First shots with the Tamron 18-270 mm. AF 3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD ASL Canon AF

GSPeP · February 2, 2009

I bought the Tamron 18-270 mm. lens to be used on my old EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). That's the camera I take with me on my motorcycle trips. Until now I used the 28-135 IS, but missed the wider angle and longer zoom. I also don't want to change lenses when I'm on a trip or at a motorcycle meeting.

The first results were really bad ... unsharp and after 4 to 5 pictures always got an "Error 99". After checking here on the forum, I cleaned the contacts and all is working fine now.

I already tried it on the 1D MkIII, but up to 200 mm. one gets very nice black corners. It's a lens for a 1.6 crop camera.

OK, some pictures now:

It's of the church in my village. The tower has this particular shape, because a "sharp pointy" roof was not allowed. It would get in the line of fire of the guns in the WW One fortress that is part of the defensive circle around the city of Antwerp.
Although it was sunny, it was -2°C when I took these last saturday afternoon.

18 mm.

100 mm.

200 mm.

270 mm.

Another one at 18 mm.

... and at 270 mm.

Some more testshots: http://gspep.smugmug.com/gallery/7183982_hY8eA

Scott_Quier · February 2, 2009

Well, from here it looks like you have a winner! The 270mm shot is astonishing - at least when viewed on my laptop.

Rocketman766 · February 2, 2009

From a novice who is looking for a good all-around lense, I like what I see. Loved how the blades on the helicopter looked really frozen (to my novice eyes at least...) Now, not sure if my calling this an "all-around" lense is correct or not, but what prompts me is my experience last weekend. I was using a 70-200 f2.8 USM to shoot a cheer event and missed SOOOOOOOOO many close up shots/candid shots because I hadn't been able to swap lenses yet.... really needed a wide angle at many times. *Not looking to use this in place of the 70-200 f2.8 while the girls are performing, but to carry with me for the times between routines..

Scott_Quier · February 2, 2009

Rocketman766 wrote:

From a novice who is looking for a good all-around lense, I like what I see. Loved how the blades on the helicopter looked really frozen (to my novice eyes at least...) Now, not sure if my calling this an "all-around" lense is correct or not, but what prompts me is my experience last weekend. I was using a 70-200 f2.8 USM to shoot a cheer event and missed SOOOOOOOOO many close up shots/candid shots because I hadn't been able to swap lenses yet.... really needed a wide angle at many times. *Not looking to use this in place of the 70-200 f2.8 while the girls are performing, but to carry with me for the times between routines..

The frozen helicopter blades are more a function of the shutter speed (1/2000) than it is of the quality of the lens. The fact that the rest of the helicopter is sharp (mostly) is a better measure of the quality of the glass.

GSPeP · February 3, 2009

The helicopter was shot in the "sport mode" of the 300D. So the camera did all the settings for me.

I tested this setting to see if the lens worked well in the beginning, and to have a look at the focussing speed. It's not the fastest lens, but it's enough for what I want to use it. After 5 shots I got the error 99 message. That was before I cleaned the contacts.

Just found out the helicopter was flown by a friend who got his pilot license two weeks ago. It was his first real "long" flight after getting it.

sherijohnson · February 3, 2009

good shots, thank you for sharing them with us

zoomer · February 4, 2009

Those look a heck of a lot better than I expected.
Nice purchase, you should get a lot of good use out of that baby!!

Photobycate · February 4, 2009

Tac sharp at both ends. Terrific.

GSPeP wrote:

I bought the Tamron 18-270 mm. lens to be used on my old EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). That's the camera I take with me on my motorcycle trips. Until now I used the 28-135 IS, but missed the wider angle and longer zoom. I also don't want to change lenses when I'm on a trip or at a motorcycle meeting.

The first results were really bad ... unsharp and after 4 to 5 pictures always got an "Error 99". After checking here on the forum, I cleaned the contacts and all is working fine now.

I already tried it on the 1D MkIII, but up to 200 mm. one gets very nice black corners. It's a lens for a 1.6 crop camera.

OK, some pictures now:

It's of the church in my village. The tower has this particular shape, because a "sharp pointy" roof was not allowed. It would get in the line of fire of the guns in the WW One fortress that is part of the defensive circle around the city of Antwerp.
Although it was sunny, it was -2°C when I took these last saturday afternoon.

18 mm.

100 mm.

200 mm.

270 mm.

Another one at 18 mm.

... and at 270 mm.

Some more testshots: http://gspep.smugmug.com/gallery/7183982_hY8eA

thegridrunner · February 4, 2009

what was the aperture setting when you took all those pictures? I am curious what the pictures would look like if you take them with the aperture wide open.

GSPeP · February 5, 2009

From the pictures above:

18 mm. f/10.0
100 mm. f/9.0
200 mm. f/8.0
270 mm. f/8.0

18 mm. f/10.0
270 mm. f/6.3

Cameradial on the 300D (Digital Rebel) was on "P" so aperture and shutter was set by the camera.

Rocketman766 · February 6, 2009

Before I jump out and make a quick purchase, I wanted to make sure I am thinking about the right lens here. Is the lens that took these pics the same one as this one? I am using a Canon Xsi and just noticed the AF in the thread title. I am still so new that I don't know the difference between all the different camera body styles and models... also, if I do have the lens in question here, then would there be any reason to own the Canon 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens?

GSPeP · February 8, 2009

Yes, it is the same lens.

The AF in the title just means that it is "for Canon Auto Focus"

I can not help you with the 55-250 lens, because I have no experience with it. But I would say that if you are happy with the Tamron, there would be no need to have the Canon 55-250.

Rocketman766 · February 8, 2009

Thank you for clearing that up for me, seems so simple once I saw your responce, but still had to ask....

First shots with the Tamron 18-270 mm. AF 3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD ASL Canon AF

Comments