Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

by Tamron

• AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) Tamron zoom lens
• Built-in vibration compensation for blur-free photos
• Low-dispersion glass and hybrid aspherical glass elements for superior image quality
• Optical zoom ratio: 15x (approximately)
• Minimum focus distance: 19.3 inches

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 3.2 x 3.2 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001DYE1B6
• Item model number: B003 (18-270mm Canon)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (253 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2008

Product Description

Style: Canon

From the Manufacturer

With the advent of the latest 15x zoom lens from Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, the high power zoom lens has steadily evolved from a 7.1x zoom to the world's largest zoom ratio of 15x by combining advanced high power zoom design technologies accumulated by Tamron since 1992. The lens covers an angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm wide-angle to a 419mm ultra telephoto with just one lens, letting the user capture once-in-the-lifetime images of panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, without having to get too close to the subject and without having to change lenses.

World’s first 15X all-in-one zoom with built-in vibration compensation

Tamron 18-270mm Lens Features

Di II
Lenses are designed for exclusive use on digital cameras with smaller-size imagers and inherit all of the benefits of our Di products. These lenses are not designed for conventional cameras and digital cameras with image sensors larger than 24mm x 16mm.

15x Zoom Ratio
This lens covers an extremely broad range of focal lengths, from an extra-wide 18mm length to a telephoto 270mm length (the 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 419mm). The resulting 15x zoom ratio is the world's largest, representing a wide cross section of Tamron high-power zoom design technologies. Plus, the vibration compensation works throughout the entire zoom range, giving you the freedom to create a wide variety of images. The lens lets users capture once-in-a-lifetime panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, all without getting too close to the subject or changing lenses. Other details include a macro magnification range of 1:3.5, a minimum focusing distance of 19.3 inches, and a 72mm filter diameter. The lens, which measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 3.9 inches long, carries a six-year warranty.

18mm zoom - 270mm zoom

Vibration Compensation (VC)
Shake can ruin your photos, particularly when taking telephoto shots or shooting in low light conditions.Simply flip the VC switch on and you'll notice the difference immediately.

• VC delivers blur free - handheld images for incredible results
• VC mechanism employs a three-coil system
• Lens element compensates for vibration using 3-steel balls (making movement quiet & smooth)
• Exceptional images at slower shutter speeds – reduces the need for a tripod
• Bring out contrast to motion & stillness
• Eliminate the need to shoot with a Flash

VC Off - VC On

Low Dispersion (LD) Glass for Greater Lens Sharpness

Add sharpness to your image with Low Dispersion (LD) glass lenses

Low dispersion (LD) glass elements in a lens help reduce chromatic aberration; the tendency of light of different colors to come to different points of focus at the image plane. Chromatic aberration reduces the sharpness of an image, but glass with an extremely lowdispersion index, has less of a tendency to separate (defract) a ray of light into a rainbow of colors. This characteristic allows the lens designer to effectively compensate for chromatic aberration at the center of the field (on axis), a particular problem at long focal lengths (the telephoto end of the zoom range), and for lateral chromatic aberration (towards the edges of the field) that often occurs at short focal lengths (the wide-angle end of the zoom range.)

Internal Focusing (IF) System
Internal focusing provides numerous practical benefits to photographers including a non-rotating front filter ring that facilitates the positioning of polarizing and graduated filters, and more predictable handling because the lens length does not change during focusing. Even more important, Tamron’s Internal Focusing (IF) system provides a much closer minimum focusing distance (MFD) throughout its entire focusing range. In addition, IF improves optical performance by minimizing illumination loss at the corners of the image field, and helps to suppress other aberrations that become more troublesome at different focusing positions.

Zoom Lock (ZL)
Another original Tamron mechanical engineering concept is the Zoom Lock (ZL), a simple convenience feature that prevents undesired extension of the lens barrel when carrying the camera/lens unit on a neck strap.

