Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro A061

Tamron 28-300mm XR DI is a great walk around lens. Tamron's DI series lenses are made for the digital SLR. There is a visible difference using this lens over Tamron's early model of the same focal length. I own a good number of lenses but because of the range this one covers it is my lens of choice when I am not sure what I will encounter. I have several good shots of bugs and flowers allowed by how close the lens focuses. The 300mm end is good for birds, people and sports. The 28mm end is a little long for some of the indoor shots I need. This lens is a little slow on the focus once you have gotten used to an AFS lens but if you have the money Tamron's latest version has the internal focus motor. This is the lens I have on my camera a very high percentage of the time.

Lens that good for starter Pros: * Compact, short & light * Vibration Compensation works well * has lock to prevent creeping while not using * Hood is included * wide body - feel professional * tested sharp up to 200mm * smooth and better handling on manual focus barrel than 70-300 nikkor since the focus barrel is on the far end of lens. Nikkor 70-300 is heavy and located near the base. Cons: * slow zooming - not good for fast action sport * soft above 200mm * lens view moves when zooming - probably purchase a defective one. * lens motor noisy as appose to nikkor 70-300 VR. Overall, this lens is excellent for easy nature shooting.

Surprisingly good lens for the price. To be honest I wasn't expecting too much from this lens, as I got it very cheap, and it is after all a super zoom (where the trade off for the wide range 28-300mm) is usually much poorer image quality than either a prime lens, or a zoom lens with a much shorter range, also with the f3.5-6.3 didn't fill me with confidence, but as I needed a full frame lens for my D700 with greater reach than my 70-210mm, so I thought I would give it a go, and I must say I'm quite impressed with the image quality I have achieved with it, especially at each end of the range, the macro images are much sharper than I was expecting, and the moon photos are very nice (See the attached images shot with Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di IF A061 on my Nikon D700) Now for the bad news, focusing is slow and noisy, and the F-mount is plastic, and if you point it down the zoom will extend under the force of gravity, BUT all those things pale into insignificance when you get nice images, you will need plenty of light, but on a bright sunny day it can perform well above its price bracket.