Tamron 28 - 300

[GregD]

Hi I am thinking of getting a Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD as my main lens any of you used it have any opinions?

I shoot a lot of wildlife and portrait mainly the occasional landscape I just like taking my camera everywhere.
at the moment I have the canon 18 - 55 IS kit lens and the tamron 70 - 300 LD macro
or would I be better getting a 70 - 300 Canon IS?

 

[Mangelwurzel]

I don't think 28mm is wide enough for landscape and the f-stops on that lens are not great for portrait.
If i was you i'd sell the 18-55 kit lens and the 70-300 and get the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and the Canon 55-250mm IS. You'll lose a little bit of length but by all reading the Tamron isn't very sharp at 300mm anyway :shrug:

 

[Bob]

photoplus March 09 gave Tamron18-270 avery good reveiw it costs about £450
Bob

 

[nictry]

Considering you can probably pick one up for around £100 second hand it is not a bad walkabout lens, don't expect the sharpest pictures around but for the money it is not a bad superzoom.

 

[mrgubby]

I've had one for about 5 years now & it makes an excellent walkabout lens. It's never going to be as sharp as a couple of shorter lenses but I still miss is adaptability when I've got my "sharper" lenses on.

couple of my standard examples

 

[Nod]

If you can live with the softness and distortions at either extreme, it's not too bad and for a holiday walkabout happy-snap lens it'll probably be OK.

 

[captures.in.time]

I bought one for the same reason as you but kept my other lenses too... It was going to be my travel lens... but after a recent trip to Austria... I have decided it's not for me.

Dont get me wrong the results where ok... but just not to the quality I was used to with my canon zooms... Also I felt the focusing was slow and it hunted alot! I thought it produced soft shots too at 28mm and 300mm. If you look at my flickr gallery... at the Austria shots... Mind you my main gripe was the slow focusing rather than IQ.

My fiancee has a 450d... she is into photography but not to the same level as myself and her demands out of gear is less rigerous... She loves the lens and has produced good shots with it.

If you have a crop sensor camera it's def not wide enough for the landscape stuff.

Superzooms will always be a comprimise... I knew that when I bought it... but I think this was a comprimise to far for me... but lf your bar is not as high in the first place... it might please you no end for the pure adaptability!