110 of 113 people found the following review helpful:
Good walk around lens
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...
96 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
Returning it shortly
Hi Guys - I just got the 18-270 for Nikon (D80 here) and am NOT happy with it. I guess the other guys got better 'copies' than I did (my normal luck.)
The Good:
Feels and looks very well made
Quiet - might not by USM, but is VERY quiet, and would be perfectly fine at a wedding. You can barely here it, honestly
6 year warranty (Don't buy...
This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
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
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I'd like to start by saying that my lens does not suffer from the "zoom creep" or slow focusing when zoomed in that just about everyone mentions when critiquing this lens. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the zoom feels strong and just stiff enough to keep the lens from folding out/in when tilted up/down (perhaps a little too stiff, but this is much more welcome than creep). As for focus speed, this lens focuses no slower than I would expect (in fact it is much faster). It's really quite satisfactory, even in moderately low light. It helps (for any camera/lens combo) to make sure you are pointing at an area of contrast the AF sensor will be able to detect. Remember to focus (on a high-contrast area of your subject, in the very center of the frame), then re-frame the shot to your pleasure. The focus is also extremely quiet, though not quite as much as Nikon's AF-S.
Pros:
- Good image quality; quite sharp given its incredible zoom range (at least as good as Nikon 55-200mm VR, which I am planning on reselling)
- *Generally beats competition in areas of sharpness, CA, vignetting, across majority of zoom range (yes, even the venerable Nikon 18-200)
- Quiet, fast (to lock, generally) focusing; WILL focus on D40/60/5000 etc. For the record, I use a D300.
- Vibration Compensation (VC) works very well! (surprisingly much better than my Nikon 55-200's VR)
- Excellent value for the price
- No zoom creep on mine! (yet...)
Cons:
- Quite slow (f/6.3) from 200mm on (f/5.6 only takes you to 120mm)
- Too little distance between min and max focus on focus ring, making precise manual focusing a challenge (though I've yet to require MF for a shot)
- Rear lens cap not compatible with Nikon lenses (which I found not only weird but annoying)
- No lens pouch/case included, but who uses those anyway?
- Not sexy
- Other cons are negligible/ shared with all lenses in this category
Which superzoom/vacation lens to buy?
Buy the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens if Nikon quality/ brand loyalty is important to you, or if you need the extra light at the end of the zoom range. This lens may also have the best focusing and VR of its competition.
Buy the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM IF Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras if you're on a limited budget, and can't spring an extra $20-70 for the Tamron. Also, the Sigma handles distortion slightly better at 18mm. Other than that, the Tamron just trumps it in just about every respect, including zoom range, sharpness, and CA.
Why I purchased this lens: I decided on this lens when shopping for a "vacation zoom" to take with me to Spain and be able to leave some lenses at home/ in the hotel. I decided on the Tamron NOT for its unmatched zoom range (frankly I could care less, I'm more of an ultrawide person myself). I chose this model for its image quality first, features/comparison second. I was very skeptical about spending so much on a Tamron with no experience with this brand, but so far this lens has thoroughly met my expectations. It's not magic, but I am quite pleased with my decision.
Thus, this lens comes highly recommended.
*I got much of my image quality information from slrgear dot com's technical lens reviews.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I just got this Tamron 18-270VC lens a few days ago.
My D300 and 16-85VR work well, and I needed a telephoto zoom.
I chose this lens from Nikon 18-200VR, 70-300VR, Tamron 28-300VC,
and 18-270VC. This focal length range attracts me, because I mainly
take photos of my son. I usually don't have enough time to
exchange lens.
Pros;
1) Great focal length range. Multi-purpose walk around lens.
This covers 27-405mm on Nikon DSLR with APS sensor.
2) VC works very well. You can notice that a view through
finder looks "completely stopped."
3) Small size and inexpensive price.
4) Made in Japan ;)
5) It has a zoom lock mechanism. No zoom creep is found at
both wide and tele ends even if the lock is off.
6) Easy macro.
Cons;
1) Not Nikon.
2) Zoom ring doesn't move smoothly between 70 and 150 mm.
(This may work for no zoom creep, though.)
3) Apparent distortion and moderate vignetting at the wide end.
4) AF speed is slow at low light condition.
In conclusion, the Tamron 18-270VC is one of the best lens for
everyday walk-around lens. Nikon 18-200 is still a strong competitor
against Tamron. The 70mm difference of the focal length
between Tamron and Nikon may not be a big deal for some people, but
when I compare these on APC sensor, the difference becomes 105mm
(equivalent to Nikon 300mm and Tamron 405mm at the tele ends.)
If you don't have 18-200VR, it's a good idea to add this lens to
your candidates. Highly recommended!
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
Ok. I recently got a D90 and had bought the 55-200 Nikon lens with it. But I wanted to get a good walk around lens for an upcoming trip through CA & NV. So I finalized the Nikon 18-200 (5 yr warranty) & Tamron 18-270 (6 yr warranty). I had to eliminate the Sigma (1yr warranty) due to significant number of users having their lens go bad in 2-12 months.
