Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Pentax Digital SLR Cameras from Digital Camera Showroom

Di II: Lenses are designed for exclusive use on digital cameras with smaller-size imagers and inherit all of the benefits of Tamron's Di products. These lenses are not designed for 35mm film cameras and digital cameras with image sensors larger than 24mm x 16mm.

Tamron's quest has always been to make the ideal zoom lens. As a result of this ongoing challenge, we have introduced the concept of our high-power zoom lens in the new AF18-200mm XR Di II for exclusive use with digital SLRs. Tamron's original development of proprietary core technologies such as Aspherical element production, Multiple Cam Mechanism and Integrated Focus Cam design lend to the creation of the world's lightest, most compact 11.1X zoom lens made for digital SLR cameras.

The 18-200mm (28-300 when converted to 35mm) provides the digital photographer with the versatility of a true wide to ultra tele zoom in an amazingly easy to use design.

Tamron produces high performance, quality specification lenses utilizing the latest optical theory and technology. Tamron's high magnification zoom lenses, which are said to be particularly challenging technically, have received critical acclaim internationally for their innovative technology and have been selected for many prestigious awards. Tamron's technical excellence has also been recognized worldwide for macro lenses, wide angle lenses and telephoto lenses.

Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- User Rating:
Summary for Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- good lens for the money
Notes on Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- This lens is on my Pentax K100 super and does a good job. It is not the quietest lens on the market but not bad either.

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Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- User Rating:
Summary for Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- Great Lens
Notes on Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- This is a great lens and I am extremely pleased with the results I am getting. Sharpness and clarity are on par with the more expenses lenses made for the high end cameras(I compared mine with a Nikon D80 18-200mm).

I bought it because it is such a hassel to carry a lot of lenses. Changing lens carries the risk of getting dirt and lint inside the camera body. If tiny particles get on the mirror, they will show up in the pic and have to be removed with a computer. Even though I have a Pentax K10D, I simply did not want to take that risk. The lens hood is a bit cumbersome to put on, bit I solved that with a rubber collapsable hood. I don't think that problem should take away a star.

Another great feature about this lens, when using manual focus, it flashes little red "dots" when you go past the correct focus point. After discovering that feature, most of my shooting is done manually, except for fast action stuff and moving objects. Macro and scenery are all manual now.Pentax K10D 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with Shake Reduction and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens

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Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- User Rating:
Summary for Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- Tamron 18-200 for Pentax
Notes on Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- I'm happy with it. Worth the price. It's compact and lightweight. Can do portraits at 18mm and zoom over birds and distant subjects. It is also reasonably good for macro photos - tried it in some butterflies and small insects.
Problems: Needs a lot of light. Cannot control aperture manually in the lens (most people may not care about that).

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Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- User Rating:
Summary for Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- Good image quality, good value, excellent versatility
Notes on Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- Before purchasing my Pentax K100D, I had for years used all three models in the Canon Powershot S-series of "superzoom" fixed-lens cameras (S1, S2 and S3). I like my Pentax digital SLR a lot, but after I purchased it (and sold my Canon) I really missed the Canon's versatility. I have recovered most of that versatility with this Tamron 18-200 DiII lens, which is good at the wide angle end, good in the middle and pretty good at telephoto as well (I like to shoot birds) and which even provides some macro capability. This is now my default all-purpose lens. It's not the best choice for low-light shooting, but if the light's decent or you can use a flash, this is a good lens, takes good photos, and is a very good value. To do noticeably better than this, you will have to pay a lot more and probably give up the versatility, too.

I give the lens a rating of 4 stars rather than 5 simply because, by nature, this is a bit of a compromise lens. If you don't need the versatility - if for example you don't really need focal lengths over 70mm - then you can get a lens with slightly superior image quality for the same price or even less (perhaps much less if you buy used). The Pentax 50-200 may be slightly sharper in the telephoto range. My Sigma 28-70 F2.8 is faster in its range (the Tamron's max aperture is 3.5). And while it's fine for my needs, this lens deserves to be called macro only in a generous sense. But as a total package, it's hard to beat.

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Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- User Rating:
Summary for Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- zoom lenses for DSLR camera
Notes on Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II ...- di II lenses are excellent. For anyone considering a new Digital SLR camera, I recommend buying "Body Only" and add a Tamron 18-200 to your shopping cart.

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