Tamron 18-200mm XR Di II LD Lens Reviews & Specifications

The AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO (Model A14), a high power zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras using the APS-C size image sensor that inherit the product concept of the Tamron AF 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR zoom lens. Even years after its introduction, the current AF 28-300mm is still a favorite and highly evaluated by photographers around the world as a representative model of high power zoom lenses.

If you need a low light lens, this isn't it. If your primary objective is to take pictures in low light situation such as weddings and concerts, in the 18-200mm range you need 2 lenses, get the 18-50mm f/2.8 Sigma or Tamron 17-50 VC and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens instead.

With the market influx of digital SLR cameras in recent years, the use of high power zoom lenses has become increasingly popular since high power zooms provide the convenience of handling many photographic scenes and the capability of shooting ultra telephoto shots without changing lenses. The popularity of this focal length led Tamron to initiate the development of new zoom lenses to further meet the needs of digital SLR photographers.

The result is the successful development of a new zoom lens exclusively for use on digital SLR cameras. The wide to ultra tele focal range of this lens will allow digital SLR camera owners to enjoy digital photography with comfort and convenience.

* "Di (Digitally Integrated design)-II" is the designation Tamron puts on lenses designed for exclusive use with digital (APS-C size) SLR cameras, featuring optical systems optimized to meet the performance characteristics of digital cameras. * "Di-II" lenses cannot be used with digital SLR cameras using image sensors that are larger than that of an APS-C size imager, or with 35mm film SLR cameras.

By incorporating an optical design for exclusive use with digital (APS-C) SLR cameras, this high power zoom lens provides the focal length equivalent to Tamron's 28-300mm (when converted to a 35mm format). Therefore, you can meet almost all photographic opportunities with this single zoom lens without changing lenses. When paired with the SP AF11-18mm zoom lens, simultaneously introduced by Tamron at Photokina, you can enjoy thoroughly digital SLR photography with the combined focal length coverage of 17-300mm.

Optical System Uses Special Glass and is Optimized for Digital SLR Characteristics in order to Enhance Optical Quality in a Compact Design. The new AF18-200mm high power zoom lens from Tamron features an entirely new optical design using XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass in an innovative way in order to optimize the overall distribution of optical power throughout the entire zoom range. This design reduces various aberrations to the absolute minimum and achieves remarkable downsizing at the same time. In addition, three hybrid aspherical lens elements and two LD (Low Dispersion) glass elements are used to accomplish effective compensation of on-axis and lateral chromatic aberrations, a critical factor to enhance the optical quality.

The 18-200mm Di-II lens provides approximately the 35mm equivalent of 27-300mm on digital SLRs with24mm x 16mm or smaller size imagers.

• Aspherical Lens
A lens whose curved surface does not conform to the shape of a sphere. An aspheric element is often called an aspherical lens. The asphere's more complex surface profile can eliminate spherical aberration and reduce other optical aberrations compared to a simple lens. A single aspheric lens can often replace a much more complex multi-lens system. The resulting device is smaller and lighter, and possibly cheaper than the multi-lens design. Aspheric elements are used in the design of multi-element wide-angle and fast normal lenses to reduce aberrations.

• Tamron macro lens series
The Tamron macro lens series produce sharp images against soft out-of-focus backgrounds. Not limited to macro photography, these lenses cover the range from landscapes to portraiture. The Tamron macro lens series, with its wide-ranging adaptability, has achieved recognition among photography lovers around the world.

• Di-II Series Design
Design has been improved by adding a gold-colored band between the focus and zoom rings to enhance the appearance and make it stand out as a Di-II lens. The rubber patterns of the zoom and focus control rings have been improved at the same time to compliment the digital camera design style and to provide better handling. Di-II Lenses are designed for digital SLR cameras with smaller imagers  

• Low Dispersion lens elements
(LD Glass to reduce chromatic aberration for sharper images) Aspherical - contains aspherical elements (compensates for spherical aberration and distortion, making for better performance with fewer elements (and As a result allowing for smaller, lighter lenses)

• XR Technology. Extra Refractive Index Glass (reduces lens size). The first most important reason that the lens is so compact is the use of high refractive index glass. That is, XR glass. High refractive index glass bends light more than normal or lower refractive index glasses. Normally, glass material having a refractive index of more than 1.69 is called high refractive index glass. In the A03 optical system, glass material having a refractive index of more than 1.69 is used in the front group. In addition, refractive index of the whole optical system is enhanced. By using high refractive index glass in the front group, we could make the elements in the first group thinner, and reduce one element in the second group. This made the overall length of the whole optical system shorter.

