Tamron 25-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 Review: Travel Light https://petapixel.com/2025/11/13/tamron-25-200mm-f-2-8-5-6-di-iii-vxd-g2-review-travel-light/ #sigma20200mmf3563dgcontemporary #tamron25200mmf2856g2 #Landscapephotogaphy #streetphotography #travelphotography #Travelzoomlens #Aizuwakamatsu #Superzoomlens #allinonelens #Equipment #Aizujapan #Reviews #aizu

Sigma Contemporary 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Review: A Lens with Broad Appeal https://petapixel.com/2025/11/01/sigma-contemporary-20-200mm-f-3-5-6-3-dg-review-a-lens-with-broad-appeal/ #fineartlandscapephotography #landscapephotography #Sigma20mm200mmf3563 #wildlifephotography #sigmacontemporary #streetphotography #travelphotography #Sigmaaizufactory #telephotolens #allinonelens #Mountbandai #Equipment #Aizujapan #superzoom #Reviews

Sigma 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 DC OS Review: A Long-Awaited Return https://petapixel.com/2025/03/13/sigma-16-300mm-f-3-5-6-7-dc-os-review-a-long-awaited-return/ #sigma16300mmf3567dcoscontemporary #adventuretravelphotographer #vacationphotography #travelphotography #tamron18300f3563 #thirdpartylens #allinonelens #Equipment #Reviews

Sigma Supports APS-C with a 16-300mm f/3.5-6.7 All-In-One Lens https://petapixel.com/2025/02/23/sigma-supports-aps-c-with-a-16-300mm-f-3-5-6-7-all-in-one-lens/ #sigma16300mmf3567 #allinonelens #allinonezoom #Equipment #sigmalens #rfmount #emount #lmount #xmount #sigma #News #apsc

Hands-On With the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR: One Lens to Cover Them All https://petapixel.com/2024/03/26/hands-on-with-the-nikon-z-28-400mm-f-4-8-vr-one-lens-to-cover-them-all/ #travelphotography #allinonelens #nikonz28400 #versatility #Equipment #superzoom #Reviews #amateur #handson #nikonz #travel #nikon #News

Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Review: This Can’t Possibly Be Good, Can It?

The new Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for E-mount and X-mount is an all-in-one APS-C lens with the power of 16.6x zoom. These types of do-everything lenses have a tradition of being subpar, but Tamron may actually have what it takes to pull off a winner.

Design and Build Quality

While the 18mm to 300mm zoom range in an APS-C lens (27-450mm full-frame equivalent) is very handy for traveling, it’s hard to ignore its size and conclude it’s indeed a travel-friendly lens in a traditional sense. When Tamron calls it a “compact design” and “ideal for travel” in their marketing, I think it’s plain to see the company must be speaking comparatively against carrying a bag of lenses that match everything this all-in-one zoom does. It’s not compact, but I can see it being more compact overall than dealing with that.

The lens measures three inches (7.6 centimeters) in diameter and is 4.9 inches (12.4 centimeters) long when set to the 18mm focal length. Extending out to 300mm, the lens increases in length to eight inches (20.3 centimeters). Overall, the 18-300mm weighs in at one pound, six ounces (620 grams).

The exterior of the lens is plastic and has a large rubberized zoom ring on the end, a zoom lock switch, and a thin plastic focus ring. Although the lens does feature vibration compensation (VC), there is no on-off switch on the outside, nor is there an AF/MF switch or any other control; these are toggled using the camera’s menu system.

Tamron does mention the lens has a weather-sealed construction, including gaskets for the front element, zoom and focus rings, and rear mount. A lens that zooms out an extended three inches is sure to pick up some dust and moisture eventually, so it’s good to see Tamron add in protection here for when it’s collapsed. The front element features a fluorine coating for easy cleaning, which is nice but fairly standard.

Image Quality

Inside, the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 uses 19 elements in 15 groups, including three aspherical elements and four low dispersion elements. It even includes BBAR-G2 coating to fight ghosting and flaring, which sure enough I did not notice in my time with the lens.

It is certainly not the worst offender I’ve ever seen, but there is a little bit of chromatic aberration visible with this lens. For example, in my photos with the moon, there is slight green and purple fringing at its edge. Overall I don’t find it very concerning and honestly, I would have expected much worse from an all-in-one zoom lens.

That being said, sharpness, or more specifically resolution, is definitely not going to be a strong suit of this lens. What is gained through a wildly incredible zoom range pays the price by being a touch soft in detail almost anywhere throughout. By that I mean it does have decent edge sharpness needed to make photos not completely fall apart, however, the fine textures within objects are not cleanly reproduced.

