Customer Reviews:
 Not very good April 14, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am a fairly serious photographer, and I have a pretty extensive lens selection. I wanted an all-in-one lens for days that I didn't have specific shoots planned, but wanted to keep a camera with me just in case. I have used Tamron lenses in the past, and the ones I've used have been pretty good. Unfortunately this one isn't nearly as nice.
The main issue I have with it is that it can't focus very well indoors. Now I realized before I bought the lens that it probably wouldn't focus that quickly, or quitely, but I'm telling you, it has real issues focusing in low light. Even with a speedlight attached to the camera it still has issues.
Sometimes even in good light it takes it a couple of passes to focus, so you have to really pay attention to make sure you're getting an in-focus picture.
 Good lens if there is a lot of light around. March 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I wanted an all-in-one type of lens and I didn't have much money to spend when I ran across this Tamron 18-200mm. I really would have liked to get the Tamron 28-75 but it didn't have quite the reach I wanted. The real reason I ended up with this lens is because it has a much lower resale value than the 28-75 and I was able to pick it up much cheaper than it's retail price on a very large well known auction website. For the price I paid I'm very happy with what I got. If I would have paid full retail I probably would have paid a little extra to get the 18-250 Tamron.
Now about the lens...
Pros:
-Focusing is pretty fast in good light.
-Pictures are sharp with plenty of contrast.
-The wide angle photos at 18mm using the Rebel XTI are still very wide. I can stand about 7-10 feet away from a 20 foot tall saguaro and get the top and bottom of the cactus in the picture no problem.
-200mm x 1.6 is equivalent to 320mm on the XTI which is a plenty of reach for most of what I want to do.
-Build quality is actually pretty good. The lens has good weight to it and feels like it's mostly made of metal, it's not cheap feeling at all.
- The end of the lens does not turn when focusing which makes it a good lens for Polarized filters.
Cons:
-It's slow. Especially zoomed all the way to 200mm the aperture is a max of 6.3. Hand-holding at 200mm in broad daylight with a polarized 2-stop filter I have to bump the ISO to 200 or 400 at times to make sure my pictures have enough shutter speed. If you're using a tripod this really isn't an issue.
-Auto-Focus is pretty loud.
-The manual focus rings turns when the lens auto-focuses and sometimes I accidentally have my hand on it, I'm afraid this may end up damaging the lens unless I can figure out a way to remind myself to take my hand off the barrel at all times.
-If you buy this brand new don't expect to get all of your money back if you decide to sell it later on. Like a new car, this lens drops about $100-$150 in resale value when you "take it off the lot".
Bottom Line:
If you can only afford 1 lens, and you want Wide angle and Telephoto, and you're going to be using the lens outdoors in lots of light, then this is a great lens. Look to buy this lens used if you can. You can save almost half the price used unlike the Tamron 28-75mm which keeps almost all of it's original value at auction.
I use it mostly for landscape pictures and I'm thrilled with the results but when the light starts to get lower during sunsets, or indoors, I either have to put this it on a tripod or switch lenses plain and simple.
At the price I picked it up at I rate this lens 4 stars. At the price listed here, I give it 3.
 all in one February 18, 2008
I was looking for a lens covering all my needs. Will the 18-200 do all the work ? I am pleased to see despite the wide range the Tamron is ginving me all I need and I have only one lens to carry.
It Depends On Your Needs December 20, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I like carrying this lens for non-critical missions where the range is handy, but it is not Tamron's best work. This is a 'Jack of all Trades' SNAPSHOT lens. If you can only go one lens for now, and want some zoom range, this one does a nice job at wider angles. It can be a little unsatisfying past 70mm where its apertures start demanding very good light on a tripod for best sharpness. Note that f6.3 at 200mm makes this a tough puppy to use for stop-action. In all cases, it is certainly better than Canon's insulting EOS 18-55mm kit lens, which I view as a unit that will train you in what bad glass is all about.
Tamron has what reviews as better options that I DON'T own, in 18-250mm and 28-300mm, the latter available with optical stabilization. Both cost more than this basic 18-200mm lens, for which I would be reluctant to pay anymore than $250 new or $200 used.
For a $550 budget, you can get Tamron's excellent 17-50mm f/2.8 ($440) PLUS a respectable 70-300mm f/4-5.5 telephoto ($140), both with macro capability. I own both and love the combination; the wide-angle copy is SUPERB. Odds are good the usual person will NOT miss the 51-69mm range. A Tamron 17-70mm is available, not rating as high as the 17-50mm. To do the same thing with Canon's nearest consumer equivalents, you'll need upwards of $1000, new, a maybe a banker to help.
Another sweet thing about Tamron is its 6-year USA warranty, which is NOT honored on gray market copies ... beware!!!
Best all-around lens December 14, 2007
I purchased a Tamron 10-200mm lens for my canon rebel when they first came on the market. This is a terrific all purpose lens for everyday shooting. The option of a macro and wide angle focus makes it very versatile and the lens is not cumbersome like my canon lens. It is a small compact lens with great capability. Sometimes I need to make camera adjustments for better performance but I enjoy the flexibility that this lens offers.This is a perfect lens to use when you don't want to lug a lot of additional lenses along. In most instances it will fit the bill for what you want.
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