• Internal Focusing
Internal focusing lens (also known as IF) is a photographic lens design in which focus is shifted by moving the inner lens group or groups only, without any rotation or shifting of the front lens element. This makes it easy to use, for example, a screwed-in polarizing filter or a petal shaped lens hood. During macro photography, using an internal focus lens reduces the risk of the front of the lens accidentally hitting the subject during focusing as the front element does not move.

• External Design Conveys High Performance, High Precision Image.7.4

• Flower-shaped Lens Hood

• High Power, Yet Compact and Lightweight Thanks to New Mechanical Artifices

• Revolutionary MFD 0.45m over the Entire Zoom Range for 1:3.7 Macro Capability

• Internal Surface Coating to Reduce Ghosting and Flare

• Dedicated for Digital SLR Cameras

• Optical System Uses Special Glass and is Optimized for Digital SLR Characteristics in order to Enhance Optical Quality in a Compact Design

• Enhanced Peripheral Illumination

• Outstanding Resolution

• Zoom Lock Mechanism Incorporated

Construction: 13 Groups/ 15 Elements

Diaphragm: 7 blades

Angle of view: 75° - 8°

Closest Focusing Distance: 0.45m (17.7") (entire zoom range)

Maximum Magnification: 1:3.7

Filter Size: 62mm

Dimensions (Length x Diameter): 3.3" x 2.9" (83.7 x 73.8mm)

Weight: 423g (14.9 oz.) (approx. design value)

Lens Hood: Flower Shaped

F stop range: f/3.5 - f/6.3 to f/22

6 Year USA Warranty, Flower Shaped Hood

Love it, August 18, 2009

By Benson

I purchased this lens about 3 months ago for my Nikon D200 because I was tired of changing lens. I am getting sharpest pictures from it as I am getting from my Nikon 18-105mm lens. This is an all in one lens. I went to vacation with it and I was able to take a lot pictures easily by zooming in and out. It zooms well and I was able to capture a picture of small flying aircraft about 1000 feet up in the air clearly. No more lens changing needed. When in low light, it does have some problems focusing. The only way I found to correct that issue is change your position then it should focus. I have been using SLR cameras for about 9 years but I am not a professional photographer. So you should not take this review as a professional advice.

By Baltic Books "Vic" (Portland, OR USA)

We purchased the Tamron 18-200 with a new Nikon D80 to use on an Alaska cruise. It's a relatively light lens for its size with with generally good but not outstanding performance. But for the price it still is a very strong contender if you want one lens for general photography.

The 9 point autofocus mostly worked well though it was a noisy compared to our other Nikon lens. The more complex the background, the more difficulty it has focusing-- for example, shooting stationary Alaskan eagles against a forest I didn't manage to collect one crystal clear shot in 100, where against a blue or white sky it was perfect every time even in flight.

Also, in a test shooting side by side with our son-in-law's comparable Canon lens we noticed right away the Tamron produces darker, slightly higher contrast images. Zooming in on our jpeg images in Photoshop, the prints also had noticeable pixel noise (we shot at ISO 400) with very evident loss of detail & definition compared to prints produced from the other lens.

Using the zoom feature out beyond 135mm you'll need a tripod unless there is excellent light to avoid some blurring from movement.

Still, I can't complain too much. At half the price of its closest Nikon competitor it did a reasonable job. Had I not compared it to the very nice Canon lens, I would have wandered along happily oblivious to its few flaws. After shooting more than a 1000 shots on the cruise, including people, nature, wildlife and even action, our Tamron gave us a lot of great photos.