Flexible zoom range.

Very slow autofocus. Difficult autofocus in low light conditions. Picture quality so-so. Close focus distance fair at best.

Focal range and price are only selling points. If you are occasional user with minimal standards for photo quality, lens is fine, save for it's ability to autofocus inside.

Customer Service

Never used.

Similar Products Used:

Canon, Vivitar zooms,

wide range of focal lengths, price.

unbearable picture quality, slow aperture, build quality.

i bought this lens about two years ago. this lens is an awfully poor performer at all focal lengths. the Nikkor 35-80 consumer zoom was sharper than this lens. do yourself a favor and stay away from this lens (or any super zooms for that matter, even if it's a Nikon or Canon)

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

N/A

Great range. Relatively fast autofocus. Good price. Looks manly.

Quite heavy. The aperature ring is inconvenient to use on my Pentax ZX-5N (it's almost impossible to turn with any comfort). Not very sharp zoomed. Distorted at wide angles.

I was very excited to get this lens, but was rather disappointed with its performance. Although the range is very enticing, I'd HIGHLY recommend thinking twice before buying this zoom. It sounds like a super deal, but the bottom line is that a 28-200 lens around $300 is just not going to deliver really good results consistently. Sure, sometimes you'll get a sweet shot, but other times you'll be left disappointed. I sent mine back and am going to go with a fixed focal length lens or a smaller zoom range.

Similar Products Used:

None

Inexpensive; Easy to pack for hassle free travelling;

Pictures not sharp.

Say anything you want about this lens, please just do NOT say it is sharp. Compared to all the lens I have tried, in terms of picture quality, this one is disappointing.

Similar Products Used:

Several Nikon, Cannon lens and Sigma Lens

This lens has VERY good optics, and the aperture is surprisingly large for it's range. Furthermore, the range not only makes up for, but is a BIG improvement over my Vivitar 35-70/3.5 and 70-210/4.5 .

There are some rather small sacrifices to make. It's slightly bulky, and the 72mm diameter is a large size for filters besides universal brands such as Cokin, Lee, and Singh Ray. (You pros can afford it, right?). Also, it does not implement features such as Pentax's "Power Zoom" and Canon's "Image Stabilization".

Tired of the rather often switching between normal and telephoto lenses? look no further. This lens is not your ordinary bargain bin lens, this is the real deal! Only $200 is a steal for a wide-angle to telephoto that has professional-level optics and a decent aperture for macro photography incorporated. Despite the drawbacks, this lens delivers quality!

Customer Service

Didn't have to contact Tamron yet, and if it holds up through the years, I won't EVER have to!

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 35-70/3.5-5.6
Vivitar 70-210/4.5-5.6

cheap
zoom range

plasticky
poor color
poor contrast
awfully slow focus
small aperture

this tamron lens is really a waste of money... poor image quality. can't bear it and sell it at 40% off just before the warranty expired, but it's worth..... get rid of it

Similar Products Used:

nikkor AF-D 70-300/4-5.6ED

28-200mm Zoom Range
Price
IF Focus / Non-Rotating Front Element
Close Focus
Lens Hood Included
Size / Weight
6-Yr Warranty

Marked as 3.8-5.6 but I bet it's actually slower. Never read test report on the "Super", but in PopPhoto (Dec 2000) the "Super II" actual was 4.1-6.2. Noticed that this lens viewfinder image approx 1 stop dimmer than Tamron 70-300mm 4.5-5.6.
200mm is ONLY at infinity, as you focus closer focal length decreases.
Soft at settings longer than 135mm.
Slow AF in low light at longer focal lengths.

At f8-11 this lens can produce great images from 28 to just under 135mm, above 135mm images get progressively softer.

The 200mm is only at infinity. As you focus distance decreases, the focal length decreases. With this lens at 200mm focused on an subject at 10 ft. produce the same image size as Tamron 70-300mm did at 135mm.

When I want to travel light and just want to take family/general snapshots (i.e., do not plan on making enlargements) I'll load Kodak Royal Gold 400 or Fuji Superia X-Tra 400 and mount the Tamron 28-200mm to my N80 and have fun.

Otherwise, I use a ISO 100 color print film in the N80 with the Nikkor 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 and the N70 with slide film and the Tamron SP 35-80 2.8, and B&W film in my FM body, along with the Tamron 70-300mm, and 28mm 2.8, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 2.0 and 105mm Micro 2.5 Nikkors.

As far as value/performance I can understand some people rating this lens with a 4 or 5 "Value Rating". However based on my experience, optically I would have agree with the tests/ratings at www.photodo.com and www.photozone.de and give it a 3 for "Overall Rating".

Customer Service

Never had to use.

Similar Products Used:

First 28-200mm zoom.
Been using Tamron SP 35-80 2.8 over 20 years with no problems - still my favorite lens.
Tamron 70-300mm 4-5.6 LD 1:2 Macro.
Own several Nikkor prime/zoom lenses.

Ease of use, put it on and forget about your lens. I love being able to go from 28mm to 200mm from frame to frame. 28mm frames considerably sharper than the other ranges.

Now that I've read it, and also recently looked through a NIkon 50mm, the veiwfinder is a bit dark. The autofocus can be a bit "chunky" as well. What does that mean? At times it can't make up its mind. Switch to manual.

I don't know why a lot of these reviews are so negative about this lens. I've taken the best pictures of my life with this lens. I have even blown some up to 10x12 with out a losing any quality. I love the quickness of being able to shoot the larger scene in one shot, and than immediatly zoom in on something in that scene. Great for markets and a parades. I've also used it with great success with my tripod. The narrow aperture has produced some great shots of old buildings and terraced rice paddies for me. I'm looking now to supplement this lens with a fixed 50mm to get the wide aperture and sharper optics of a nikon lens. After that, when I have more money to burn, I can also see myself forking over for other fixed lenses, but I can't see myself selling this lens. I use it with a N60 now, and when I spend even more moeny for an upgrade camera body, I'll probably just keep the Tamron on the N60. Its a good lens. If your starting out, it can't be beat. Although Sigma might have somehting to say on that.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

nothing fully

Big range, easy to use. Moving from 28mm to 200mm within half round :-) Great for trip.

Picture quality is not too sharp and color saturation worse, compare to other lenses within its class e.g. sigma, tokina (of course cannot be compares with nikkor, hee hee)

It's not something to compared with small range lenses. because the optic quality is of course different. This lense is a complement of small range. If you want the detail, go for small ranges lenses, but if you want to travel, this lense is not a bad choice.

Similar Products Used:

Tokina, Sigma

Zoom range, price, relatively compact size, min focus distance, non-rotating front element, relatively well built, good edge-to-edge sharpness even at max aperture.

Zoom ring can sometimes be difficult to turn. Small max aperture. A little soft at 200 mm. Effective focal length (in telephoto range >100mm) drops when the focus changes from infinity.

This is a surprisingly good lens, especially when taken into account the price. This lens beats the vivitar 28 - 105 throughout the whole zoom range. Edge-to-edge sharp is very good, even at max aperture. But this is not the highest resolution lens I have. It is hard to beat the convenience, however!

I was thinking about selling the Vivitar 28 - 105 and Tokina 80 - 200. However, after seeing the results, I'll sell the Vivitar 28 - 105 but not the Tokina 80 - 200. I think not all of the technical challenges have been totally resolved. But this is still an amazing lens, definitely great for everyday use and travel.

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 28 - 105
Tokina 80 - 200
Pentax 28, 50