Camera Labs

This is my first post so I thought why not start by adding another lens to the lens gallery. Here is a quick review and some pictures I’ve taken on my ‘Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR DI VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro’ (model A20) on my Canon EOS 450D.

I’m not going to list all the lens specification because it’s easy enough to look on Tamron’s web site. Instead I’ll spend my time listing the pros and cons of the lens, although the lists may be short! I’m new to SLR photography so excuse my simple terminology!

Pros

Compact
Fairly light
Excellent zoom range
Excellent all-round travel lens
Vibration compensation is excellent although not as smooth as Canon’s IS
Minimum focus distance of 0.49m
Well made, feels solid particularly compared to the Canon 18-55 IS kit lens (I see that one getting replaced soon!).

Cons

Lens extends to full zoom when carrying if not locked
Very slow to focus in low light on full zoom
Purple-fringing and slight blurring in corners on full zoom


You can click on 'Original Image' to display the original file but beware they are large files (between 3-7 MB).

1) Taken at Silverstone British Superbikes.
300mm, Tv, 1/800, F6.3, ISO 400, VC on, AI Servo AF, no editing.

Original Image



2) Full zoom macro shot.
300mm, Av, 1/2000, F7.1, ISO 400, VC on, no editing.

Original Image



3) Taken on Stanage Edge in the Peak District.
33mm, A-DEP, 1/640, F5.6, ISO 200, VC on, processed from RAW.

Original Image


4) Baby Marmottes at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire.
300mm, Program AE, 1/400, F7.1, ISO 320, VC on, slightly cropped to remove rear of another Marmotte!

Original Image



5) The Moon from my back garden!
300mm, Program AE, 1/30, F6.3, Spot metering, - 1/3 EV, manual focus, VC off, RAW processed image and cropped.

Original Image




Thanks for looking

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Canon EOS 450D
Canon 18-55mm IS
Tamron 28-300mm VC (A20)
Canon A710IS & Waterproof Case

Thanks for sharing! A cracking start to your forum life here at CameraLabs so it is a great pleasure to bid you a warm welcome.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Welcome
Great pictures, especially the moon shot!
I need to try some moon and star photography once the skies over Denmark is gone (Could be a while ._.)
Thanks for sharing.

0eyvind

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Sonyian?

My Flickr - Comments very welcome
Gear: a200, Sony 18-70 3.5-5.6 DT, Minolta 50 1.7 AF, Lowepro TLZ Mini, GorillaPod SLR Zoom
Saving for Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Macro II (50%)

Many thanks for posting these pictures. I've been considering this lens and it's good to see some results from it - and very nice they are, too!

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Chris
Lofou, Limassol
Cyprus

Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM, Canon EF 35-80mm 4-5.6 III, Canon EF 50mm 1.4 USM, Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC

Thanks for the positive comments. I posted the pictures and the review because I spent ages searching the net for sample pictures from this lens before buying it. So I decided I would put a few samples on to help people out, particularly as this lens wasn't included in the lens gallery.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures from Twycross Zoo. All pictures are taken hand held. I haven't included the orignal full size versions this time. I tried to include a range of focal lengths from this lens, although still lacking some below 100mm.

There are some more superbike photo's here: http://www.momark.plus.com/cameralabs/sports/. If you save them to you PC, you can then view the EXIF info.

Enjoy!

6) A Lemur of some description!
200mm, Program AE, 1/200, F5.6, ISO 800, VC on, through glass! Some contrast adjustment to compensate for glass reflections.



7) More Marmottes!
300mm, Program AE, 1/400, F7.1, ISO 500, VC on, no editing.



8) A giraffe (obviously) indoors (again fairly obvious)
100mm, Program AE, 1/60, F5.0, ISO 400, flash on, VC on, no editing.



9) Amur Leopard - very rare only approx 150 left in wild.
100mm, Program AE, 1/100, F5.6, ISO 640, VC on, through dirty glass with rain on! Some contrast adjustment to compensate for glass reflections.



10) Amur Leopard again - my favourite I took that day.
300mm, Program AE, 1/160, F6.3, ISO 800, VC on, through dirty glass with rain on! Some contrast adjustment to compensate for glass reflections.





Just to emphasise, all these were taken hand held mostly in poor light. It shows how much the vibration compensation really helps. Well worth paying the extra money to get VC.

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Canon EOS 450D
Canon 18-55mm IS
Tamron 28-300mm VC (A20)
Canon A710IS & Waterproof Case

Wow! I really like the last picture a lot "posing tiger". I can't believe how beautiful the image was taken. great job.
You could sell this picture

Edited: When you see the larger view of the first and second pictures there is a "CA" showing on the shiny areas of the motorcycle and the edges of the flower! blue color...
Why, it is not good thought!

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I love cameras ... to keep my memories alive !

Thank you, I love the picture too. Would you like to buy a print?

I wish I could have taken the picture without the glass window in between me and the Leopard! I should get the chance in a couple of weeks because I'm going to Kenya on Safari



I agree about the CA, it appears mainly at full zoom towards the corners. The corners also get a bit softer. I was aware of this before I bought the lens. You can't expect perfect optics in a lens with such a wide focal range in this price range.

I'm pleased with the lens for the money, if I had lots of money spare I would buy a canon L series lens!

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Canon EOS 450D
Canon 18-55mm IS
Tamron 28-300mm VC (A20)
Canon A710IS & Waterproof Case

Good luck



Good luck

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I love cameras ... to keep my memories alive !