I bought it from Amazon last week hoping to keep it or return it for the 18-200 Nikon if there were significant problems. I find that after 400 photos, I see excellent photos and great Vibration Compensation (VR or VRII on Nikon). On low light (maybe 1 candle light equivalent) it takes a tad longer (extra 2-3 seconds) to focus, but I can't comment about it unless I can compare against the Nikon 18-200.
However I compared the Tamron against the 55-200 Nikon that I already have and whenever the Tamron struggled to autofocus, so did the Nikon under the same parameters. At improved lighting, the Tamron was better than 55-200. The Tamron did better than the Nikon 18-55mm too in similar lighting. I know I cannot extrapolate these results to the Nikon 18-200, but I have to wait until I can borrow it from my friend to compare.
Compared to the Nikon being another three-hundred&fifty more, I don't know if it is that much better.
I'm very impressed with the build quality of the Tamron lens. Seems well made. I like the autofocus locking speed and pic quality is crisp in most lighting conditions,zoom, shutter & aperture settings. The motor is slightly more noisier than nikon lens, but it does not even bother me. I think is is something that will bother someone who really wants to find fault with this lens. I do feel that people with D90 & D300 have great experiences with this lens while d80 and d200 and older bodies, people complain. So maybe that might be a factor in less stars? I have another 28 days more to evaluate this lens or exchange for the Nikon. I will come back and edit this review if I find anything to the contrary. But so far it is a great buy and looks like a keeper. I reviewed thousands of pictures in pbase & flickr before I felt this lens even merited a try and so far hasn't failed to impress me.
2009-Nov-14: Its been almost 2 weeks with the Tamron. I also purchased a Nikon 18-200 from Amazon hoping to keep one of them. There is lens creep in both the Nikon and the Tamron. I took a few pictures in low light of the same subject, hand held, VR/VC ON @ 200mm, 0.63 secs exposure, ISO 1600. f5.6 on Nikon & f6.3 on Tamron. I did a side by side compare in Paintshop at 60% zoom of the 4288x2848 image and I see the Tamron has better details, sharpness. The setting was indoors with two 3 w bulbs about 10 feet away at night. I have to try the same on a tripod though. I'm thinking why not spend the money saved when buying a Tamron (almost three-thirty as of today) towards a high speed lens for specialized night shooting if/when needed and/or a Nikon SB-600 flash. So far I like the Tamron. I'm an amateur, but comparing pics side by side with the two lenses is slowly convincing me to keep the Tamron. Will update again if I find anything more to add.
Of course be sure to read the reviews at DPReview for both lenses where they rate the Nikon slightly better. Also look at pics taken at pbase & flickr for the lenses.
Dec 31, 2009: I finally went with the Nikon 18-200 in Nov before my vacation just because I wasn't sure about the Tamron's performance in low lighting and if it will bite me if I end up taking some low light pics. Looking back though, I feel like I should have stayed with my Tamron and netted the difference in money and enjoyed! :-( I looked at some older pics taken by Tamron when I first bought it and one thing I really liked was the bokeh in closeup pics. It is very smooth compared to the Nikon 18-200. I for one usually hunt for value in any product and in this I might have not done so by not sticking with the Tamron. I highly recommend this lens.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
Hi Guys - I just got the 18-270 for Nikon (D80 here) and am NOT happy with it. I guess the other guys got better 'copies' than I did (my normal luck.)
The Good:
Feels and looks very well made
Quiet - might not by USM, but is VERY quiet, and would be perfectly fine at a wedding. You can barely here it, honestly
6 year warranty (Don't buy grey-market, and ONLY buy from an authorized dealer!)
The BAD:
Image quality - Virtually all of my pictures are soft! I even set the d80 to maximum sharpness - better, but still not enough. Focus lock was VERY slow (typically) sometimes even taking 8-9 seconds, and this was in outdoor light around 5pm. Even then, the pics are just not sharp. Inside, even with decent lighting, it just won't get focus-lock in half my pics. Manual focus worked fine, but there is not a lot of barrel movement between out of focus and in focus, so its tough to get it just right.
Lens Creep - its there - if you point the camera up, my lens falls back in. Fortunately, you do have the lock swith , which is great. Also, when you extend the zoom, it feels "ok," but the resistance changes as you extend it. You can tell there is a lot rotating inside the lens.
Try it, and write write back your own findings. Make sure whovever you buy from has a good return policy. My thoughts are the Nikon 18-200 is probably the right way to go, but I'm going to try the Simga HSM OS 18-200 just cause the price is $200 bucks less. Good luck.
UPDATE:
I have now compared the Sigma 18-200 vs the 18-270. IMMEDIATELY, I noticed much quicker focus-lock (at any focal-length) with the SIGMA, and upon viewing them on the PC, much sharper results. I'd have to try another 18-270 to be sure if I got a bad one or not, but at this point, my sale goes to Sigma.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I hesitated about ordering on-line after reading about the zoom-creep and the slow focusing under poor light conditions. I bought the lens locally where I could easily return it if there were problems. I have never been happier with a lens. The photos have been very sharp throughout the range of focal lengths. I am using it with a Nikon D60 which I bought to use as a lightweight SLR/Lens combo. I have not found zoom creep too be a significant problem.
