Review Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14

For the opportunity review lens Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14 many thanks to the company http://www.prophoto.ua/, the official representative of Tamron in Ukraine.

Review Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14

Review Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14

A short digression into Tamron's super-zoom line of SLR cameras with an APS-C sensor:

  1. Model A14 Tamron AF 18-200 mm 1: 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro, February 2005. Country of origin Japan or China. The Pentax version has a metal mount; for Nikon / Canon / Sony / Minolta, the mount is plastic. In March 2008, an improved model appears for Nikon cameras Tamron model A14 NII with built-in focus motor, focus mode switch, 8 microprocessor pins and metal mount. Most likely lenses Sony AF DT 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 и minolta AF DT 18-200mm F3.5-6.3D use the same optical scheme and are copies of it.
  2. Model B018 Tamron AF 18-200 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II VCAugust 2015.
  3. Model A18 Tamron AF 18-250 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] Macro, September 2006. Country of origin Japan or China. In December 2007 an improved model appears for Nikon cameras Tamron model A18 NII with built-in focus motor, focus mode switch and 8 microprocessor pins. Most likely lenses Sony AF DT 3.5-6.3 / 18-250 и SMC Pentax-DA 1: 3.5-6.3 18-250mm AL [IF] и Samsung 18-250 1:3.5-6.3 use the same optical scheme and are copies of it.
  4. Model B003 Tamron AF 18-270 mm 1: 3.5-6.3 Di II LD [IF] Aspherical VC MacroJuly 2008.
  5. Model B008 Tamron AF 18-270 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD, December 2010. Most likely the lens SMC Pentax-DA 1: 3.5-6.3 18-270mm ED SDM use the same optical design.
  6. Model B008TS Tamron AF 18-270 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZDSeptember 2016.
  7. Model B016 Tamron AF 16-300 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro, February 2014.
  8. Model B028 Tamron 18-400 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLDJune 2017.

There is still PROMASTER DIGITAL XR EDO AF Aspherical LD ​​(IF) 18-200 mm 1: 3.5-6.3 Macrowhich is a model Tamron model a14 under the brand Promaster.

Two lenses for mirrorless cameras stand separately:

  1. Model C001 Tamron Microphone 14-150 mm F / 3.5-5.8 Di III, black or silver, June 2014, for cameras with Micro 4/3 mount
  2. Model B011 Tamron 18-200 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di III VC, black or silver, December 2011, for cameras with Sony E mount and Canon EOS M
  3. Model B061 Tamron 18-300 mm F / 3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD (E+X) [Model B061], July 2021, for Sony E and FujiFilm X

The lens came to me brand new, right from the printed box. It is always a pleasure to work with new equipment.

The lens can be found with two, slightly different, designations: Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 and Tamron AF 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3. This lens can be purchased for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony cameras. I have a 'Canon' version and I used this lens for the review with Canon 350D.

The Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 is a compact, versatile 11x zoom lens. In the name a lot of different abbreviations:

  • AF - the presence of automatic focusing due to the built-in motor.
  • 18-200 mm is the focal length of the lens. EGF Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 on Canon APS-C cameras is 28,8-320mm. The zoom ratio is easy to calculate on your own, a sufficient larger number, which is responsible for the focal length of the lens, is divided by a smaller one. As a result, 200/18=11.11.
  • f / 3.5-6.3 - relative aperture of the lens. The lens can use a maximum aperture of F / 3.5 at 18mm focal length and F / 6.3 at 200mm focal length. The lens cannot boast of good aperture.
  • IF (Internal Focusing) - internal focusing.
  • aspherical - indicates the presence of aspherical elements in the optical system of the lens.
  • LD (Low Dispersion) - indicates the presence of special low-dispersion elements.
  • XR (Extra Refractive Index) - elements with a high refractive index. They can be used to make such compact lenses.
  • DII - the lens is only suitable for cropped cameras, use on full-frame cameras is not recommended :)
  • Macro - 'pretentious' prefix about the presence of a macro mode. Currently, the 'Macro' prefix is ​​molded on almost all lenses that can shoot small objects at least a little. You can look in the section about designations of lenses of different manufacturers.

The optical design consists of 15 elements in 13 groups, some of which are just 'LD', 'XR' and 'Aspherical' elements.

Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 at 200mm

Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 at 200mm

At the lens fast enough auto focus... The autofocus motor built into the lens is noisy and is analogous to Canon MM (Micro Motor). The lens has an 'AF-M' focus mode switch ring. In autofocus mode 'AF', manual focus override is not available, in order to focus manually, be sure to switch the lens to mode 'M'. The focusing ring is rubberized and located in front of the lens. The focus ring rotates approximately 60 degrees. This small angle of rotation of the focusing ring is likely to achieve fast automatic focusing. Despite the small travel of the focusing ring, focusing manually was not difficult for me.

It is very pleasant that the lens has internal focusing and the front lens does not rotate when zooming. When you use the lens at 200mm focal length, the minimum focusing distance is 45 cm, which allows you to shoot macro with an increase of approximately 1: 3,7. There is also a focus distance scale on the lens.