At 300mm it’s worse, and contrast is also noticeably abandoned here. In my testing of edge sharpness, I found that at the 18mm end, the optimum aperture for sharpness was f/5.6. At the 300mm end, stopping down to f/16 gave me the sharpest results.

Shot at 18mm. Camera unmoved, now shot at 300mm.

Looking at the barrel distortion when at 18mm, I’d consider it to be moderate. Fixing it in Capture One without a lens profile was as easy as dragging a slider, however, some of the edges of the frame are lost in doing so. At 300mm, this wasn’t a concern.

Examining the vignetting produced by the 18-300mm with in-camera lens corrections turned off, I find that there’s a decent amount of vignetting at either end wide open. At 18mm when stopped down to f/5.6, the vignetting is mostly pushed back to the corners, and at f/8 it’s virtually cleared. At 300mm where the wide-open aperture is f/6.3, it’s two stops down at f/13 where the vignetting clears out.

Example of barrel distortion at 18mm. Same scene as above shot at 300mm.

Autofocusing with the new Tamron pairs well with the Sony a6600 I reviewed it with. Even at 300mm, spot focusing across the focal plane and tracking subjects was reliable. The 18-300mm uses a VXD linear autofocus motor and is nearly silent in use and sounds like a soft tap rather than a mechanic whirr.

It’s All in One, But Isn’t All or Nothing

What can’t be understated with the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD is its power to capture a huge variety of images while you are standing in the same spot. It made me smile every time when I’d be composing a wide shot at 18mm, zoom in a little and reframe for a medium shot, then go all in at 300mm and get something that looks completely different than the previous two images. There’s no lens switching necessary or the neex to jump out of your creative zone, and that is really enjoyable to me.

Shot at 300mm. Shot at 141mm. Shot at 20mm.

The downside in its ability to free up your mind and camera bag is that the resulting photos are not going to have perfect image quality in terms of resolution, contrast, and distortion. It’s a compromise. You can’t have everything, but what you do have is still quite endearing.

Are There Alternatives?

There really aren't any true direct competitors to this lens. “All-in-one” has generally meant an APS-C lens in the 18-200mm range, as seen with the nearly 10-year-old Sony E 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS LE. On the Fujifilm X-mount side, competition is even more non-existent as the closest thing would be the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens.

Tamron is offering a unique 16.6x zoom with the same maximum apertures as the Sony 18-200mm, plus big upgrades around the board like a VXD linear autofocusing system and improved optics. For now, it really stands alone.

Should You Buy It?

Yes. The Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD is an all-in-one zoom that is a lot of fun to photograph with. The world really opens up once you have a lens in your hands that does it all without the fuss.

#equipment #reviews #allinone #allinonelens #fujixmount #landscape #lensreview #mirrorlesslens #sonyemount #tamron #tamron18300f3556 #travel #wildlife #zoomlens

The Day I Ditched Pro-Grade Lenses as a Photographer

It was a scary choice, but I did it, and it ended up being a good choice.

I have shot photography since the early '90s, starting with a vintage film camera. I jumped into digital photography the day Canon 10D came out, and that same day I also bought my first lens for it, a brand new 28-200mm lens. It was cheap, light, versatile, but even though I made great photo stories with this kit, mostly in sports and action events, the quality of the images was limiting me.

As I grew in photography, I invested in the real deal: brand-new professional-quality high-end lenses. I bought the "holy trinity" of "red ring" L series lenses for many thousands of dollars and wow, the quality was there no doubt! Pro glass was a good investment, and I enjoyed every image I made on many contracts with these. My image quality was better, yes.

But…

Even if I do like these lenses, there was something that kept coming back to my mind. I just never forgot how great it was during the years I was able to own just one lens that was capable of doing it all.

One day I finally undusted my old 28-200mm and went out in my backyard for a quick shoot. Maybe I could fall in love with it again. Why not? Some people are buying various old lenses.

Meh. It was terrible.

I couldn't believe how bad the images came out. My eyes and expectations were at the pro-grade level now, and I cannot go back.

I just wish so badly that one day we could leave home with a perfect camera-and-lens kit to do it all. I mean, we drive electric speed cars and we fly into space, so there's hope for that, right?

Like most of us, I keep myself informed with the Web, pro shops, and contacts. I did a couple of searches in recent years and most of the time the general consensus about single do-it-all lenses was never very good.

