Tamron's Ultimate Travel Kit comprises two zoom lenses for digital SLR cameras. One is a wide-angle lens (11-18mm) for capturing considerably extensive landscape shots and outlooks. The other is a versatile zoom lens (18-250mm) that gives flexibility for everyday photography such as portraits while still letting you focus in tight on the action.
Both are designed for dSLRs with reduced frame (APS-C) sensors, such as popular entry-level and mid-range dSLRs including Canon's EOS range such as the 40D and 400D, and most of Nikon's cameras like the popular D80 and D40.
A Conkon filter kit for landscape shots is also included, which includes adaptor rings for both lenses as well as warm, blue and sunset filters. Bayonet-style lens hoods are also included.
The wide-angle lens is fairly slow at f/4.5-5.6, while the 18-250mm lens is a full stop faster at f/3.5-6.3.
Both are a soft, non-reflective black and fairly light. The 11-18mm lens adds 355 grams to the front of your camera; its larger 18-250mm sibling adds 437 grams.
The zoom and focus rings are smooth and both lenses feature a solid switch to change between auto-focus and manual focus. The rubberised grips surrounding these are smooth; the 18-250mm lens also has a lock mechanism to hold the barrel in its shortest position.
We didn't notice any major image quality issues using the lenses during the daytime or in bright environments. The wide-angle lens produced some vignetting (dark areas in the corners) at 11mm when used at night and in low-light on the camera we tested it with, Canon's 400D. This is exacerbated due to the limited range of the 400D's built-in flash and the relatively large distance the lens is capable of capturing.
Focus speed on both lenses was decent and we only noticed slight distortion of images taken at wide focal lengths on the 11-18mm lens.
Photos came out sharp with good contrast, although we did find it hard to take a non-blurry shot with the 18-250mm at its maximum focal length, especially when a subject is not well lit. We'd recommended a tripod for these occasions.
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canberra_photographer
15/02/2008, 05:00 PM
rating
5/10
Zenith, I am not complaining about the review stating the presence of these characteristics. But it i utterly useless stating the presence of characteristics present in all lenses of that veriety. What I am saying is you should state f the characteristic causes a problem, how well controlled it is and how it can be controlled by the user (ie. though aperture). The untrained reader may view the characteristics you have listed as being automatically bad, when in fact they are not necessarily.
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Zennith Geisler
15/02/2008, 02:57 PM
rating
7/10
Stating the performance of the lenses, whether it is characteristic or not, is a valid part of the review and should not be cast aside. The Tamron Ultimate Travel Kit has been thoroughly tested and reviewed and the copy shows this. Please also keep in mind that CNET.com.au is a consumer site appealing to a broad range of users.
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canberra_photographer
13/02/2008, 06:07 PM
rating
5/10
cNet Australia once again displays a total ignorance of photographic hardware design and performance. Here's news for you, even my Canon L series glass has vignetting at wide angles, it is a characteristic of wide angle, and in particular wide-zoom lenses. The vignetting should not be strong, but is never absent and is sometimes wanted by photographers when shooting wide angle.
Distortion on a wide angle lens, wow, you don't say. Sub 15mm, again, even L series professional lenses suffer from some geometric distortion. It is a characteristic of any wide angle rectilinear lens, especially sub 20mm.
Barrel distortion and vignetting are characteristics of wide angle lenses. It is not their pressence, but rather how well both are controlled that should be discussed.
Readers of this article may want to take a look at http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ for proper reviews.
Cons: Lack of expertise leading to a shallow review
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