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Moving Up To DSLR

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KimmerJ

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I'm ready to move up to the XSi from the Canon S5. I'm considering coupling the XSi with the recently introduced Tamron 18-270mm VC lens. I know that DPR did not give this Tamron lens a great review, but wondering if any Canon XSi enthusiasts have used the Tamron 18-270mm. Any comments...positive or negative?

I'm not a serious photographer...just enjoy taking pictures especially nature and wildlife. Thanks for any and all responses.
 
super zoom lenses won't give you the best quality images that most people expect out of a dslr. i'm sure it's more convinient but the primary reason most people upgrade to a dslr is for better image quality, and control over the camera.

I'm sure the tamron 18-270 is a decent consumer lense... another possible lens is canon's recent 18-200 lens... I'm sure they're in the same ball park in terms of overall build quality and image quality...
 
I do not have this lens, though I am probably going to buy it as my all around general purpose lens.

I have been reading a LOT of comments on a lot of websites. Almost all of them seem to be very positive. I think for someone like you (and me) who just wants to take some photos it will be an excellent lens.

The one area that some people say it is rubbish and some say it is adequate is auto focus speed. Comments seem contradictory but it looks as though it MAY be a little slow in low light conditions.

So indoors party pics without flash, maybe it won't work, but many lenses would not.

High speed motor racing and other such sports, maybe it would be ok as not a low light issue, but probably it would not.

Long range landscapes, wildlife, birds etc, I reckon it would be perfect as you are getting extra reach over the canon and sigma 18-200mm lenses

You can of course buy one of the many lenses in the 100-300mm or so bracket, but may find like me that you can't be bothered to keep swapping lenses etc.

I want a lens that does everything, this is considered by many on this and other forums to be a philistines view :) so shoot me I am a philistine! (only joking)

The tamron 18-270 appears to offer all of these advantages

18mm at wide end which on most DSLR's with the 1.6 crop factor thingy is the minimum acceptable, 28mm just isn't wide enough

270mm on the zoom end which againon a 1.6 crop DSLR is the equiv of about a 400mm zoom, few people seriously need more than that for regular use

Image stabillised - If like me you take all your pics hand held there is no way a 200mm+ lens is going to be any use to you unless it is image stabilised because of camera shake.

Reported image quality seems to be "good"

Possible disadvantages appear to be

F6.3 at the wide end. I don't think this matters. Most people don't shoot at the fastest speed a lens can manage anyway because you get a better image if you stop down to closer to F8 so what is the point of having a slightly faster F5.6 zoom if you are going to stop it down anyway? Remember the lens is image stabilised, so whereas at say F8 at 270mm this lens would normally have too slow a shutter speed to hand hold, it should be fine with the image stabilisation.

The autofocus may be "slow" - if it is a bit slow, so what i can live with that. MAny peope are reporting that it is "about normal". which is fine for me. Some people are reporting 5-10 seconds to lock on. This is of course unacceptable but what were the conditions?? I have used lenses that I consider to have perfectly ok auto focus that occassionally struggle in a darker situation if the target is not an "autofocus friendly shape". I can live with that.

Personally I intend to find one in a shop, take a few photos in the shop with my camera, take them home and check them out. If theimage quality is ok and i did not have manjor problems with autofocus speed in the shop i will be buying one.... Not for a few months though as it is not vacation season yet :)

Andy
 
What kind of things do you take pictures of? And do you use the zoom on your compact alot? I switched from a megazoom compact to DSLR a few monts ago and was afraid I would keep changing lenses. The opposite is true, my 18-55 is on the cam 85% of the time. 10% is for my 50mm 1.8 and 5% for the 55-250 IS. Unless I go to the zoo, but then the 55 on the wide end is sufficient for taking the few pictures you don’t need zoom for. I hardly ever change lenses in the field.

Honoustly, If you are switching to DSLR to get better IQ, go for a good IQ-lens or you will be sorry. Already I’m running against the limits of my 55-250 and considering a 100-400L or a fast prime. A superzoom lens is good as an extra, not as your main lens if you are intending to get serious with photography.

Greetings,
Erwin
--
Still learning.....

Sony H2
Canon 450D 18-55 IS, 55-250 IS, 50mm 1.8

Some of my pictures here:
http://www.pbase.com/ed197907/
 
The Tamron will be a terrific lens for you to get to know the XSi. Moving from p&s to a DSLR can be quite a big step--in auto mode the lens will provide excellent range and return better quality pics than any p&s.The XSi Tamron outfit is also a fantastic travel combo.It will cover a lot of the bases whilst you are learning how to use the camera to its potential.As your shooting style becomes more developed you will be able to add more specific lenses for sports,portrait or macro.
Enjoy your new purchase.
--
PJT
 
Erwin,

You say you are approaching the limits of the 55-250, which I believe is reputed to be a very good lens. I think your comment may sum it up when you said something like "if you intend to get serious about photography" apologies if I got the quote a little wrong.