After saving money for a new camera body but not spending it because I felt I couldn't find what I was looking for -- I am not in a hurry for this -- I decided to invest in a trip instead, thinking that would be a good photography investment. Spoiler: it was.

The thing is, I didn't really have the option of bringing my trinity of pro lenses on that trip. Ouch. I was going to an awesome place to shoot the best landscape in the country but without my whole kit.

My option was then either to bring my pro 24-70mm -- super sharp but heavy enough to ruin the day when hiking, and its range was ok but not awesome -- or to get a different lens (either buy, rent, or borrow it).

After days of hard reflection and a couple more local hiking days with my pro-level 24-70mm, I decided that I must at least try again to find a new or recent travel lens that could be good enough for my trip. So again, the wide search began.

Thanks to Gordon Laing's very detailed pages about lenses and other good reviews and videos I enjoyed, I was able to complete my research and settle on a choice. I ended up buying a previously owned, rarely used 18-135mm travel lens with image stabilization, and for a very good price too. I did it.

Now I just had to test it before leaving for the trip. To my great surprise, the quality was "sharp enough". Was it equal or better than my pro lenses? Of course not. Was it good? Yes!

That day, in front of my Lightroom screen, a weight was lifted out of my shoulders. I felt I may have finally found what I had been looking for.

Then the trip happened. Many photos were shot in a variety of situations, from sunny to rainy scenes, from wide to zoom images. Then I was back home and in Lightroom and… the photos were good! I was happy. My images were great. My choice was a good one; one versatile lens.

Shot on the Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Shot on the Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Shot on the Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Shot on the Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Shot on the Canon 7D and Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens.

At home, I decided to give more chances to that ultra-zoom lens, so I tested out my 18-135mm in other personal shoots and again, the same feeling -- I was happy. It is not as good as my pro-grade glass, but it is good enough for me to choose that lens as my go-to one from now on.

As for my professional lenses, I do keep them and plan to use them when I need to and during my paid photography jobs.

I hope this story can help some photographers like me who are wondering about ultra-zoom travel lenses. My advice would be: do your research because not all travel lens is good, try before you buy if you can, and once you feel you found one, take the jump.

Do not fear having a non-professional lens mounted on your camera. That might be one way to enjoy more photography and to bring your camera with you more often.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

About the author : Rene-Pierre Normandeau started photography because his father did not want to lend him his old Minolta 35mm, a camera that eventually became his tool for several years. Influenced by sports, action, speed, and movement, he mainly focuses his art on these subjects, but also on landscapes, nature, and travel. His company Polar Media is based in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec in Canada. You can find more of his work on his website and Instagram.

#editorial #equipment #inspiration #allinonelens #journey #lens #renepierrenormandeau #story #travel #travellens #travelphotography

Tamron Launches the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 for Sony and Fujifilm

Previously revealed as a development announcement in July, Tamron has announced final details and availability for its 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for Fujifilm X-mount and Sony E-Mount.

As mentioned in the original development announcement, this lens will be Tamron's first for Fujifilm X-Mount.

Tamron touts the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 as the world's first 16.6x all-in-one zoom lens for APS-C. It covers the full-frame equivalent focal length range of 27mm to 450mm with a minimum object distance of 5.9-inches at the wide end along with a magnification ratio of 1:2.

The lens uses Tamron's proprietary VXD linear motor focus mechanism that allows it to achieve autofocus speed and precision that the company says stands among the best of all zoom lenses in its class. Tamron says that the performance of the autofocus is consistent throughout the zoom range and works excellently for tracking a moving subject and is ideal for animals, aircraft, railways, and other moving objects. Additionally, as a linear motor, it is not only fast, it is near silent.

Tamron claims that, as far as image quality is concerned, the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 is one of the best performing all-in-one zoom lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras available. Tamron says that in order to achieve the zoom ratio of 16.6x while also ensuring that high image quality the lens features a well-balanced arrangement of elements.

Left: Fujifilm X-mount version | Right: Sony E-mount version

The lens is constructed of 19 elements in 15 groups and includes three aspherical elements and four low dispersion elements that Tamron says together effectively suppress optical aberrations. The company says that it maintains high resolving power from the center to the corners through the entire zoom range. The lens features a seven-bladed circular diaphragm and a 67mm front filter size.

Below are a set of images provided by Tamron, taken Noboru Sonehara with the lens on a Sony a6600:

Tamron will release the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for both Sony E-mount and Fujifilm X-Mount, but at different times. The Sony E-Mount version will be available in September while the Fujifilm X-Mount version is expected to arrive on October 28. Tamron does warn that these timelines could change due to the global health crisis. Both versions of the lens will cost $699.