Anomalous Dispersion (AD) for Better Color Correction

Anomalous Dispersion

Anomalous dispersion (AD) glass is a special type of optical glass that is used to achieve more precise control of chromatic aberrations, thereby enhancing overall imaging performance. Glass of this type provides an abnormally large partial dispersion ratio (amount of diffraction) for light of specific wavelength ranges (colors) within the visible spectrum. By combining AD glass having these special characteristics with elements made of normal glass having different dispersion characteristics, it is possible to control the dispersion factors of a specific wavelength. This enhanced level of control results in much lower levels of on-axis (central) chromatic aberration for telephoto lenses (or zooms used at tele-photo settings) and a significant reduction of lateral (peripheral) chromatic aber-ration for wide-angle lenses (or zooms used at wide-angle settings.)

Aspherical Lens Elements (ASL)
Tamron uses several hybrid Aspherical lens elements in many lenses bearing the Aspherical designation. These innovative optics allow us to achieve the ultimate in image quality, and at the same time produce lenses that offer remarkable zoom ranges in extraordinarily compact packages. By perfecting theses cutting-edge advances for series production, Tamron has advanced the state of optical design, and virtually eliminated spherical aberration and image distortion from the high-power-zoom series.Through the effective application of Hybrid Aspherical Technology, one lens element can take the place of multiple elements without compromising performance. This is what allows us to produce remarkably compact long-range lenses that deliver a uniformly high level of image quality at all focal lengths and apertures.

Achieve the ultimate in image quality with Aspherical Lens Elements (ASL)

Product Description

With the advent of the latest 15x zoom lens from Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, the high power zoom lens has steadily evolved from a 7.1x zoom to the world's largest zoom ratio of 15x by combining advanced high power zoom design technologies accumulated by Tamron since 1992. The lens covers an angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm wide-angle to a 419mm ultra telephoto with just one lens, letting the user capture once-in-the-lifetime images of panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, without having to get too close to the subject and without having to change lenses.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

510 of 517 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For the price and what it offers, one of the best lenses in its category October 30, 2008

By Mary Jo Sminkey TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Style Name:Canon|Amazon Verified Purchase

Length: 4:13 Mins

Tamron's new lens offers a 15X zoom range, the most you will find for a DSLR. But do you have to give up too much image quality as a result? I was looking for a lens for travel and for casual shots that could replace my need for both wide angle through the telephoto range and hopefully replace several other lenses that I typically have to bring with me.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this new lens, it did better than I was expecting. The quality of the photos is almost on par as my Canon 70-300mm (but of course not my 70-200 f/2.8) with a much more usable range for an everyday lens. I also tend to have back problems, so the less weight I carry on vacations, the better!

A few negatives: the lens does not zoom smoothly through its whole range, particularly when zooming from wide to tele, and you only have f/6.3 when fully zoomed (common with superzooms). The zoom was nice and tight when I got the lens (as shown in the video) but after a few weeks of use, it creeps pretty badly. The lens hood is fairly small, may not work as well at the 150mm+ range (but nice that they include one at all!) Also a typical issue for super zooms, as the hood has to be designed to minimize vignetting at the wide end. No full-time manual focus, which I don't use enough typically to be bothered about. The focus ring is located at the front of the lens and it's pretty easy to switch back and forth and use it as needed, but this is definitely not a great lens for using manual focus on. Some distortion in images at both ends as you would expect for a super-zoom, the barrel distortion at the wide end in particular is fairly obvious, but correctable in most situations. CA and vignetting on my copy are reasonable for a lens in this price range, with CA most apparent at the upper end of the range. Macro feature is nice to have, but somewhat underwhelming performance and certainly no substitute for a true macro lens. The lens has a nice, solid feel to it, while still being fairly lightweight. I've used the Canon 70-300mm DO lens in the past which was comparable to this in size, but MUCH heavier. The focus is fairly quiet as well, not USM quiet, but considerably better than some other off-brand lenses I've used. As I usually find with off-brand lenses, the autofocus is not quite as fast and accurate as Canon lenses, but it seems considerably better than some other Tamron lenses I've used and not enough to be a problem for casual use.

