Tamron 16-300

[Grillman]

Hi everyone,

So I had a nice trip to Japan recently and for the first time realised just how important a lens that can cover a big range for is for travel photography.

I had a Canon 70-300, the kit 18-55 and the 40mm pancake. I lost a lot of opportunities switching between lenses and got sick of switching back.

So all I could think about was a new lens that could pretty much cover any situation.

Browsing around I saw Tamron had just released it's new 16-300MM F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD.

I went to MAP Camera in Shinjuku to the trade in floor and handed over my 70-300 and kit 18-55 and hoped they would offer me something fair, they said come back in 45mins.

So a burger and a couple of beers later and I headed back in.

Surprisingly they offered me the equivalent of roughly around AUD$335, which I was happy with as the kit lens to me was worth zero. But if you are trading in towards something the same day, they give you an extra 10% value on your traded items, which took it up to roughly the equivalent of AUD$370. So in the end I made up the difference of about $330 and picked up the 16-300.
I accidentally handed over an extra 10,000yen note when I paid and the manager happily handed it back to me, which only made my already good experience much better. He also went out of his way to try and get me the tax discount for being a tourist, but I had a permanent visa which excludes me from such a lovely discount, I think he was more disappointed than I was.

I can heartily recommend MAP Camera in Shinjuku, I visited a few camera shops in Tokyo and had the best service and experience there, and they also had a great range of even very very new equipment.

The bad news is this all happened on my 2nd last day in Japan and I never really got to test it out there. But from the little I have used it I am very happy with it and I can only imagine how much easier life would have been if I had had it 3 weeks earlier, and I really love the extra 2mm.


I don't know enough to give a review of a lens, so I am interested in anyone's opinion of this lens.


I hope to get some of my holiday photos up soon as well!

Thanks!

[arthurking83]

Good to hear Grillman.

Don'[t be afraid of posting up a review of it.
All reviews are basically an opinion of what the reviewer thinks of the goods.

This is not the same a a test, where care would be taken to compare the lens in a strict and controlled manner against another lens.
That's harder to do properly(ie. without errors).

But it'd be good to see a review with a few samples .. whether the lens focuses well enough for you, is it sharp enough .. are there any serious optical issues that you have to deal with.

I'm not a huge fan of 'all in one' type lenses, but they are handy to have for certain times.

Once I have a couple more of the lenses I 'need' .. I'll end up with a lens that is a bit of an all rounder for those times when it's handy to have.