Tamron SP AF 11-18mm f/4.5 - 5.6 Di II LD Aspherical
Review Date : Mon, 5 Mar 2007
Author : WDC Team
It may have a long name but the Tamron's focal length range is short, covering the equivalent of just 16.5-27mm...
| Pros: | Good contrast |
|---|---|
| Cons: | CA issues, sharpness fall-off at corners |
It may have a long name but the Tamron’s focal length range is short, covering the equivalent of just 16.5-27mm (based on 1.5x magnification in 35mm terms). Tamron also makes this lens available in Nikon and Sony mounts, but doesn’t support Pentax cameras. Incidentally, Sony mount lenses will also fit Konica Minolta cameras.
The Tamron optic uses a variety of aspherical lenses, one glass-moulded lens and two hybrids, as well as one Low Dispersion (LD) and one High Index Dispersion lens (HID). Tamron doesn’t claim any special AF assistance motors within this lens, and you can feel and hear the difference. While AF is relatively quick, it is marginally slower than on comparable optics, and switching from short to long-range focusing is audibly more noticeable as the motor whirrs and grinds.
It’s also worth noting that the focusing ring rotates as you focus in AF mode and if your grip happens to be on the focus ring it will offer resistance against the AF motors. Also, there's no facility for manual focusing in AF mode, so you’ll hear the motors whirring and worry that you’re going to grind the gears. The zoom ring is free flowing without slackness.
Image Quality
Tamron’s sample shots are more than adequate, though there are plenty of examples of chromatic aberration, especially in the corners of the frame at 11mm. Similarly image sharpness falls off at the corners, though contrast is generally good.
Verdict
The Tamron is lacking compared to the others. It's not a bad lens on its own, but doesn’t stand up to the competition
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Latest comments
July 14 15:10
Rick
I would like to offer a different perspective. I have owned the Tamron 11-18mm for several months now, and I cannot for the life of me see why it has been rated so low! The images are sharp as a prime, the AF always hits its target and despite feeling plasticy, it feels solid and I think if it was metal it would weigh too much. It's an Ultra wide angle lens, so the limited reach isn't a problem; I have a wide/standard zoom that can cover 17mm and higher. The colours and contrast with this lens are spot on, I cannot say enough good things about it, and would definitely rate it higher than 74%! Cons: Slight red fringing can occur at the edges and is noticeable in shots taken in sunlight, but only when looking at a 100% crop of the edge, and is fixed in 2 seconds post processing. I see no evidence of chromatic aberration, but agree there is some sharpness fall off, but not enough to affect the overall image.