Tamron Superzoom

I haven’t really done much proper photography lately. These things do tend to wax and wane though so no doubt I’ll go on some photo-walks soon and get back into it. One of the reasons has been that my array of lenses has been less than ideal for a while. Originally for my Canon EOS 450d camera, I had the stock 18-55mm canon  lens, along with a Tamron 70-300mm zoom. I also treated myself to a very nice Canon f/2.8 60mm prime lens. All of which are perfect for serious photography and have their various uses. Unfortunately though the autofocus stopped working on the 18-55mm lens so I was stuck with focal lengths from 60-300mm only, these actually give effective focal lengths of 96-480mm. This meant that I was sadly lacking in the wider angle aspect with my photography. It also meant that using the camera for general photography such as family events, snapshots and many portrait situations wasn’t really possible. You can see where I’m going with this – I needed a new wide angle lens! Now, I’ve always wanted the Canon 10-22mm wide angle zoom lens which looks like a gorgeous piece of glass, but now that my 18-55mm was out of action getting the 10-22mm lens would still have left me with quite a substantial gap in the 22-60mm (35-96mm effective) range which is quite a vital range of focal lengths for general photography. So, it was time for a rethink. Whilst it would be nice to have a wide range of lenses, such as a 10-22mm, a 22-55mm, my 60mm prime lens and a 70-300mm telephoto zoom it often isn’t practical, let alone affordable. Yes, it’s nice when out taking photos of specific things and really concentrating on the art of photography, but for general all-round photography whilst doing something else, it can be quite a pfaff. This is where super zoom lenses come into their own. You could of course argue that just taking a good quality compact camera with me would be better, or maybe a new micro 4/5ths format camera, but again having too many cameras is not only impractical but also expensive. Maybe a single lens with a huge focal length range would suite me better? That way I could still use my dSLR for general photography and get the control and quality that I want, but with just a single lens.

Tamron Superzoom

I looked around, read the reviews and decided that the Tamron Superzoom 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II PZD LD (Yep, it’s certainly a mouthful!) might just fit the bill. It wasn’t ridiculously expensive (although not cheap either), but it would certainly replace my broken 18-55 and would almost cover the focal length range of my 70-300mm lens too. The Tamron Superzoom – One lens to rule them all? So, I decided that the Tamron Superzoom would be what I’d go for. I put it on my Christmas list and Anna decided to buy it for me as a joint birthday and Christmas present. I also decided to sell my Tamron 70-300mm lens at the same time as it would in effect be surplus to requirements. The 70-300mm lens went straight on eBay and I managed to sell it in no time at all to someone fairly local from the Tywyn Photographers. Being local they were able to collect in person which made the sell nice and easy. Anna ordered the Tamron Superzoom lens and I had it for my birthday. I haven’t experimented fully with it yet, but it seems pretty good. It certainly covers the range of focal lengths that I need and will probably end up being the lens that is on my camera by default. With such a wide range of focal lengths it means I can just pick up the camera and shoot away. I’ve still got my 60mm prime lens for certain situation and for macro use, but the Tamron Superzoom should cover pretty much everything else. It seems fast enough with its f/3.5-6.3 aperture which is always a bonus. The autofocus is fairly quiet, and much faster than it was on the 70-300mm lens, it seems accurate as well.

Tamron Superzoom Vibration Control (VC)

It does also have Vibration Control (VC). There is a slight oddity with this though. As you press the shutter release button in a little way the camera autofocuses as it should, but then a little while afterwards the VC kicks in and as it does so the image you see through the viewfinder jumps a little. It’s a fairly pronounced jump and therefore obvious, and the lag between the lens obtaining focus and the VC kicking in is a little disconcerting. It can also lead to terribly blurred photos if you don’t wait for the the VC to stabilise. If you simply press the shutter release button, wait for focusing to be achieved and then press the shutter release button fully, it is quite likely that the photo will be taken just as the VC kicks in, this moves the image as it does so and therefore blurs the final photograph. This also seems to be the case if you are taking a photo using a self-timer mode with the camera mounted on a tripod. Thankfully, the Tamron Superzoom allows you to can easily turn off the VC via a little switch on its side.

Vibration Control (VC) switch

Vibration Control (VC) switch

Turning the VC off is probably recommended when taking self-timer mode photos with the camera on a tripod – you shouldn’t need the VC with the camera on a tripod anyway. As far as other shots go it may be better to leave the VC switched off by default and only turn it on if you are taking dimly lit photos where you’ll need a longer exposure than the reciprocal of the focal length at which you are shooting. Under these circumstances turning on VC should help reduce camera shake, but you will have to remember to allow the VC to stabilise before actually releasing the shutter. Other than the VC issues, the lens does seem to tick all of the boxes. It is fairly small in dimensions, lightweight but well built and does most of what I need it to do. It should be quite w revelation to have just one lens that covers such a wide-range of focal lengths and hopefully the Tamron Superzoom will indeed be one lens to rule them all for me…. Most of the time anyway, or at least until I can afford that Canon 10-22mm wide angle lens!

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Alan Cole

Alan is a Freelance Website Designer, Sports & Exercise Science Lab Technician and full time Dad & husband with far too many hobbies: Triathlete, Swimming, Cycling, Running, MTBing, Surfing, Windsurfing, SUPing, Gardening, Photography.... The list goes on.

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