I would agree if someone wants to become a serious amateur photographer or even a pro then the Tamron 18-270 may not be the best path to take.

But how many Canon DSLR's a year are sold and how many to people you would describe as a serious amateur, or a professional. My guess is at least 90% of the owners are more like me, they are interested, understand the basics ad enjoy taking photographs, but it is not an end in it's own right. e.g. I take pictures of places i visit. I do not visit places to take photos..

It is all relative, and probably one of the hardest thing for a newb on these forums to get a grip of. If they are told something is cheap and rubbish is it really rubbish, or is it in fact perfectly acceptable but not "L" class....

I have the older sigma 18-125 unstabilised lens, i think it is the best lens I have ever owned, I use it 98% of the time, I am sure there are people on the forum who would agree with me. I am sure there are people who would be very derogatory about that lens....

who is right....

no one, it is all relative...

So for a casual photographer who thinks a DSLR is maybe a good idea, Tamron 18-270 could be good.

Even for a newb, who wants to learn everything and really become expert at what they do, the Tamron is probably too much of a compromise....

Andy
 
Andy Watkins said:
Erwin,

You say you are approaching the limits of the 55-250, which I believe
is reputed to be a very good lens. I think your comment may sum it up
when you said something like "if you intend to get serious about
photography" apologies if I got the quote a little wrong.
Click to expand...
Your quote sums my intentions very well. I´m a terrible perfectionist. When I look at 100% crops from my 50mm 1.8, and I look at crops from the 55-250, I find them not sharp enough. However, I know and agree that it's a good lens for the money, but ofcourse not L class....
Andy Watkins said:
I would agree if someone wants to become a serious amateur
photographer or even a pro then the Tamron 18-270 may not be the best
path to take.

But how many Canon DSLR's a year are sold and how many to people you
would describe as a serious amateur, or a professional. My guess is
at least 90% of the owners are more like me, they are interested,
understand the basics ad enjoy taking photographs, but it is not an
end in it's own right. e.g. I take pictures of places i visit. I do
not visit places to take photos..
Click to expand...
I agree, but there are many people that take the step from compact to DSLR and expect instant better results on Auto-mode using any lens. I'm trying to warn people who are going to go make the jump to DSLR that just buying the camera isn't going to give you the improvement in quality you want. I know, I just made the jump. Pictures from my first weekendtrip with my XSI were extremely dissapointing.
Andy Watkins said:
It is all relative, and probably one of the hardest thing for a newb
on these forums to get a grip of. If they are told something is cheap
and rubbish is it really rubbish, or is it in fact perfectly
acceptable but not "L" class....
Click to expand...
True, I'm a newbie myself. You have to read, learn and mostly: Look and see the difference between a bird shot on 200mm with the 55-250, the 100-400L or a 200mm prime. My H2 at 200mm will be comparable with the tamron 18-250 when it comes to sharpness, and even with the 55-250. But the other two will blow it away.
Andy Watkins said:
I have the older sigma 18-125 unstabilised lens, i think it is the
best lens I have ever owned, I use it 98% of the time, I am sure
there are people on the forum who would agree with me. I am sure
there are people who would be very derogatory about that lens....

who is right....

no one, it is all relative...

So for a casual photographer who thinks a DSLR is maybe a good idea,
Tamron 18-270 could be good.
Click to expand...
But will he be better off? Isn't the sx10 or the H50 a better choice?
Andy Watkins said:
Even for a newb, who wants to learn everything and really become
expert at what they do, the Tamron is probably too much of a
compromise....
Click to expand...
Agree on that.
Andy Watkins said:
Andy
Click to expand...
--
Still learning.....

Sony H2
Canon 450D 18-55 IS, 55-250 IS, 50mm 1.8

Some of my pictures here:
http://www.pbase.com/ed197907/
 
KimmerJ said:
I'm ready to move up to the XSi from the Canon S5. I'm considering
coupling the XSi with the recently introduced Tamron 18-270mm VC
lens. I know that DPR did not give this Tamron lens a great review,
but wondering if any Canon XSi enthusiasts have used the Tamron
18-270mm. Any comments...positive or negative?

I'm not a serious photographer...just enjoy taking pictures
especially nature and wildlife. Thanks for any and all responses.
--
Click to expand...
Hi again---My second response to this post.

There has been mention of the difficulty of moving up to a DSLR and also mention of lens quality.These are both red herrings but as with all good red herrings ----there are elements of truth in them.

