Nikon Reviews

Like so many other amateur photographers, I grew weary of ALWAYS having to bring along a slew of lenses when I travel. Even a two-zoom outfit comprising 28-70 and a 75-300 mm. lenses sometimes became wearisome, as there are times when changing lenses *at all* is simply too much of a bother. So I took a chance and bought a Tamron 28-200 Super II all-in-one zoom. I picked Tamron because this is the company that consistently has been the leader in the design and manufacture of this type of lens

I have used the lens for over a year now and I have not been disappointed. For most situations and uses the optics are quite adequately sharp, and the convenience of the design is simply marvellous. The color rendition is good, the mechanics of the lens are solid and well-designed, and the snap-in lens cap design is ingenious.

So why not five stars? Well first of all, it should be pointed out that the Super II is no longer the latest or most compact 28-200 made by Tamron. Their newest version is actually so small that it uses 62 mm filters instead of the 72 mm. ones needed by the Super II. Second, there's no such thing as a "free lunch" in this world, and potential users of this type of lens should understand that there are tradeoffs when one uses one general purpose lens instead of several more specialized ones. For example, the maximum aperture is fairly slow (3.8 at the shortest focal length; 5.6 at 200 mm.) This can pose problems when shooting in low light or when trying to capture very fast action. Third, more critical users will surely notice that corner sharpness, particularly at wider apertures, is simply not as good as one would expect from top quality 28-70 or 70-210 zooms. Finally, images of buildings or other structures featuring straight lines and ninety degree angles will reveal some linear distortion. These shortcomings are unlikely to pose problems for the casual snapshooter, but if images are enlarged up to 11 x 14 or else one uses slide film for projection on a large screen, the compromises do sometimes become evident.

Not to dwell on the negative, however, overall, this lens has surprised me with the fine quality of its optics. As I look at the fine candids of my family that I've captured with this lens, I am convinced that this zoom has proven to be an excellent investment.

What a great lens. No longer need to carry around two lenses. Compact and great pictures.

I purchased Tamron AF 70-300mm LD lens for Canon over a month ago. The first roll of film was a bit of disappointing. I liked colors but some pictures lacked sharpness (fuzzy). After that I purchased introduction photography book published by Kodak and read it. Gained knowledge was invalueable. I used tripod and Kodak Gold 200 color print film. Pictures were developed on 5x7 photographs at York Photo Labs. All pictures of second roll turned out very nice and sharp (especially considering 200 film on 5x7 pictures). I even made picture of caterpillar in macro mode at 300 mm and f/8 and this turned out very nice as well. All pictures (including ones taken at focal length of 300 mm) turned out very nice. Ultra telephoto lens is demanding but wide-angle lens is forgiving. You have to consider it when you use telephoto lens. You need solid technique; otherwise, you might be disappointed if you take handheld pictures with lower shutter speeds. It is pretty hard to make sharp pictures even at 1/250 shutter speed and 200mm. Tripod works well though. The larger focal length the harder it gets. I would not feel comfortable with anything slower than 1/250s. Some people mentioned that f/8 gives better results. That is true pretty much for any lens. But at this aperture you need tripod when using ISO 100 films unless you are in sun. If you can't use tripod but you want to use this lens then you might use faster films (IS0 200 or ISO 400) to reduce camera shake. Build quality is good and great warranty gives you peace of mind. Customer service is quick too (don't worry my lens is not broken but I had some technical questions to Tamron). This lens is also sold as Nikon AF 70-300mm ED and users seem to enjoy it as well (even though they pay 100$ more). Focusing is kind of slow, especially in low-light conditions and at larger focal lengths (i.e. 300 mm). You can't blame lens for it because camera does focusing. At this low amount of light and narrow angle (7 degrees - camera gets not much lights through lens). It is not Tamron but nature of telephoto lens. This is why camera haunts in low-light conditions. Lens comes with lens hood (lens shade) so you don't have to buy one for this lens. Overall, I am very pleased with pictures and expect even better pictures on ISO 100 films and 4x6 prints. Use tripod as much as possible. Also cable release is recommended to reduce camera shake. Great lens for the money. Period.