#equipment #news #allinone #allinonelens #emount #fujifilm #fujifilmxmount #sonyemount #tamron #tamron18300f3556 #vc #vibrationcompensation #xmount #zoom #zoomlens

Tamron Launches 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 for Sony E-Mount APS-C Cameras

Tamron has announced that the previously-announced 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for Sony E-mount will be available this September for $699.

While the Sony E-mount version will be available in September, the Fujifilm X-mount version is still under development but is expected to also launch this fall, though no specific date was provided. When it comes to market, it will be Tamron's first Fujifilm X-mount lens.

As revealed in July when Tamron originally announced its development, the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD will cover a range of approximately 27mm to 450mm in a 35mm full-frame equivalent.

With this broad coverage, it empowers shooting in a wide variety of situations, including everyday life and travel snapshots, both wide-angle and dynamic ultra-telephoto landscape photography and macro photography.

It is the first lens for APS-C mirrorless cameras with a 16.6x zoom ratio, which covers the wide-angle through what Tamron calls the ultra-telephoto range. At the wide end, it has a minimum aperture of f/22 and at the long end it has a minimum aperture of f/40.

Optically, the lens features 19 elements in 15 groups, with three hybrid aspherical elements and four low-dispersion elements to suppress optical aberrations. Tamron says that throughout the zoom range, the lens maintains high resolving power from the center to the corners. It features seven aperture blades. Additionally, as most other Tamron lenses for mirrorless cameras, the lens features a unified 67mm filter size.

The lens utilizes Tamron's VXD linear motor focus mechanism that the company says achieves autofocus speed and precision that Tamron says stands among the best of all all-in-one zoom lenses. The company says it will perform well when tracking moving subjects in focus and is also extremely quiet, allowing it to be used in a wide range of situations.

It has a minimum focus distance of 5.9-inches at 18mm with a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2, which means it performs admirably in up-close shooting situations despite its extremely large optical range.

The Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD will be available on September 24 for $699 for Sony E-Mount, and as mentioned a Fujifilm X-Mount will also be available this fall, with a specific date to come at another time. Presumably, the lens will cost the same for the Fujifilm version.

#equipment #news #allinone #allinonelens #emount #fujifilm #fujifilmxmount #sonyemount #tamron #tamron18300f3556 #vc #vibrationcompensation #xmount #zoom #zoomlens

Tamron Developing its First Fujifilm X-Mount Lens: the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3

Tamron has announced that it is developing its first Fujifilm X-mount lens: the all-in-one 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD. The lens will also be available in Sony E-mount.

Tamron's language says that this is the first Fujifilm X-mount lens, which seems to indicate that the company plans to make additional ones in the coming years.

The forthcoming 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD will cover a range of approximately 27mm to 450mm in a 35mm full-frame equivalent. Tamron says that it will be the first APS-C mirrorless zoom lens that will achieve the 16.6x zoom ratio. Designed to be versatile and capable of handling a range of environments, its autofocus drive system will use Tamron's linear focus mechanism the VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) which the company says will provide "superior quietness and agile performance." The company has gone so far as to claim that its autofocus will be at the "highest level in its class."

Tamron also says that it will include special lens elements -- exactly which elements and how many of each was not disclosed -- that it claims will maintain high resolution from edge to edge as well as provide overall high image quality, "among the best of all all-in-one zoom lenses."

The lens will have a minimum focus distance of 5.9 inches at the wide end and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2, which Tamron says allows it to perform "astonishingly well" in its category when shooting subjects up close. As expected, the lens will also be equipped with Tamron's Vibration Compensation (VC) mechanism that will allow it to stabilize photography even at its longest end. Tamron did not specify if it will work in tandem with Fujifilm cameras that also have in-body image stabilization (IBIS). The front filter size will be 67mm, which Tamron says is the same as most of its other mirrorless lenses.

Left: Fujifilm X-mount version | Right: Sony E-mount version

While Tamron provided no other concrete details, it did say that it would be "comfortably compact" and be moisture-resistant, have a zoom lock switch, and include a fluorine coating on the front element.

Tamron did not provide any information on how much the lens is expected to retail for but it did say that the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD lens would come to marke in the fall of 2021.

#equipment #news #allinone #allinonelens #emount #fujifilm #fujifilmxmount #sonyemount #tamron #tamron18300f3556 #vc #vibrationcompensation #xmount #zoom #zoomlens