Tamron announces 15x zoom lens for Nikon, Canon DSLRs

28mm - 419mm equivalent lens on a 35mm camera

Tamron announces 15x zoom lens for Nikon, Canon DSLRs – Engadget

I have always been a believer that the best Nikon lens are the ones made by Nikon themselves. You do pay a premium for them but always worth the money.

“This lens could knock Nikon’s 18-200 VR out the water…”

This beast from Tamron has given me pause for thought. It has a 15x zoom range which is unheard of in the SLR world which gives the travelling photographer a huge advantage by not having to carry many lenses around with him. My current ‘all-rounder’ lens is the excellent 18-200mm VR by Nikon. Because of it’s wide zoom range and VR stability it is easily the most practical and versatile lens I have but this Tamron could potentially knock it out the water….BUT there have always been build & glass quality issues with Sigma and Tamron lenses.That is not to say these lenses are bad, they are certainly worth the money you pay for yet consistently they are always being outperformed by Nikon glass. It is that old money VS quality factor which all of us faces in any passion we persue… even women

A member of Engadget called Razor posted something that summed up a good reason for choosing (or not choosing) this lens.

This is meant mainly as a travel lens, much like the Nikkor 18-200 VR. I don’t think Tamron is marketing this as a replacement for primes, or “pro-level” zooms. It cannot give perfect image quality. I’ll wait to see photo samples before I pass judgment.

My principle concern is build quality. Overall I am not impressed with how Tamron builds lenses, but I’m spoiled on glass like my Nikkor 70-200 2.8 VR, or my Nikkor 105 2.8 VR.

I think there are a good deal of photographers who buy fast lenses for the wrong reasons, like shooting wide-open all the time to avoid flash use.

My point, is that stopping down is often necessary and a f6.3 on the tele-end is not necessarily a deal breaker for portability.

I shall be keeping a close eye on this lens and keep you folks informed.

Other sites covering this lens are:

Popphoto.com

DPReview.com – as always DPReview have gone into some detail and is an excellent read.