Tamron AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro DSLR Lens
The Tamron 18-250mm Macro lens Model A18 is a fantastic all around lens that has the features needed in one lens for those great picture taking field trips.
Ease of Use, Performance: 21/25, Look & Feel: 21/25,
Features 22/25, How much I enjoy 21/25
Total: 85/100
Tamron is a lens manufacturing company that has delved into the world of lenses for other camera manufacturers like Canon, Sony and Nikon and done pretty well for themselves. They have been making SLR lenses since 1950 and CCTV lenses since 1965 so the company is well established with plenty of manufacturing history and experience.
While the Tamron name may not be well known to the amateur photographer they do make the rounds of the professionals such as Bob Atkins and Shelton Muller. Tamron manufactures lenses specifically for digital SLR cameras with different sensor sizes to take advantage of the camera specific features and qualities.
The Tamron 18-250mm lens that I received for reviewing is a great lens that combines the best of macro and zoom lens technology. The Tamron AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical Macro DSLR Lens is great at close up work as well as wide angle broad scenic work and pretty much everything in between.
As a matter of fact I liked this lens so much that I decided to add it to my growing photography equipment collection. I purchased the lens because it is a good lens and has a lot of qualities that make for a great all in one lens in the field and a fantastic macro lens for my product shots.
The Tamron 18-250mm lens provides a 13.8x zoom range from 18mm to 250mm producing an equivalent field of view of approximately 27mm to 375mm. Currently this is said to be the highest power zoom range for digital SLR lenses on the market.
I did some comparison shooting with a Canon 75-300mm zooms lens and the standard 18-55mm lens that came with my EOS Rebel XSi and found the Tamron compared very favorably with the two. Of course I did not have to changes lenses when I went from the wide angle shots of the 18mm with the Tamron to the close in work of 250mm compared to my two Canon lenses.
The Tamron A18 lens has a maximum aperture of f3.5 to f6.3 and an approximate 75 to 6 degree field of view depending on the focal length. The lens is 3.3 inches long when fully seated and 2.9 inches in diameter weighing a little over 15 ounces for a compact and easily portable lens.