The great thing about modern DSLRs is that by selecting full auto(green square) the camera can take decentish photos straight from the box---nothing too scary about that ! Picture quality will certainly be the equal of your present camera.The trick is to move on from full auto and to start to take control of your photos.How long this takes is up to you and your own pace of learning.

Lenses are the most expensive items in the photographers arsenal-----Good lenses in a capable photographers hands can produce awesome images and there are many examples to be found on this site.They are also likely to produce dreadful images in unskilled hands as there is a learning curve to go through to understand the shallow depth of field that fast (low f/stop) can produce.Kit lenses are a great place for people to start.Canon presently offer the Xsi with a twin lens kit comprising 18-55mm IS and 55-250mm IS lenses and despite what has been said earlier they are both decent quality lenses.The Tamron 18-270mm lens you mention is a one lens solution that covers that focal range.Any of these lenses can take good photos.Frankly it doesnt matter if you buy the twin lens kit or the single lense---it is unlikey that you will be able to discern any noticeable differences in the lenses (although they do exist if you know what you are looking for ).This is your starting point-------The important thing here is for you to get what you feel comfortable with and to use the camera as much as you can.Despite what you may read on this site many DSLR buyers never move beyond kit lenses and are perfectly happy.

Read the camera manual and then read it again there is a wealth of info in there.Most importantly learn about the relationship between aperture(AV),shutter speed (TV) and film speed (ISO)-----It sounds complicated but you will soon get the general idea (forgive me if you already know).When you want to move away from the auto modes try taking loads of pictures in AV aperture priority and see how the depth of field changes----Hey you are off and running.The important thing is to have fun and enjoy your camera especially while you are learning how to use it.Dont be ashamed to use auto----If the pic is important its much better to get it than to blow it.The beauty of digital is that your mistakes cost you nothing---just press delete and move on.

My first DSLR was the old 300D which came with a not so good kit lens and I got some memorable pictues with it.Get whichever of the lenses you fancy---At a later stage you can either add more lenses or trade up---Lenses tend to keep a reasonable value so you wont lose much.One of the first that I would consider adding is the 50mm f/1.8 prime---Its a great introduction to fast glass and better IQ-----its also cheap.

DSLR photography is great fun.It takes a bit of time to learn the basics but not that long.The important bit is to enjoy it at whatever level you choose.If you want to stick with your initial lenses then thats fine-----If you want to get serious and spend a lot on bodies and glass-----then thats fine too.
Good luck and have fun.
--
PJT
 
Erwin,

Good points. I have a Canon 400D and am very happy with it. About 5 years ago I went up from my Nikon 995 P&S which I was very happy with to the Canon EOS 300D (Rebel). I had it for Xmas, took some pictures and was completely stunned. They were worse than my Nikon P&S.

It took me a months hard work and getting tips off of the internet to be able to get the camera start taking even half descent pictures. It was also greatly helped when the russian hack came out and I finally got FEC on the camera.

It is easy to assume that a DSLR will be better than a P&S even in auto, in all conditions. I agree with you that is not always the case. Todays SLR's are more "Newby friendly" than my old 300D, but then the latest batch of P&S cameras are pretty darned good too.

I agree a DSLR is not for everyone, I would say it is all relative though :)

Some people will be happy with the camera on their phone (Yuck)
Some people will be happy with a descent P&S (fair enough)

Some people will see the benefits of a DSLR, enjoy it and get value for money from it, but never push it to it's creative limit (that's me)

Some people are or hope to become real "pro's" pushing the camera to it's creative limit. - I for example don't think I could easily achieve that, and certainly don't have the inclination to try, photography is not my main hobby.

I "think" that for the type of person like me (above) the Tamron 18-270 may be a good lens. This may also cover the OP.

Then again the OP may be more like you in which case the Tamron is probably not the best choice. Or as you suggest they could fit into the next category above in my list in which case a DSLR is possibly a mistake altogether.

With suggestions and tips from people on the internet, only the OP can sit back and best assess what level he want to go to, or can afford to go to, or feels he has the ability to achieve.

Andy
PS A merry Xmas to one and all :)
 
With todays Newb friendly DSLR's I tend to agree with pretty much everything Wombat says. I would like to make one additional observation as well.

You have probably read much of the differences between P&S and DSLR. One that I think is important and occassionally overlooked by new convertees. Post processing.

P&S cameras can get away by setting the variables in the camera, taking the pictures as jpegs and then printing straight from the camera etc.

This will very rarely work on any DSLR. You pretty much need to be happy to go into your favourite picture editing program and tweak the final picture to get the best results.

If like me you choose to shoot RAW, then you HAVE to go in and process every picture. I recently went to Egypt, too over 600 pictures and took two weeks post processing the pictures.

