM	#3
Hards80 Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 9,046	the sigma is a better choice at around the same price.. it is sharper and has less distortion..

Nov 17, 2005, 2:57 PM	#4
jpistone Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 28	Can I ask where everyone goes to find these charts on individual lens performance? Is there a central location somewhere? Is there an explanation of how to read them?

Nov 17, 2005, 3:26 PM	#5
Hards80 Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 9,046	my information comes from various posts on various forumns across the web.. usually from ppl that have owned both lenses or have purchased both lenses and returned the softer of the two following tests.. i think the distortion data comes from the newest issue of outdoor photography i think?

Nov 18, 2005, 5:10 AM	#6
maggy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 6	there are lots of sites with lens reviews, some of them have a long list of lenses most of which are not very recent, often even out of production, other sites review only the most recent lenses. Some of tese have a commercial interrest in pushing expensive lenses. Newbies should ignore difficult to read graphs. Personal experiences about sharpness, distortion, abberation are very interresting and much easier to read. Try to judge who wrote the review. Steve's digicam is a more reliable source than what I've been told :-) Sites with lots of user reviews are often more helpful than a single viewpoint. The lens you mentioned is total junk for a regular user of $5000 lenses, but it's top of the bill compared to most lenses fixed on cheap prosumer camera's. Use Google [your lensmount] [lens brand] [focal distance] review. Don't read them all. It's better to use your time on taking lots of fair pictures to learn how to make the best out of your equipment than to spend too much time (and often money) on buying the best equipment you can't handle. And remember: most of those famous evergreen pictures were taken with very simple camera's. That's not only true for the time of the box camera's, magnesium flash and sepia prints. The best amateur astronomy pictures are still being made with ... webcams! My personal favorite lens on my KonicaMinolta Dynax 5D? the Loreo lens-in-a-cap! $25. Fixed small aperture, huge depth of field, no auto focus, no manual focus either, no lens cap to loose, no extra weight.