I give the lens 5 stars, not because it takes the greatest photos you will ever see, but because it is the first super-zoom I have tried that performs good enough that I am willing to use it, as a best-in-its-class lens. It's a perfect lens in particular for any new DSLR owner that can't afford to invest thousands in really high quality and/or multiple lenses, or for someone like me that is often limited in the equipment they can carry at one time. The lack of smoothness in the zoom ring and the creep are the primary annoyances for me, but I've yet to use a long telephoto lens in this price range that doesn't creep, so hard to be really tough on it for that. I wouldn't use it as my primary sports lens (my f/2.8 will do that job far better) nor as an architectural wide angle lens but for a general all-purpose casual lens, it's got a great feature set and well worth considering.

265 of 267 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A technical marvel May 22, 2009

By W. Severin

Style Name:Canon

I've had mine for three weeks now and have taken several hundred pictures under a wide range of conditions. I read all the reviews here and on other sites, both for Canon and Nikon mounts before I made a purchase. I hope to compare and contrast my experiences with what I've read here and on other review sites. My camera body is a Canon XTi.

I read some reviews that complained of chromatic aberration (CA). Yes, there is some at the edges, at some focal lengths and apertures. If you look at the test results ([...]) you will see that the lens performs excellently at around f-6.7 to f-8. Almost no CA and excellent sharpness. This lens simply wants to run best at about f-8. So, I've taken to using my camera in Av mode at f-8 when I'm using this lens. Excellent results with no visible CA.

I read some reviews that complained of 'softness' of the images in some situations. This is attributable to two issues. One is that if you let the camera program mode choose an aperture, you may get a very high number. At very high-number apertures (f-16+) the lens is limited in sharpness, not by any design fault, but by a basic law of physics. It's near the diffraction limit for that aperture. The second issue is that at long focal lengths the adaptive multi-point auto-focus algorithms mess up. If you're not watching carefully they may focus on a bush that's 50 feet away leaving the landscape that you were trying to capture out of focus. Blame the camera and not the lens. What I've been doing is using spot focus at longer focal lengths. Focus lock on what is supposed to be in focus and then frame the scene. Do that, and run Av mode at f-8 so you don't get high f-numbers, and 'softness' will not be an issue.

I've read some complaints of slowness or inconsistency of focus. This seems to come mainly from Nikon owners. For me, it focuses very quickly and quietly under all lighting situations. No problems at all. I've taken it out on a dark night and pointed it at a star and had focus lock within two seconds. I think the issue is more related to the focus algorithms running in the microprocessor in the camera body than to the lens itself. With my Canon XTi, I couldn't ask for better performance.

I've read complaints of 'lens creep'. That's the tendency of long-focal-length lenses to extend to their maximum focal length when hanging down, due to the weight of the front elements of the lens. Mine doesn't do it, yet. This could develop in the future. I don't expect it to be an issue, though. There's a simple lug that can lock the lens at the short focal length for carrying. While shooting I tend to support the weight of the camera and lens with my hand on the lens, and use the other hand on the body to work the controls and point. So lens 'lens creep' would not be an issue.

I've read some complaints of inconsistent force on the zoom ring required to zoom through the entire range. That's true. It does take a bit more force to zoom between the 70mm to about 120mm range. It's noticeable, and I wish it wasn't there, but I know why that is. Somewhere about 70mm the cams in the zoom mechanism go into a range where large amounts of extension occur with small zoom ring movement. While it's not desirable, it's also not at all a problem.

This lens is heavy, especially if you're used to the kit 18-55 lens. You'll get used to it and you'll be delighted if you're a Canon owner. If you're a Nikon owner you may have issues with focus in low light.

All-in-all I'm quite happy with the purchase and I don't hesitate to recommend this lens. But, to be really happy with it, you have to understand the compromises that are part of its design and how to work around them.

Edit: Almost a year later.

