This is the old Tamron 18-250 review. Tamron has made several updates from this Tamron 18-250 lens and you can see them below:
*UPDATE 01/22/2011* For Canon, Nikon and Sony users: This lens has been replaced by the MUCH superior Tamron 18-270mm PZD lens. See my Tamron 18-270mm PZD review.
*UPDATE* For Canon and Nikon users: This lens has been replaced by the superior Tamron 18-270 lens. See my Tamron 18-270 review.
I borrowed the Canon mount
The Tamron 18-250 is an upgrade from the 18-200mm lens. However, in reality, it’s worse than the 18-200mm in terms of optical quality (although it’s slightly better in terms of build quality).
If you want a low price, super zoom lens with better optical quality go with the Tamron 18-200mm.
If you are still curious why I don’t recommend this lens, read on.
Specs • Performance • Conclusion • Where to Buy
Tamron 18-250 Review – Specs
Back to: Menu • Introduction
It’s very similar to the Tamron 18-200mm. Some of the differences are: It has more elements, 250mm telephoto and heavier than the 18-200mm.
Official Name:
Tamron AF18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro
Focal Length Markings:
18mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm, 100mm, 200mm and 250mm
Features:
AF – Autofocus. Allows the lens to focus automatically on your subject.
Di-II – Specially made for cropped sensor DSLR. You shouldn’t use this lens with a full frame camera.
LD – Low Dispersion Glass to reduce chromatic aberration at the telephoto end.
Aspherical – To minimize the lens’ aberration and distortion.
IF – Internal Focusing. Lens will not change dimension during autofocus. Front element will not rotate, so you can use a polarizing filter with no problems.
Macro – I hate this term. Tamron keep calling their non-1:1 Macro lens a “Macro.” This is very confusing. Anyway, this is not a real 1:1 macro lens and I wouldn’t recommend using it for macro photography. The term “Macro” here means this lens can focus closer to the subject, but not 1:1 (the image size in the sensor is equal to the subject’s actual size).
Full Technical Specs (from Tamron’s website):
| Technical Specifications | |
| Groups / Elements | 13 / 16 |
| Angle of View | 75°33′-6°23′ |
| Number of Blade Diaphragm | 7 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance | 17.7 in. (0.45m) |
| Filter Thread | 62mm |
| Weight | 430g (15.2oz) |
| Dimension (Diameter x Length) | ø2.9 x 3.3in. (ø74.4 x 84.3mm) |
| Macro Magnification Ratio | 1:3.5 (at f=250mm MFD 0.45m) |
| Available for | Canon, Nikon (with Built in Motor), Pentax, Sony |
Optical Performance
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Tamron 18-250 Review – Sharpness
The center sharpness is very high on 18-75mm. At the telephoto end (76-250mm) the sharpness start to decrease, although it’s still high. The optimal aperture for the wide end (18 to 34mm) is f/5.6. For the normal and telephoto end (35 to 250mm) the optimal aperture is f/8.
Border is also sharp from 18-75mm, except on 18mm f/3.5 (due to vignetting). Starting from 135 to 250mm, the border sharpness started to decrease, creating softer and less contrasty corners. Shoot at the optimal aperture, f/8 to combat this problem.
Below is the full sharpness test on this Tamron 18-250 review.
Sharpness Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Excellent
(4) Great
(3) Good
(2) Fair
(1) Poor
Center Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5-6.3 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 18mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 35mm | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 80mm | n/a | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 135mm | n/a | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 250mm | n/a | Great | Great | Great |
Border Sharpness
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5-6.3 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 18mm | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 35mm | Great | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| 80mm | n/a | Great | Excellent | Excellent |
| 135mm | n/a | Good | Great | Great |
| 250mm | n/a | Good | Great | Great |
Distortion
The barrel distortion at 18mm is extremely high. Even higher than the 18-200mm. Definitely not for professional architecture photography. From 35mm to 250mm there is some light pincushion distortion, but should be of no concern. See my grid distortion test below.
Vignetting
Vignetting is apparent on all focal length, especially on the wide end (18 to 34mm). Stop down to f/8 to counter this problem. See my vignetting test chart below.
