First impression with my Tamron 18-270mm Di-II VC

[atulsc]

I received my new Tamron 18-270mm Di-II VC (well almost new,bought it one month old with original receipt on ebay for CA$550 after customs and taxes) this afternoon, so took it out for some trial shots this evening. This is my first upgrade and i've never tried any other gear but my Nikon D60 18-55 kit

Here are few shots...straight from my SD card on to DPS..

a close up under fluorescent light..


a well lit building in low light condition



another low light shot from quite a distance




Pushing it to extreme 270mm , 1600 ISO, f6.3,no flash, indoor shot taken from first floor of the building looking at the ground.. distance approx 40ft from the subject



so here's "my" first impression
- Seems to serve my purpose of having good zoom.

- VC is good, considering i've very shaky hands (all shots were hand held)

- Both my wrists are aching after about 50+ shots having shot with only 18-55 kit lens, in other words it feels heavy without practice. And Nikon D60 is too small for this lens, its difficult to grip with one hand if the lens is extended. adds good weight to your kit.

-zoom ring movement is hard especially in the mid range, i'd read about this in the reviews so that's true. Amount of Zoom you get as i saw it is very good.

- Noisy, you can very clearly hear the focus ring moving, VC motor and internal focusing
but not a real problem.

- No issues found with auto focus in low light as i'd read before i'll put it to some more testing to confirm this.

- Length at 18mm is very close to nikon 18-55mm kit lens that's very convenient. Fits into my Karrimor waist pouch(slightly oversized one,i use it when i've to carry only my camera and other small stuff) even with the hood on!!! so easy storage.

- Close up shots will require some practice switching from a small lens. I kept going beyond the shortest focusing distance in an attempt to get a good close up.

- Gives very nice shallow DoF without any effort. should be very useful for portraits and table top shots.

- Felt the need for a Tripod/monopod instantly.

That's as much i can say after one hour usage, I hope that helps few readers thinking about this lens, i'll try to come up with a detailed review if i get the time to do it before i drop the idea of writing one;-)

Here's a link to the whole set
Picasa Web Albums - AC - Tamron 18-270...

comments, suggestions, questions and tips from users of Tamron lens are welcome.

[butch3r]

Thanks for the review! I think you have a good lens! Thanks for sharing!

[Fred flyfisher]

Great work AC, the images sure do look good. Thanks for the review.

[dionzero]

Nice review... Im planning to buy a new lens my self... Nice test shots!!!TFS

[atulsc]

Originally Posted by butch3r

Thanks for the review! I think you have a good lens! Thanks for sharing!

It looks like that.. hope i have a good run with it.

Originally Posted by Fred flyfisher

Great work AC, the images sure do look good. Thanks for the review.

Thanks Fred.

Originally Posted by dionzero

Nice review... Im planning to buy a new lens my self... Nice test shots!!!TFS

Thanks dion, do some read up yourself see what suits you best, my criteria of buying this was "an all rounder lens with a good zoom" so i dont have to buy too many lenses. It seems to help me with that. I'm not very picky about the brands.

[SoxAddict]

Great review and nice shots!

[atulsc]

Originally Posted by SoxAddict

Great review and nice shots!

Thanks sox..

[bradzo66]

Cool , I had one of these lens' and thought it was great .Ha ha , I just broke it , did a u-turn a little too quick and it launched itself into the floor of the car , ha ha ha . Its dead !! Nice work. Funnily its the lightest zoom lens I have used , by far .

[CaptainNH]

Some nice shots and a great review/resource for someone in the market for a versatile one-stop-shop lens.

I like the triptych in the last shot - I see they deliver, I wonder if they'd deliver to Sydney

[atulsc]

Originally Posted by bradzo66

Cool , I had one of these lens' and thought it was great .Ha ha , I just broke it , did a u-turn a little too quick and it launched itself into the floor of the car , ha ha ha . Its dead !! Nice work. Funnily its the lightest zoom lens I have used , by far .

If I come up with a more formal review, i should consult you then. Thanks Bradzo.

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

Some nice shots and a great review/resource for someone in the market for a versatile one-stop-shop lens.

I like the triptych in the last shot - I see they deliver, I wonder if they'd deliver to Sydney

That's right niel, that was my idea of buying this lens, I wanted a "jack of all trades, king of......" just like myself
Glad that you found it useful.