I've now had the lens for just about a year and I've taken thousands of pictures. Just about everything I initially said I would say again. Two things I'd add:

First, barrel distortion is quite noticeable at short focal lengths. This can be objectionable where there are things near the edges of the scene that should be straight lines (roof lines, highway bridges, etc.) that appear curved. This is expected with any lens at "fish eye" wide angle, and so it is with this lens. I've found that this effect can be entirely removed in a decent photo editing program like Gimp or Photoshop. Look in the menus for the tool for lens distortion effects.

Second, there is strange focusing behavior using this lens on my Canon XTi when using a circular polarizing filter. One should never attempt to use a simple polarizing filter on a digital SLR because they mess up the camera's auto focus. But circular polarizers are supposed to work, according to the literature. Still, the circular polarizer that I've been trying to use seems to cause the camera some focus indecision, especially with far focus. Don't count on being able to use a circular polarizing filter with this lens if you have a camera similar to mine. Of course, Nikon might behave differently.

Edit: Almost two years later.

This lens has become my primary lens. It's the lens that stays on my camera in the bag, with the other lenses in the pockets. It's just a fantastic general-shooting lens.

I've come to really appreciate the optical image stabilization. It's giving me an extra stop or two of usable range in low light. I would never have considered using an f3.5-6.3 lens in low light before this. But, Tamron's stabilization works. If the subject isn't moving, hand-held slow-shutter-speed photography is possible where it never was before except with a wide aperture lens. Just two days ago I was out in the boonies of Arizona shooting telephoto pix of javelina in low-light conditions that would have been impossible with any other lens.

After a considerable amount of use the lens has developed some tendency for 'lens creep' (see above). It's not a problem, but it does happen. Use the locking lug.

I remain delighted with this lens.

Edit: Almost 3 years later.

Nothing really to add. This remains my primary lens. Aperture priority at f6.7 to minimize chromatic aberration for general shooting.

Yup, "lens creep" has set in. Point the lens down at a steep angle and ploop, there go the front elements. A minor annoyance.

Glad I bought it.

144 of 148 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good walk around lens October 8, 2008

By Walter O. Koenig

Style Name:Nikon

Like the previous reviewer, Y. Fukunaga, I too bought this lens last week and I am also using it on a Nikon D300. I agree with just everything in the previous review, so I will not repeat it again. The reason the zoom ring doesn't move smoothly between 70 and 150 mm is to prevent lens creep, a notorious problem with the Nikkor 18-200 and that is one of the main reasons I did not get that lens. The Tamron got a very good review in the October issue of "Popular Photography and Imaging" and I tend to believe the reviews I read in that magazine. I have also had very good experiences with the Tamron 90mm macro and Tamron customer service which is well known for being responsive and efficient.

I bought this lens because I wanted a good walk around lens. I do a lot of walking and often don't feel like carrying a bag and changing lenses. Also I wanted a all-in-one lens to use when traveling. I was pleasantly surprised by the sharpness of the lens at both at wide 18mm and tele 270mm and in my opinion the distortion and vignetting of the lens are minimal and really only noticeable a little at the high end. The lens could have a more solid feel to it, it fells plasticky, but then it would not be as light as it is. Also f/6.3 at 270mm is quite slow, so don't expect to use it in low light situations. The VC, vibration compensation seems to work well.

So far, so good. I can recommend this lens as a general walk around or travel lens with no hesitation. I am very satisfied and I'm glad that third party lenses are giving the Nikon glass a run for their money. I would like to note that I purchased this lens on October 4, so I will add to or edit this review as I use this lens more.

Update October 15. The lens started developing lens creep a few days ago starting at about 50mm. (Lens creep is when the lens will zoom in or out if you are not holding the zoom ring to stop it from telescoping in or out.) I returned it to the photo dealer today to exchange it. Two other lenses they had, had the same problem out of the box. The third lens was a little tighter, so I took it with me for observation. Hopefully this will not be a recurring problem.

Review by Walter O. Koenig