T4i and Tamron superzooms

davebreal wrote:

R2D2 wrote:

davebreal wrote:

I used the Canon SL2 + Tamron 18-400mm extensively on a recent trip to Cancun.

I find the extra reach essential for my interest in wildlife photography. Sharpness on the long end seemed very good to me also. 300mm does not often cut it for wildlife for me.

Lots of sample images on

http://daveblinder.wordpress.com

and

http://facebook.com/daveblinderphotography

Hi Dave'

For the OP, how do you like the 18-400 compared to the 16-300 (reach notwithstanding)?

I've seen some posts where folks have preferred the new lens.

TIA,

R2

ps. I've used the (older) 18-270 and IQ was fair. It was pretty well-behaved otherwise.

Hi R2D2 - The 18-400's sharpness at 400mm seems to outperform the 16-300's at sharpness at 300mm. I have not performed any testing to back that up, though I view my raw conversions at 100% while post processing.

My personal opinion is that the 18-400 is in a different league than the 16-300 though they are both nice lenses. Sharpness and image quality are very important to me because I do try to print to 12" x18" or greater.

I miss having the width of 16mm but the 18-400 is truly an all-in-one lens for what I like shooting (landscapes, butterflies, birds, etc). I sadly returned my loaner 18-400 VC to Tamron, however I have a personal copy on order.

I have a Tamron Tech Tip article with nature images through the 18-400mm VC which will come out in the Tamron eNewsletter in November. This features yet unseen images from a recent trip to Mexico.

I think most beginner and experienced users will enjoy both lenses. The bang for the buck seems good to me when versatility is important. If I can print to 16x20 at 300dpi and not see any "mush" I get excited.

I have more personal shots from taking the 18-400mm VC to Mexico and will try to post more high res samples soon to http://daveblinder.wordpress.com

Someone in a different thread recently tried to tell me all of my sample shots are soft. They must not understand that when I post a 100% crop wide open, I am showing everyone a worst-case scenario by intention.

Thanks for the detailed reply Dave'.

These superzooms keep on getting better and better.  It'd be nice to have an all-in-one solution for those times you want to go fast and free (with just a single lens and no encumbrances).  I'll have to keep this one in mind.

Many thanks for the info,

R2