Tamron LD A014 18 mm-200 mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II Aspherical IF Lens For Canon

I bought this lens to use as an all purpose lens. The zoom range gives you wide angle to telephoto all in one lens. I mainly shoot cars and people, often at events, so I need a lens that can go wide enough to shoot an entire car at close range or a large group of people, as well as pull in a car or person at a distance. I had bought the Tamron 28-300 zoom first, but found the 28 mm focal length (at the APS-C format) isn't wide enough for group and whole car shots. This lens works well for that. I also like that it's relatively small and lightweight, so it's easy to travel with. I have no complaints about the optics or clarity of the photos.

The downside Tamron's autofocus motor. It's noisier and coarser than a Canon, which can be a bit awkward in quiet situations (like a wedding). It also tends to "hunt" for focus more than a Canon lens does. My Tamron 28-300 is the same way. But for the price, it's a good value for a wide-range lens.

There's no such thing as a free lunch and the Tamron is no exception here. The extreme zoom range combined with the small lens dimensions comes at cost of some compromises. One is the rather slow max. aperture which limits the creative potential regarding shallow depth-of-field and the other compromise is, naturally, optical quality. In absolute terms the lens shows rather extreme distortions at the 18mm and vignetting as well as border quality don't impress either. The latter is also true for the 200mm setting. Nonetheless the lens is capable to deliver decent quality images under controlled conditions - reads: f/8 (see also the sample shots). In the field the Tamron AF 18-200mm XR felt far more convincing than the Sigma AF 18-200mm DC thanks to a decent AF performance so if it has to be such an extreme zoom lens the Tamron is the better bet. For critical applications you should consider to split the zoom range into at least two lenses though.

I have used Nikon and Tamron lens's for a very long time and this new generation of lens's are just what th3e doctor ordered . Fast lens so it can be used in dim lighting conditions and wide reaching focal range that makes carrying a lot of different lens's and weight. Great lens.

I liked the fact that I now have 1 lens that covers the zoom range of 3 of my previous canon lenses. I have owned a Tamron lens for my wife's 35mm camera and the quality was really pretty good. The truth will be seen when I print one of the photos I take with my Digital Canon camera to 16" x 20". I hope that the lens holds up to that test like the Canon lenses do.....

I've read a lot of reviews from apparently knowledgeable people who claim that Canon is far superior to Tamron. Maybe so. But for the average Amateur Photographer such as myself and most others, you will not see a noticeable difference between this lens and the Canon 18-200. Noisier yes, but the picture quality is very close.