Photography News 10

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Kit reviews Mini tests Our regular look at some of the latest photographic kit to land on dealers’ shelves

Words by Will Cheung & Ian Fyfe

Tamron 16-300mmf/3.5-6.3 Di II VCPZD £529

SPECS

PRICE £529 CONTACT www.intro2020.co.uk CONSTRUCTION 16 elements in 12 groups FILTER SIZE 67mm MINIMUM APERTURE f/22-40 MINIMUMFOCUS 0.39m DIMENSIONS (LXD) 99.5x75mm WEIGHT 540g

For over 20 years, Tamron has been delivering compact superzooms that make for ideal travel companions, and with each update has come an incremental increase in focal range. This has progressed from the 28-200mm, launched in 1992, through 18-200mm, 18-250mm and 18-270mm models. Now we have the latest version, which not only pushes further at the telephoto end to reach 300mm, but impressively extends the reach at the wide end to 16mm. Remember, we’re talking about a lens that’s for APS-C format sensors, so the 35mm equivalent focal range is 24-450mm. And it’s this zoom range that is the most impressive aspect of the lens. Subjects that are barely visible at 16mm can almost fill the frame at the long end – it’s just staggering to see through the viewfinder. You’ve also got the option of focusing close to 39cm at any focal length without switching to a macro mode, meaning that at 300mm, the maximum magnification is 1:2.9 – impressively close. The zoom range isn’t all this lens has to offer though. Like its predecessor, it includes a Piezo Drive (PZD) autofocus motor, which promises near- silent and quick focusing. It delivers on both fronts. In everyday environments with ambient noise, the focusing mechanism is inaudible even to the photographer, not to mention anyone further away, and even in a silent room there’s a barely audible buzz. And it’s quick, efficient and smooth. The point of the Piezo Drive motor is not just the speed and sound, but also the size of the lens. Its design means it adds very little bulk to the overall unit, and that makes the size of the lens so impressive in comparison to its focal range. It’s more compact even than most 70-300mm lenses, and lighter too. The finish is smart as well – gone is the gold ring of the previous model, with a more subtle, chic silver one in its place. The lens rings are well engineered too

– the wide rubberised zoom ring moves smoothly even when eased very slowly, and the barrel doesn’t rotate, so you don’t need to worry about your filter orientation. The focus ring is also nicely weighted, even if a little narrow. Impressively, given the focal range, the optical performance of the lens is fairly consistent throughout. Sharpness peaks within specific aperture ranges at different focal lengths, generally around f/5.6 to f/8, with things softening slightly upwards of this. Fall-off is less dramatic down to the widest apertures, and in fact at 300mm, the widest aperture of f/6.3 is the sharpest. Central sharpness is very good throughout, and it’s only at the extreme long end where it drops off slightly – this is expected even in a 70-300mm telezoom, never mind with this kind of zoom range, and it’s still more than acceptable. Purple and green fringing is a slight issue, largely towards the corners, but nothing that can’t be easily corrected in software. There’s some barrel distortion at the widest focal lengths, which switches to pincushion distortion by 50mm, but in both cases this is minimal and again easy to correct post-capture. Tamron’s Vibration Compensation system has proven itself time and again, and it features in the 16-300mm lens. Its effect is instantly visible in the viewfinder when using long focal lengths, as it snaps a trembling image into stillness, and it’s silent too – no annoying hum as it does its work. Its benefit is obvious in images as well. At 300mm, I was able to get 40 per cent of shots sharp with a shutter speed of 1/30sec, and even at 1/15sec, I had a hit rate of 20 per cent. Very impressive considering that without VC, success at these shutter speeds was zero, and even at 1/125sec, it was only 10%. It was also of benefit at the wide end, with almost a full house of sharp pictures at 1/5sec with a focal length of 16mm.

16MM

300MM

ABOVE The ship is but a dot to the left of the horizon at 16mm, but zoom in to 300mm, and it’s a decent size in the frame – a really impressive display of pulling power.

BELOWAt 16mm, images are sharpest at f/5.6 and less sharp at f/11 and smaller. Images are generally a little softer at the long extreme of 300mm, and at this focal length performance is best at f/6.3.

The verdict If you’re an APS-C DSLR user looking for one lens to do everything, then you can’t go far wrong with the Tamron 16-300mm. The build, handling, excellent Vibration Control and the silent PZD motor together make it a joy to use. The enormous focal range speaks for itself, while the size and weight makes it ideal as a travel lens. With this kind of lens, you’d expect some optical compromise, but the Tamron holds up well, offering reasonable quality at any focal length. It’s an ideal all-rounder, and reasonably priced too. Of course, it’s only suitable for APS-C format sensors, but if you’re full- frame, Tamron now has this covered too with a new 28-300mm superzoom.

300MM

300MM

F/6.3

F/11

16MM

16MM

That zoom range, VC, great handling PROS CONS Some fringing, not so sharp at 300mm

F/11

F/5.6

Photography News | Issue 10

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