Edge sharpness deteriorates somewhat, only reaching fair levels at f/8, very good sharpness at f/11 and dropping off again to good at f/16, fair at f/22 and poor at f/32. CA is still at a very low central level and the edges rather better than at 18mm.Īt 70mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/5 to f/11, very good at f/16, fair at/22 and poor at f/32. At the edges, open aperture is fair, sharpening to a good level at f/5.6, very good at f/8 to f/16, falling again to fair at f/22 and poor at f/29. CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well controlled at the centre, but will be obvious at the edges, especially in subjects such as tree branches against bright sky.Īt 35mm, central sharpness is again excellent from open aperture to f/11, very good at f/16, falling to fair at f/22 and poor at f/29. The edges lag some way behind, reaching very good levels from f/5.6 to f/11 but being just fair to good from open aperture to f/4, good at f/16 but poor at f/22. It is still very good at f/16 and only drops to fair at f/22. At 18mm, central sharpness is excellent, approaching outstanding, from open aperture through to f/11. Sharpness varies over the lens range, but from the start it is clear that higher levels of performance will be found at the centre of the image and at shorter focal lengths. The optical construction is 16 elements in 14 groups, including one LD (Low Dispersion) element. If a careful composition has been made on a tripod, for example, this means that slight re-composition may be needed when a half press on the shutter release is made. When switched off, the lens groups are held electromagnetically, which has the side effect of making the viewfinder image jump slightly into position as the camera is activated. I would add that when shooting fast moving subjects at fast shutter speeds it could be better switched off anyway, as the one second acquisition time could mean missing the moment. Here the instructions are quite clear that when used on a tripod, VC should be switched off. The VC system is interesting, using the movement of a group of lens elements to control the effects of camera shake. Focus is acquired efficiently and swiftly with little or no hunting. The front element does not rotate, making use of polarising filters much easier.įocusing is via a DC motor, which is fast and silent in operation. The lens has internal focus, so does not extend, but the front focusing ring does rotate so needs to be kept free to move. Maximum magnification is a useful 1:4 so close focusing is not a problem. The 18-200mm range is equivalent to 28.8-320mm on the Canon body, 27-300mm on a Nikon body, in 35mm format terms. The lens is described as “moisture resistant” which is a wonderfully vague phrase that I take to mean it will survive light rain if used with due care. The provided lens hood clicks securely into place via a bayonet mount that surrounds the 62mm filter thread. The only other controls are an AF/MF selector and an on/off switch for the VC system. The fairly wide zoom ratio means the lens extends some way forwards when moving to full zoom and a lock is provided to ensure the lens does not extend during carrying. This balances well with the Canon EOS 600D body used for this review. The use of high quality plastics in the construction, including the mount, gives us a lens that weighs only 400g. Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC Handling and Features Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably.
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