Customer Reviews

Tamron Autofocus 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're like me, you can't find the Nikon VR lens anywhere unless it's being marked up 50-100% by businesses taking advantage of the shortage (supply & demand, right?).

After 2 months I got tired of waiting for the VR lens and bought this 18-200mm Tamron instead (vacation just days away). I have taken many dozens of walk around photos with this lens attached to my D200 getting a feel for it's capabilities. As a photo hobbyist rather than a real photographer, I produced some very acceptable results (and a few stinkers too).

At higher magnifications it is more susceptible to camera shake than say my 70-300 Sigma lens, and I believe that may be due to the Tamron being a "slower lens" requiring slower shutter speeds to get the same amount of light through it (at high zoom). I can see where the Nikon VR lens would win hands down here since it's faster AND has vibration reduction, BUT - Do not discount this lens as I have managed to, with patience & a steady hand, or a tripod in some cases, produced great results.

The Tamron is not all that noisy, and the auto focus is pretty quick. It does fail to autofocus in certain shady conditions so if you do most of your shooting in moderately dark shade you might run into trouble. It seems to do better with "contrasty" shade rather than dim grayish backgrounds where it really hunts for focus (mine anyway).

I can't seem to get consistent results with the Tamron using a flash indoors. About half of my flash photos are slightly out of focus despite my best efforts at hand holding the camera still. The clear pix are great however. I have yet to take any indoor pix using my SB-600 flash so all of my indoor shots to date are using the pop-up flash. That probably has no bearing on the fuzzy shots I've produced but I thought to mention it.

Overall I recommend this lens as a suitable outdoor walkaround lens. Nearly all of my outdoor shots are nicely sharp with great color and contrast. It's operation is smooth and feels good. For indoor shooting you MAY want to carry a faster lens like a fast, fixed (prime), or even the 18-70mm "kit" Nikon zoom which does significantly better indoors.

This lens is great!! It does everything I need in one small package. I am using it on a Nikon D50 and the pictures it produces are nice and clear. I had read many reviews that said to stay away from all-in-one zoom lenses, but I did not want to carry around two different lenses all the time. I think for the average person who doesn't want to bother with switching lenses this is a great choice. I am very happy with my purchase.

This lens is great for what it is made for, being versatile in its zoom range.

That is about it for this lens. The quality of the images in a 4x6 are also fine, you can't tell the difference between that and the nikons I have, but only when you look at 4x6 prints. However, when you start to blow up the images you can really tell the difference of quality. The images are not sharp at all, and not because of a lack of focus.

If you are interested in this lens for professional photography, I would not recomend it, there is no way I would shoot a wedding or any other event with this lens. But if you want a cheap lens that has a pretty decent zoom range, this is not a bad choice...assuming you don't plan on enlarging your images past 4x6.

This is a very good choice for anyone shooting Nikon digital series cameras, and wanting an all-in-one design that small and light weight.

Although it doesn't give us the overall range of the most common choice for Nikon users (18-55 & 70-300), it does give us a smaller and less expensive option to Nikon's 18-200VR.

The lens features internal focusing (in neither basic Nikon zoom, but in the VR), which means filters, like polarizers, won't spin with the autofocus. It also means we'll have a more useful lens hood, which is included.

The max aperture at 200mm is 6.3, adequate, but not the best we can get in a 200mm that's still reasonably priced (here's were we loose a star). But construction seems very good, and the warranty is a year longer than Nikon's.

This is a solid 4-star product, but Nikon users need to be aware that there is a better, although more expensive option, in the very fine Nikkor 18-200 AF-S VR lens (5-star).

This is a great lens. If you want a all in one lens and don't have the extra $400 bucks to get the Nikon VR version this will work just fine. Pictures are sharp! Don't be fooled by reviews saying they are blurred or soft. Most of these people claim this because they are shooting handheld or mirror slap not because of actual lens fault. You have to have a STEADY hand to shoot with a zoom like this. That's why if you can go the VR Nikon 18-200 go for it BUT this lens works great too, just watch your shooting stance and you can get some great handheld shots and works Excellent on a tripod. As with any zoom really watch for mirror slap. I would say avoid the 1/60 to 3secs exposures. Enjoy your new, nice, small, sharp, lens I do.

PS. on the comment of this not being a 300mm focal on a Dslr. I actually did a side by side test and it seemed pretty dang gone close to me when I sat a Nikon 70-300 to the 200mm focal length and took the same shot. Maybe they just got confused.

My son is invovled in Track and Field and I was looking for a lense that had good performance and that was moderattely priced. The Tamron lense offered by Amazon met both of my requirements.
The lense is easy to operate and the auto focus feature is smooth and fast. With the correct ISO setting and this lense the quality my action shots have increased tremendoulsy.

I use this lense for all my photographic needs. It is a wonderful! I am a happy customer!

We purchased the Tamron 18-200 with a new Nikon D80 to use on an Alaska cruise. It's a relatively light lens for its size with with generally good but not outstanding performance. But for the price it still is a very strong contender if you want one lens for general photography.

The 9 point autofocus mostly worked well though it was a noisy compared to our other Nikon lens. The more complex the background, the more difficulty it has focusing-- for example, shooting stationary Alaskan eagles against a forest I didn't manage to collect one crystal clear shot in 100, where against a blue or white sky it was perfect every time even in flight.

Also, in a test shooting side by side with our son-in-law's comparable Canon lens we noticed right away the Tamron produces darker, slightly higher contrast images. Zooming in on our jpeg images in Photoshop, the prints also had noticeable pixel noise (we shot at ISO 400) with very evident loss of detail & definition compared to prints produced from the other lens.

Using the zoom feature out beyond 135mm you'll need a tripod unless there is excellent light to avoid some blurring from movement.

Still, I can't complain too much. At half the price of its closest Nikon competitor it did a reasonable job. Had I not compared it to the very nice Canon lens, I would have wandered along happily oblivious to its few flaws. After shooting more than a 1000 shots on the cruise, including people, nature, wildlife and even action, our Tamron gave us a lot of great photos.

I went on vacation to the beautiful Rockies, I brought all my lenses, I wanted to be able to catch it all. I found myself reverting back to this lens. I thought to myself.. Why did I bring all these lenses?

Excellent quality. Eliminated the need for bringing multiple lenses. Practical range to carry around when travelling. Nikon claims that non-Nikon lenses are made of plastic and not glass. Either it is not true, or plastic works just as well.

Another cheaply made plastic lens, including a PLASTIC MOUNT, from Tamron, but without the great optics found in their 55-200mm, also plastic throughout.
If you want a Lens in this range go with Sigma. The optics are just as good if not better and you get a good quality build lens.
What a shame Tamron was willing to put their name on this product! I was lucky enough to use this lens without having to purchase it. It is no where near the lens of the 18-250mm, of course you pay for it,but I would rather pay an extra hundred and have a lens that could last many, many years than invest nearly 4 hundred in something made so poorly.
If you really want an 18-200mm lens, try the Sigma. It gets decent reviews see this link : http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Sigma-18-200mm-f35-63-DC

But if you want a decent walk around lens that really gives you something surprising for the money go with the Sigma 28-200mm. Sure you lose the 10mm up front,but in exchange you get surprising optics that can be had for around $200 on the web depending on where you shop.
See the review at : http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Sigma-28-200mm-f35-56-DG-Macro