But with aperture the lens let us down a little. Usually inexpensive zoom lenses have a variable aperture F / 3.5-5.6, and in this case everything is a little worse - F / 3.5-6.3. Maximum aperture F / 5.6 is available at 70-135mm focal lengths, but at 135-200mm will have to be limited to f / 6.3. The difference between F / 5.6 and F / 6.3 is 1/4 stop. Many modern SLR cameras in their instructions indicate support for lenses with aperture F / 5.6 and above. This limitation is associated with the automatic phase focusing system. In fact, according to the instructions, many cameras will have problems focusing at the maximum aperture of F / 6.3. In fact, I did not notice any problems with focusing.

Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 with clad hood

Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 with clad hood

The lens has an aperture with 7 blades. Its weight is 400 g (e.g. Nikon 18-200mm VR weighs 160 g more). The lens has a zoom lock - the 'Lock' button, which allows you to lock the lens position at 18mm focal length. My brand new Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 did not spontaneously change the focal length, but for some reason I am sure that over time the lens trunk will "take on a life of its own." The lens is well assembled, but it has plastic mountand the inscription 'Made in China' is not very encouraging. The hood and lids are made in the Philippines. Blend hood not very large and dresses backwards, in this position it does not interfere with the zoom, but blocks access to the focus ring

My experience

The lens lacks an image stabilizer, and aperture F / 6.3 is not happy. Stabilizer version Tamron 18-270 mm 1: 3.5-6.3 Di II LD (IF) Aspherical VC Macro B003E much more convenient to use. I shot on a sunny day, and excerpt at F / 6.3 and ISO 100 ranged from 1/200 to 1/500 second, this is enough to avoid grease when shooting handheld... So I don't think F / 6.3 is too much of a problem compared to F / 5.6. Usually, such a lens serves as a good travel zoom - it is very convenient to use this lens when traveling. wide range of focal lengths... Also, such lenses are bought by people who want to have one lens for all occasions. And the lens has a very nice price tag, about $ 200, because 'native' lenses of this level (usually with a stabilizer) are several times more expensive.

Prices for the Tamron 18-200mm F / 3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) lens in popular online stores can look at this link.

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Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) is completely worth the money and for this money you can make a good upgrade after a whale lens of the class 18-55 / 3,5-5,6. I would even recommend Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 as the first lens for the CZK.

Sample Photos

Everything is filmed on Canon 350D. At 18mm, barrel distortion and strong vignetting are noticeable. The lens easily copes with back and side light, has a good contrast. You can observe blooming (bright purple spots on contrasting details) and you can not do without aberrations. The sharpness in the center of the image is level, but the edges are not all that good. The image as a whole pleased me and even surprised when used at 200mm. See for yourself:

The parameters of the photo in the review:

On camera JPEG L, high quality. Long exposure noise reduction has been turned off. Parameters: Contrast Correction - 0, Sharpness - 0, Saturation - 0, Hue - 0. Used white balance: 'Auto', 'Daylight', 'Shade', 'Fluorescent'. Photos have been reduced to 2048px by 1363px (roughly 3MP) using FastStone Photo Resizer 3.0, and data from EXIF... When reducing the size of the photos, a quality equal to 80% of the original was used, the compression method was Lanczos3.

Alternatives

Below is a list of all hyper-zooms for SLR or mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor and a range of focal lengths greater than or equal to the classic 18-200 mm.

Tamron (different mounts):

  1. Model A14 Tamron 18-200/3.5-6.3 AF (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro, February 2005. Country of manufacture Japan or China. The version for Pentax cameras has a metal mount, for Nikon / Canon / Sony / Minolta the mount is plastic. In March 2008, an improved Tamron Model appears for Nikon cameras. A14 NII with built-in focus motor, focus mode switch, 8 microprocessor pins and metal mount.
  2. Model B018 Tamron 18-200/3.5-6.3 AF Di II VCAugust 2015.
  3. Model B011 Tamron 18-200 mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC, black or silver, December 2011, for mount mirrorless cameras Sony E и Canon EOS M
  4. Model A18 Tamron 18-250/3.5-6.3 AF Di II LD Aspherical [IF] Macro, September 2006. Country of origin Japan or China. In December 2007, an improved model appears for Nikon cameras Tamron model A18 NII with built-in focus motor, focus mode switch and 8 microprocessor pins.
  5. Model B003 Tamron 18-270/3.5-6.3 AF Di II LD [IF] Aspherical VC MacroJuly 2008.
  6. Model B008 Tamron 18-270/3.5-6.3 AF Di II VC PZD, December 2010. Country of origin China or Vietnam.
  7. Model B008TS Tamron 18-270/3.5-6.3 AF Di II VC PZDSeptember 2016.
  8. Model B016 Tamron 16-300/3.5-6.3 AF Di II VC PZD Macro, February 2014.
  9. Model B028 Tamron 18-400/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD, June 2017.

