Tamron 18-270mm vs Canon 17-85 IS USM test

[Dylanlewis2000]

I have been looking for a super zoom for some time. A few weeks ago I went to my local camera store to try a Tamron 18-270 out and see how good it was. Unfortunately I was not impressed with images just not quite there in terms of sharpness. The retailer (Camera Centre Swansea) took my name and number and said that they would ring me when new stock comes in.
So today I called up just by chance and was told that there is stock here and I can try it out, so off I set with my Mac and 400d to try the lens. I want to trade in my Canon 17-85IS and my Canon 90-300 against this lens.
The lens itself has a nice feel to it. There is a bit of zoom creep when you point the lens to the ground, and it is quite stiff around the 120mm mark, however I do think that when the lens has been used a few times this will no longer be any issue.
The autofocus was fairly quick and not too noisy, I have read a lot of reviews that slate the auto focus saying that it is noisy and does not work that well, however in my experience it was ok. The Camera centre had two Tamrons in stock ready for me to use, so I quickly attached lens one to my camera and went outside to take a few photos.

and a 100% crop

and a 100% crop

The lens itself is nice to use and nice to hold although on my 400d it did feel a little unbalanced. The lens does come with a lens hood which I did not put on for any of these sample shots but it was nice to see that it is included in the price.

The Image stabilization is awesome, it seriously is fantastic. When you lock focus on a subject you can see the is wiggle a little and hold you still, I would say the stabilization is easily better than that of my Canon. With the lens on the camera the viewfinder seemed to be brighter, I do not know if it is down to the Tamron's minimum aperture of f3.5 but it was definitely brighter.

 

[Dylanlewis2000]

Everything was going well until I took a photo using the lens wide open. I walked out of the shop and took a photo just pointing out in AV mode set at f3.5 and this is the result.

This is the same view I have done for all the images. At first glance the image looks fine, however when you zoom in this is what happens
Tamron 1 at 100%

Canon 17-85 at 100%

Tamron 2 at 100%

 

[Dylanlewis2000]

I know flick r is probably compressing these photos but there is a serious difference between the Canon and both the Tamrons. I understand that you have to give and take something with the super zoom category of lenses but this is too much. My fears were confirmed when I went back inside and did a few more test shots with both the Tamron's and my Canon

Tamron 1 at 100%

Canon at 100%

Tamron 2 at 100%

All shots were done with auto focus, but as you can see there is a shocking difference between the Canon and the Tamron. I did try to do them manually but this made little difference. To say I was gutted was an understatement.

Overall the Tamron is a fantastic lens and can produce amazing photographs with sharp detail and vibrant colours however when used wide open the two lenses i tried had serious problems, something that I could not ignore and as a result I had to give this lens a miss.

Fair play to the guys at the Camera centre they were very good and patient with me as I was testing the lens out and gave me a lot of space with it. I have now asked them to give me a ring when the Sigma 18-250 comes in to stock as I want to try that out before I give up all hope. Is there another lens that i should consider?

 

[CSB]

I think with these superzooms you have to make a compromise somewhere, usually in image quality. I have read good things about the Canon 18-200 IS, I have the 18-135 myself, great range but not as sharp as better lenses like the Tamron 17-50.

 

[Dylanlewis2000]

Yeah its a compromise between quality and zoom range. I wouldnt mind trying the Canon but Jessops in Swansea do not have it and the Camera Centre only special order it which i dont want to do just incase its no good.

 

[artyman]

I think a zoom with a range of 18-270 is probably OK for holiday snaps where it has a convenience factor, but if you want quality images it's probably expecting a bit too much. That said Sigma seem to manage with 50-500, but that's a bit heavy and OTT