Having used other (Nikor) VR telephoto lens, I knew that auto-focus could be slow under poor light conditions. This can be frustrating if you are trying to capture an action with quick shots.
The solution has been simple and has helped me to get better photos than if I was using auto-focus. Turn the VR switch to the on position, and turn the AF switch to the off position. Simply, focus the old fashioned way. I zoom in on the subject and adjust the focus so the subject is in sharp focus. Then I zoom back to compose the photo. When I hit the shutter release, I get an instant exposure, under the poorest light conditions.
By using manual focus, I have regained control over my photos to a degree that was never the same when using an auto-focus lens. No longer is the lens focusing on some far away object when my subject was off center in the composition. All of us would be better photographers if we quit depending upon auto-focus to do all the thinking for us. It never knows exactly what we are trying to do.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
Saw this review [...] by accident and decided I'd love the range and freedom from multiple lenses in situations like this week's visit to Disney World. A lens-specific search on Flickr kicked back some pretty impressive images (especially a long shot of El Escorial in Spain at night).
So far ... 500+ images into the experience, I'm more than happy. During a visit to Animal Kingdom Park I was able to get some fantastic shots with my Nikon D90, and the lens, surprising for me, performed extremely well with the camera on the sports mode setting.
The one drawback is the autofocus - slow or non-existent even in not-so-low lighting conditions, and compared to Nikon's 70-300mm lens (I tried them interchangeably). On the other hand I get the impression the AF does lock on more quickly in good light than either of the 4 Nikon lenses I've used. FWIW.
So ... though I may miss the extra 30mm in some shooting situations vs. the Nikon 70-300 the tradeoff in mobility and weight in "walk around" situations makes this an absolute keeper - especially with the ability nowadays to correct digitally all the minor aberrations introduced by such extreme optics.
Highly recommended!
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I, like many struggled between a couple of lense choices for my new Nikon D90. The Nikon 18-200 seemed a safe choice but I really was facinated by the technology incorporated in the Vibration Compensation and the 15X magnification. A local pro had just got the lense and couldn't speak more highly of it for me (who wanted a all-in-one-lense). I decided to take what seemed to me, was a big risk and ordered the Tamron with my D90. While waiting for the order to arrive, I second guessed myself many times. Finially Christmas arrived and the lense exceeded my expectations in every demension. The Pro warned me that there is a stiff spot in the zoom by design. I felt the spot but it was less than the test unit I tried locally. The somewhat slow zoom in very low light is there, but then again I was forewarned that any zoom of this aperature range will have the same hesitation. I found it to be slight. I have used this lense now for two full months and have learned to use it well in all lighting conditions. It is truly a marvel of engineering. Not all of my "risks" have turned our well but this decision has been one I have never regretted. If you buy this lense and are knlowledgable about these minor limitations you will be happy. You will not be able to afford a lense that does all this lense does that eliminates all its imperfections. Truly fine Build and image quality.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I was shopping around for an all in one consumer grade lens. After a lot of research, I settled for the Tamron 18-270 and Nikon 18-200m. Both the Tamron and Nikon lens, have both very high quality look and feel. Out of the box, bought didn't have the lens creep and Tamron has the lens locking mechanism. I tested this using a Nikon D80 and D40 camera body. When I tested on an outdoor sunny environment. The performance of both is stellar. Shots were sharp and have nice colors. Autofocus on both is speedy and focused. VR and VC works really well. In the outdoor environment, I would give a plus for Tamron. The extra 70mm is really helpful.
In an indoor environment, once its low light. The auto focus of the Tamron goes haywire, I can only get focus 1/3 of the time. For candid shots the Tamron is not very useful as I have to press the shutter a few times to get focus. The Nikon on the other hand, is more responsive and get focus better then the Tamron.
After 3 days of testing I returned the Tamron and kept the Nikon. I really loved the extra 70mm. However the auto focus problem of the Tamron is a deal breaker for me.
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This review is from: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens with Built in Motor for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Electronics)
I bought this lens two weeks ago to pair with my Nikon D-50. The zoom on it is impressive. I have taken some excellent pictures with it. However, it does suffer from the following (at least with my Nikon D-50):
*some lens creep (you get used to this minor annoyance).
*failure to gain autofocus lock in low light conditions past 60mm.
*failure to gain autofocus in outdoor bright conditions at or around maximum 270mm zoom.
You will definitely miss some great photos if you try to zoom past 60mm indoors and capture your kids blowing out their birthday candles. If you stay below 50mm to 60mm indoors you should be fine with action shots. I would not worry much about outdoor shots. You will be fine with this lens outdoors. Since I have learned to compensate for some of the deficiencies of the lens, I have decided to keep it because I think its pros outweigh its cons. I have also used the Nikon 18-200 VR lens, and this lens takes as good or better shots. However, the Nikon does a better job of autofocusing in all conditions.
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