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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the latest anymore, but still excellent, January 17, 2002
Like so many other amateur photographers, I grew weary of ALWAYS having to bring along a slew of lenses when I travel. Even a two-zoom outfit comprising 28-70 and a 75-300 mm. lenses sometimes became wearisome, as there are times when changing lenses *at all* is simply too much of a bother. So I took a chance and bought a Tamron 28-200 Super II all-in-one zoom. I picked Tamron because this is the company that consistently has been the leader in the design and manufacture of this type of lensI have used the lens for over a year now and I have not been disappointed. For most situations and uses the optics are quite adequately sharp, and the convenience of the design is simply marvellous. The color rendition is good, the mechanics of the lens are solid and well-designed, and the snap-in lens cap design is ingenious. So why not five stars? Well first of all, it should be pointed out that the Super II is no longer the latest or most compact 28-200 made by Tamron. Their newest version is actually so small that it uses 62 mm filters instead of the 72 mm. ones needed by the Super II. Second, there's no such thing as a "free lunch" in this world, and potential users of this type of lens should understand that there are tradeoffs when one uses one general purpose lens instead of several more specialized ones. For example, the maximum aperture is fairly slow (3.8 at the shortest focal length; 5.6 at 200 mm.) This can pose problems when shooting in low light or when trying to capture very fast action. Third, more critical users will surely notice that corner sharpness, particularly at wider apertures, is simply not as good as one would expect from top quality 28-70 or 70-210 zooms. Finally, images of buildings or other structures featuring straight lines and ninety degree angles will reveal some linear distortion. These shortcomings are unlikely to pose problems for the casual snapshooter, but if images are enlarged up to 11 x 14 or else one uses slide film for projection on a large screen, the compromises do sometimes become evident. Not to dwell on the negative, however, overall, this lens has surprised me with the fine quality of its optics. As I look at the fine candids of my family that I've captured with this lens, I am convinced that this zoom has proven to be an excellent investment.
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