Customer Reviews:
 Awesome! August 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This lens is simply fantastic. I've used it to shoot my kids swimming, indoor shots of family/friends and at a wedding inside a church. In each case, this lens performed superbly (action shots, portraits, indoors, etc.). The zoom has an incredible range and I've taken great shots at both ends; I really think this lens will remain on my Rebel XTi for the foreseeable future. Also, my wife was impressed with a number of my shots (and she's VERY critical of me and "my toys"). Based on this, I'm going to sell my other two Tamron lenses (17-35mm I think and 28-85mm). If you're thinking of getting this lens, just do it--if you're like me, you'll wonder why you waited so long.
Just Get It July 4, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This has been rated elsewhere as the best all-around lens on the market, and I fully agree. The only thing that would make it better would be if it had image stabilization of course. For the way we use a lens like this , the IS is not as huge of a factor as one might think. I have Canon's 100-400MM 'L' lens, and with that lens and application the IS is extremely helpful. But then that is a $1600.00 lens so you can see what a bargain the Tamron lens is. The pros don't really like the Tamron 28-300 lens with the vibration reduction or 'VR' since they say it has some issues at the high end which is where we use a lens like that. Using a high enough shutter speed (like 350-400) and sound shutter technique is enough to get outstanding pictures from the 18-250 Tamron lens. It really is like shooting a gun you know. Press the shutter so slowly that you don't know when it goes off. Let the flesh of your finger compress as you take the picture. Also, a tripod or a monopod goes a long way toward absolutely perfect pictures. As one pro said to me, "this lens is way passed what we expected of it; it is just 'tack sharp'"
 Surprisingly good lens June 6, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a surprisingly good lens for such a large zoom range.
First, the pros:
* Wonderful zoom range giving you high flexibility.
* Very nice color rendition. Colors come out vivid and vibrant.
* Unexpectedly good sharpness. When stopped down (probably f8 or so), the sharpness comes quite close to what I get with my Canon 50mm f1.8. I was blown away when I saw that 100% crop.
* Build quality is very decent, doesnt have that plastic feel. Zoom lock at 18mm is a plus if you don't want you lens shaking around.
Cons:
* Not a fast lens but everyone knows that. Do not expect to shoot your kid's indoor hockey game with this vacation lens. It's just not gonna happen. Well, it does but you'll have to compromise on image quality a lot. I don't think this is such a big deal because you can't possibly expect a f2.8 or so on a 18-250mm zoom.
* Focus tends to be a bit off on the wide end but it is easily corrected by zooming in to get a good focus and zooming back out. It's actually fun to do sometimes.
If you have one, do this as a test for focus accuracy. Select the center focus point (do not leave it on auto select). Zoom out to 18-30mm, focus on something, say a flower. Zoom in to 250mm and take a look, see how sharp the subject is.
* Barrel distortion from about 18-24mm, especially unbearable at 18mm. This means no shooting of architectural structure with lots of vertical and horizontal lines near the edges without having them look like fat barrels. This can be corrected with softwares btw. Beyond 24mm this is negligible.
Overall I'm very happy with the quality of the pictures I get with this lens. I never expected it to be fast. Focus can be worked on. And barrel distortion doesn't annoy me that much (well I don't really shoot buildings).
There you go. Hope it helps.
 Tamron 18-250 mm macro lens for Canon cameras March 29, 2008
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
lens produced good quality pictures, but lock tab to prevent lens from extending when camera is carried is useless after several uses. Spend a little more money and avoid the hassle.
Almost Perfect March 29, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This lens is a close to a "does it all" lens that you could ask for. The only wish I could have for this lens would be the addition of image stabilization. Otherwise I find it a wonderful walk around and vacation travel lens for my camera. I don't go anywhere without it.
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