Is it possible to use a DSLR on auto and NOT do any post processing at all. Just barely, though buy the right DSLR as some are less friendly in this regard than others. If this was your intent would you be better off using your money to buy a really good P&S? Maybe......

Andy
 
I second Andy´s remarks about post-processing, but want to add one more. One of the reasons my first DSLR shots were dissapointing: Depth of field. Take a P&S click a group of people on auto mode and everybody is in-focus. Take a DSLR on 'green box' mode, shoot and find out half of the group is not in focus. Same with close-ups, macro's and landscapes.

My short statement: learn DOF or be dissapointed.

Greetings,
Erwin
Andy Watkins said:
With todays Newb friendly DSLR's I tend to agree with pretty much
everything Wombat says. I would like to make one additional
observation as well.

You have probably read much of the differences between P&S and DSLR.
One that I think is important and occassionally overlooked by new
convertees. Post processing.

P&S cameras can get away by setting the variables in the camera,
taking the pictures as jpegs and then printing straight from the
camera etc.

This will very rarely work on any DSLR. You pretty much need to be
happy to go into your favourite picture editing program and tweak the
final picture to get the best results.

If like me you choose to shoot RAW, then you HAVE to go in and
process every picture. I recently went to Egypt, too over 600
pictures and took two weeks post processing the pictures.

Is it possible to use a DSLR on auto and NOT do any post processing
at all. Just barely, though buy the right DSLR as some are less
friendly in this regard than others. If this was your intent would
you be better off using your money to buy a really good P&S?
Maybe......

Andy
Click to expand...
--
Still learning.....

Sony H2
Canon 450D 18-55 IS, 55-250 IS, 50mm 1.8

Some of my pictures here:
http://www.pbase.com/ed197907/
 
Andy Watkins said:
Erwin,

Good points. I have a Canon 400D and am very happy with it. About 5
years ago I went up from my Nikon 995 P&S which I was very happy with
to the Canon EOS 300D (Rebel). I had it for Xmas, took some pictures
and was completely stunned. They were worse than my Nikon P&S.
Click to expand...
Yep, my point exactly....
Andy Watkins said:
It took me a months hard work and getting tips off of the internet to
be able to get the camera start taking even half descent pictures.
It was also greatly helped when the russian hack came out and I
finally got FEC on the camera.
Click to expand...
What is FEC?
Andy Watkins said:
It is easy to assume that a DSLR will be better than a P&S even in
auto, in all conditions. I agree with you that is not always the
case. Todays SLR's are more "Newby friendly" than my old 300D, but
then the latest batch of P&S cameras are pretty darned good too.
Click to expand...
True, and in good light conditions most people are better of with a Sony H50 ,Panny FZ28 or Canon sx10
Andy Watkins said:
I agree a DSLR is not for everyone, I would say it is all relative
though :)

Some people will be happy with the camera on their phone (Yuck)
Some people will be happy with a descent P&S (fair enough)
Some people will see the benefits of a DSLR, enjoy it and get value
for money from it, but never push it to it's creative limit (that's
me)
Some people are or hope to become real "pro's" pushing the camera to
it's creative limit. - I for example don't think I could easily
achieve that, and certainly don't have the inclination to try,
photography is not my main hobby.

I "think" that for the type of person like me (above) the Tamron
18-270 may be a good lens. This may also cover the OP.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, for vacation purposes, as an extra lens I might even consider a lens like that in the future, but perhaps i will use that money and buy a good P&S like mentioned above.
Andy Watkins said:
Then again the OP may be more like you in which case the Tamron is
probably not the best choice. Or as you suggest they could fit into
the next category above in my list in which case a DSLR is possibly a
mistake altogether.

With suggestions and tips from people on the internet, only the OP
can sit back and best assess what level he want to go to, or can
afford to go to, or feels he has the ability to achieve.
Click to expand...
Very very true.
Andy Watkins said:
Andy
PS A merry Xmas to one and all :)
Click to expand...
Same to you, and a good newyear!
Erwin
--
Still learning.....

Sony H2
Canon 450D 18-55 IS, 55-250 IS, 50mm 1.8

Some of my pictures here:
http://www.pbase.com/ed197907/
 
Erwin,

FEC flash exposure compensation, most cameras come with it. For complicated reasons they took it off the 300D which meant if like me you used the built in flash you had a real problem, you could not control the power of the flash.

Andy
 
Ah, thanks for explaining.
Andy Watkins said:
Erwin,

FEC flash exposure compensation, most cameras come with it. For
complicated reasons they took it off the 300D which meant if like me
you used the built in flash you had a real problem, you could not
control the power of the flash.

Andy
Click to expand...
--
Still learning.....

Sony H2
Canon 450D 18-55 IS, 55-250 IS, 50mm 1.8

Some of my pictures here:
http://www.pbase.com/ed197907/
 
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