Promaster (various mounts):

  1. PROMASTER 18-200/3.5-6.3 DIGITAL XR EDO AF Aspherical LD ​​(IF) Macrocopy Tamron model a14 under the Promaster brand. Japanese assembly

Sigma (different mounts):

  1. Sigma 18-200 mm/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC, February 2005.
  2. Sigma 18-200/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC (+ -HSM) OS (Optical Stabilizer)September 2006 velvet or smooth black body. The HSM motor is only available on Nikon camera lenses.
  3. Sigma 18-200/3.5-6.3 II Zoom DC HSM OS (Optical Stabilizer)October 2011.
  4. Sigma 18-200/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM MACRO | C (Contemporary, Optical Stabilizer), January 2014.
  5. Sigma 18-250/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC HSM OS (Optical Stabilizer)January 2009
  6. Sigma 18-250/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC Macro HSM OS (Optical Stabilizer)June 2012.
  7. Sigma 18-300/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM MACRO | C (Contemporary, Optical Stabilizer)September 2014.

Quantaray (different mounts):

  1. Quantaray 18-200/3.5-6.3 Dio Multi-Coated, copy of Sigma 18-200mm/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC (2005) branded as 'Quantaray'
  2. Quantaray 18-200/3.5-6.3 Dio OS (+-HSM) Multi-Coated, copy Sigma 18-200/3.5-6.3 Zoom DC (+-HSM) OS (2006) under the banner of 'Quantaray'.

Nikon (F):

  1. Nikon 18-200/3.5-5.6G DX VRNovember 2005.
  2. Nikon 18-200/3.5-5.6GII DX VRJuly 2009.
  3. Nikon 18-300/3.5-5.6G DX VR, June 2012.
  4. Nikon 18-300/3.5-6.3G DX VRApril 2014.

Sony ('A' or 'E'):

  1. Sony 18-200/ 3.5-6.3 AF DT, A mount, most likely uses an optical design Tamron model a14.
  2. minolta 18-200/3.5-6.3AF DT Dmount A is likely to use an optical circuit Tamron a14
  3. Sony 18-250/3.5-6.3 AF DT, A mount, since 2007, most likely uses Tamron Model A18 optical design.
  4. Sony 18-200/3.5-6.3 OSS, E-mount, May 2010
  5. Sony 18-200/3.5-6.3 OSS LE, E-mount, May 2012
  6. Sony 18-200/3.5-6.3 PZ OSS, E-mount, September 2012

Hasselblad (Sony E):

  1. Hasselblad E 3.5-6.3/18-200 OSS copy Sony 18-200/3.5-6.3 OSS, September 2012

Pentax (K):

  1. Pentax 18-250/3.5-6.3 AL SMC DA [IF], October 2007, most likely uses Tamron Model A18 optical design.
  2. Pentax 18-270/3.5-6.3 ED SMC DA SDM, September 2012, most likely uses an optical design Tamron model b008.
  3. Samsung 18-250/ 3.5-6.3, with a Pentax KAF2 mount, 2008, (most likely uses the Tamron Model A18 optical design.

Canon (EFS):

  1. Canon 18-200/3.5-5.6 IS Zoom Lens EF-S (Image Sbabilizer), August 2008.

Samsung (NX):

  1. Samsung 18-200/3.5-5.6 ED OIS i-Function, Samsung NX mount

Conclusions:

Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14 - 11x compact superzoom, has good price / performance ratio... I was pleasantly surprised by the fast internal focusing and good sharpness in the center of the frame throughout the entire focal length range. Can serve as a replacement for the standard kit 18-55 / 3,5-5,6.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

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Comments: 106, on the topic: Review of Tamron AF 18-200mm f / 3.5-6.3 (IF) Aspherical LD ​​XR DiII Macro A14

  • CheBe

    Plastic-fantastic-soap.
    Maybe I was unlucky, but my Tamron 18-200 showed the limit of a photographer’s disappointment and remained for me the standard of what a lens should not be :-)
    Although my negative impression may be the result of switching from the Sony 828 with its Zeiss 28-200 2-2.2 to the Nikon D7000 for which I wanted the maximum zoom for the minimum money. “You shouldn’t be chasing cheapness, priest.”
    Problems with working with Nikon AF, he missed all the time, it was simply impossible for them to “lead” any bird. New from the store, but in a matter of months something in it became loose and began to make noise like a rattle. Sharpness is only possible if you press it down a couple of stops, but even this did not save from soap in the focal range of more than 100mm. At 200mm there was just useless glass. With all this set there is also a torn side and a fade to yellowness. Tamron is a respected company, but even an old woman can get screwed, this “lens” is only good on paper.
    I got rid of it by selling it for a third of the store price without regretting the lost money, since the number of lost frames was simply going through the roof.
    It's a rare case that my review is categorically abusive.

    After it, I had Tamrons 17-50 and 70-300, which left a much better impression, especially 17-50, I suddenly saw the light :-).

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