Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this lens to replace the kit lens that came with the Sony Alpha 300. I wanted an all-round lens so I wouldn't have to carry/change multiple lenses. I'm very happy with the results: excellent quality photo's, very easy to use because of the all-purpose 18-200 range.

Some observations:
- Although the lens doesn't feel overly heavy, if you point the camera down, the lens will "zoom in" due to gravity pulling it out. Understandable, but sometimes this feels clumsy. There is a zoom-lock switch btw.
- If you place the anti-direct-sunlight-cap-thingie backwards on the lens (to store it there), you cannot reach the manual focus ring anymore. Understandable, and documented, but still not practical.

Bottomline: very good buy, must-have if you choose to carry 1 lens max.

Pro : so cheap
11x but compact size
nice image quality
Con : slow focus
noisy when focus

I'm only a student of photography, so I'm not able to get too technical in my review. I bought this lens because like most, I wanted an all-in-one lens. A lens that would allow me to take close family shots and those distance shots; when I can't be as close as I'd like to be. I've only had this lens for a about a month now, but I must say I'm extremely happy with the lens. With that said, I'm very big on landscape photos and not heavy into sports or fast action shots. The photos I've taken with this lens so far (around 500) are very crisp and clean shots.

I did notice that the lens can be a little slow on the auto focus, so beware. If you plan to only use this lens for sports and/or action shots, you might be a little disappointed. Otherwise, this lens is great! Now, I can get rid of my three other lenses that this single lens has replaced.

Good all around lens. Lightweight and durable quality back by Tamron's 6 year warranty. Chromatic abberation and pin cushion effect is evident at mid to full zoom but should not bother the casual user or amateur photorapher. You may not even notice the aberration unless you are a pro. Good low light auto-focus in tandem with the flash's or camera's built-in focus assist beam. The focus motor is quite noisy but I do love hearing the whirring sound as it locks in on the subject. For the price, I would recommend.

BTW, Sony sells the same focal lenght lens for $500. Sony is a major stockholder of Tamron (See info at Tamron's website). So one can only assume that Sony and Tamron does share the same technology on their lenses except for the price which is $200 less.

The lens was purchased to lighten the load in my camera bag by eliminating the kit lens that came with my Sony DSLR with a zoom range of 18-70mm, and another 45-200mm zoom lens that occupied some space. The zoomfunction operates flawlessly and the auto-focus function is extremely accurate, giving me the sharp close-ups that I shoot in my business.Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras

Bought this as a companion to the Minolta 5D and have been extremely pleased with the beautiful pictures it captures under all conditions.

I have an Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D that is no longer made. I found I couldn't use my old "film based lenses" on this digital camera. But this Tamron lens has worked extremely well on my digital camera. I highly recommend this lens. Plus you don't need to carry any other lenses when you travel. Always a good thing.

I use my Sony Alpha cameras primarily for birding. Sony's in camera stabilization allows me the advantage of buying long telephoto lenses price effectively. I did not buy the Sony cameras for anything but birding initially; but have to admit that I am starting to like them a lot.

For this reason I really put this Tamron lens on a Sony Alpha and really used it frequently. This lens focuses surprisingly fast on the Sony Alpha on an average brighness day on fast moving objects. This is a very good piece of glass. I've used it indoors, at parks, and at kid soccer games and can shoot with it endlessly and repeatedly get good shots. This lens is FAST on the SONY. I really like this lens on my Sony bodies. You will not be disappointed in the contrast or the colors using this lens. I think this is the ideal lens focal length for carrying around for covering most shooting situations .

Another great lens on the Sony Alpha is Sony's 500mm Reflex AF. This lens is sharp as tack and has a lot more contrast than Nikon's Reflex lenses (none of the Nikon Reflex lenses have AF or VR :(). This was my primary reason for trying Sony Alpha in the first place. Join this AF Reflex lens with Sony's internal optical stabilization and you will have an exceptionally light, portable, fast moving birding setup, but may still want another camera for the closer shots because the lens is fixed.

I have only had the Tamron since last summer so cannot comment on longevity. But so far see no signs of build problems with it.

I have two Sony Alpha 300 DSLRs and this lens is always on one of them. This lens has given very satisfactory results - perhaps not as good as some of my Minolta prime lenses, but good. I wish that it was a bit faster, f/2.8, but I'm sure that would put the price out of reach.

This is an ideal lens in terms of zoom range and sharpness. I may never take the lens off my camera.