Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC Zoom Lens Review – The Best Alternative

Tamron an alternative camera Lens maker other than Nikon and Canon. We did earlier see Sigma Lens, Also was impressed well. It was well built and premium lens. So we are here to have a complete in-depth review of it. Well I am ain’t a professional photographer but I do shoot product videos and occasional event photographer, sometimes I love to shoot candid shots as well. For the Candid shots, a zoom lens is a must and Tamron 18-200mm is what you must check out. Earlier we also reviewed Sigma 18-300mm do check that out too.

Build of Tamron 18-200mm Review

When I received the lens, I noticed  the build quality of the lens and feel in the hand. It wasn’t the best or it was better than Nikon Stock lens. I managed did some research about the pricing of the lens and then I was shocked with the price. It was roughly priced at 15-16,000 rs which was unexpectedly much cheaper. More importantly, the build quality was much better and the best for the price you are paying. The Nikkor 18-200mm VR II lens cost almost double, so at this price point, you are only left with 55-200mm to buy which makes it appearance into total zoom and not much wide group shot to be captured. You gotta place yourself much behind to that of 18mm lens. In Sigma 18-200mm the first thing I was seen was the huge grip for the zooming, It was much larger and more perfect grip to zoom than the Stock Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens. You don’t need to bang much price for this lens and it comes it in your budget. The lens at the bottom near to the VC logo had a dedicated Lock button which is helpful especially for traveling and security the lens is at its best. Over to the same parallel to locking button was the AF-MF button and VC On-Off Button.

The lens, when installed to the camera, didn’t add huge weight, It was above to the prime lens and Lower to that of the Sigma 18-300mm lens which we did review. That’s actually a good point for a photographer who holds His/Her camera for Long duration in-Hand.

 

Performance

We had setup the Tamron 18-200mm on Nikon D5100 which is an old camera but worth to test till. What we loved about the lens was the amazing silent focus meter, unlike the Nikkor’s noisy focus meter. The Tamron’s focus meter was almost silent and smooth at focusing the object which was really impressive. You don’t need to spend a lot but you get much better shots. Also, Its at 18mm which could even replace your stock lens, as of mine was an 18-55mm. So the Tamron 18-200mm adds a much better form to it. Talking about the photos , Contrast, clarity you can get an idea from below images.

 

You get much to do with the creativity with such a long zoom. So the image below was shot at the 18mm and I found it to be pretty good well exposed and good contrast.

Just to show what exactly you get at 200mm here’s the below image. So definitely settings adjusted and I have seen much needed a better contrast.

If you talk of the aperture clarity I found it to be best at f/6.3 as it goes till f/32.

One noticeable thing was the Flash Shadow because of lens, as I was using the inbuilt Nikon D5100 Flash so I did see as below

Notice the portion at my hand a shadow it was because of the lens, I do use external flash but as of indoor I had to use it for a quick shot then I noticed the same. Actually, this ain’t the issue as at 200mm your flash won’t be reaching.

Videography Test

I’m a product and event photographer sometimes so here are the video below which were shot using the Sigma 18-200mm lens. I did loved it while shooting the videos as well and much it got adjusted well.

 

 

Who should be buying the Sigma 18-200mm

• A wedding photographer can use for group and candid.
• Event photographer
• Flower or insects shoot

 

Overall Verdict

I did enjoy using the lens and more important it gives you better creative to the existing shots. It’s not pitched for all possible users, it would totally depend on the use. If you are looking for a Lens other than to stock lens then this should be the choice you should go for. It’s worth spending the each penny and delivers great value for money as well. The most lovable part of the lens was the much smoother focus lens. There’s focus ring for MF shots which is small but grippy which also does the other part well for the lens.