Chromatic Aberration
Chromatic Aberration is quite apparent at 18mm from f/3.5 to f/5.6. On the 250mm end, the Chromatic Aberration becomes very problematic at any aperture.
Chromatic Aberration Scale (from Best to Worst):
(5) Negligible
(4) Very Low
(3) Low
(2) High
(1) Very High
Chromatic Aberration
| Focal Length / Aperture | f/3.5-4 | f/5-6.3 | f/8 | f/11 |
| 18mm | High | Low | Low | Low |
| 35mm | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| 80mm | n/a | High | Low | Very Low |
| 135mm | n/a | Low | Very Low | Very Low |
| 250mm | n/a | High | High | High |
Build Quality
Back to: Menu • Introduction
Materials
Plastic, better than the 18-200mm. Made in Japan.
Zoom Ring
The zoom ring feels more solid. The minor wobbling from 18-200mm can be seen in this lens as well, but will not be a major issue for most users.
A new feature that Tamron adds to the 18-250mm is the zoom lock mechanism to prevent zoom creep. This lens will extend twice as long from its original size when zoomed all the way, so this is a very handy feature to have.
Focusing
Just like the old 18-200mm, the 18-250mm used the IF (Internal Focusing) mechanism to prevents the front element of the lens from rotating. So, using a polarizer won’t be a problem.
Autofocus speed is pretty fast, but noisy. At 250mm, when the maximum aperture drops to f/6.3 the autofocus tends to hunt when shooting in low light. Switch to manual focus in this situation.
For Nikon user: This lens has a built in Motor, which means it can be used for cameras with no internal focusing such as Nikon D40
Compatibility
The Di-II acronym means that this lens can only be used for small sensor DSLR. You cannot use this lens for full frame DSLR (such as Nikon D3
Conclusions
Back to: Menu • Introduction
This part is my conclusion on the Tamron 18-250 review.
Well, this lens is disappointing, considering it’s supposed to be an upgrade from the 18-200mm.
The older 18-200mm simply outperforms this lens in terms of optical quality and cost. The addition of 50mm and slightly better build quality compromised too much on optical quality and price.
To summarize my review, see my conclusions below.
Drawbacks
- Chromatic aberration and distortion higher than Tamron 18-200mm
- Noisy Auto Focus
- No VC (Vibration Compensation)
- Not very fast (f/6.3) at telephoto end
Positives
- Still Small and compact
- Lightweight compared to other super-zoom lens
- Large 13.9x zoom ratio
Good For
Nothing. The Tamron 18-270 or Tamron 18-200 is a much better alternatives.
Not So Good For
Everything. Other alternatives are much better. The Tamron 18-270 or Tamron 18-200 is a much better alternatives.
What Others Are Saying…
by “Beanrocks”
Picture quality issue. I bought this lens for its great reviews and unbeatable price. However, after a couple weeks of extensive test shots at various settings I decided to return it. The picture quality is the main reason…
Click here to read the full review
by “Cindy M. Liebel”
Could be better. After research, I figured the lens would be pretty good, but after testing it out for 2.5 weeks, I was very disappointed in the quailty of my pictures. Pictures weren’t as sharp as I would have hoped they would be. I ended up returning the lens…
Click here to read the full review
Where to Buy
Support this site, buy the Tamron 18-250 from Amazon (best price online):
If Amazon doesn’t have it in stock, try Adorama (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony) or B&H Photo (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony).
Check out the related lens reviews below.
Hope my Tamron 18-250 review will help you making the correct buying decision – see you in the next one!
This is the old Tamron 18-250 review. Tamron has made several updates from this Tamron 18-250 lens and you can see them below:
*UPDATE 01/2…
This is the old Tamron 18-250 review. Tamron has made several updates from this Tamron 18-250 lens and you can see them below:
*UPDATE 01/2…
| Lens Score | |
|---|---|
| Optical Quality | |
| Build Quality | |
| Value for Money | |
| Overall | |
Tags: tamron 18-250, tamron 18-250 review, tamron 18-250mm
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