NONE!! If you don''''t believe me check out www.photodo.com, a lens test website. Out of 5 stars a great single focal lenght lens will get about 4.7, a good zoom about 3.8. This stinker comes in at 2.6. Terrible.

As above.

Carefully read what the last reviewer said - that if your looking for great 5X7 inch prints this is a great lens. I can buy a used Pentax screwmount 80-200 for about $50.00 that will give me great 11X14 prints - so what''''s the value of this lens. In my opinion too many people are willing to give up ANY quality for convenience. "WOW - I can carry only one lens -- so what if I get terrible results?". I tried this lens (the M/F version for a day to see if I wanted to give it as a gift. Compared to my usual zoom ( admittedly a 37-70 Leica R ) this thing stank. NOT SHARP (I tried 3 different samples). Tons of barrel and pincushion distortion! Cheap (plastic constrution). And all for only $500.00. Face it folks - you don''''t get something for nothing. Bite the bullet and buy an 80-200 and a 28-70. Surely you photos are worth the extra 1/2 lb you''''ll have to carry.

Customer Service

Have no idea.

Similar Products Used:

Various Leica, Olympus and Nikkor zooms.

Value (even non-eBay), zoom range, image quality, macro

Requires 72mm filters, a tad noisy

This is a great lens. Discounting product defects, it''s my opinion that poor results are attributable to operator error. This is not a perfect lens in that some focal lengths and apertures will give less than perfect results at their extremes. Try not to shoot wide open, stopped down to minimun size aperture, or at exactly 28 or 200 mm. If you plan to have prints no larger than 5X7 you''ll likely never see any image degradation at all. And remember, at the very least you''ve probably paid somewhere around $500 for your camers/lens combination; closer to $650 for a non entry level outfit. Don''t waste you money, and valuable time, on drugstore, grocery store, or X-Mart developing and printing. They may be fine for test shots, but find a good photo shop/service to use for this. If I could rate partial stars, I''d overall rate this a 4.5. Since that''s not possible, I''ll roll to 5.0 I''ve shot many rols of all types of prints with this lens mounted on a Canon Elan 7 and I have NO complaints. Thus far, enlargements to 5x7, 8x10, 8x12, and larger have proven very sharp, contasty, and etc. from both Fuji Superia ISO 100 & 200 and from Kodak Gold ISO 100 & 200. I firmly believe film like Fuji Velvia will yield even better results. My last comment id the one that pleases me the most. I''ve got diehard Nikkor lens users planning to buy one of the lenses. I love it. Finally, don''t buy cheap filters.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon 135mm f/2.8 FD Canon 50mm f/1.4 FD Sears(Pentax Mfg.)Canon Mount 35mm f2.8 FD Canon 50mm EF f/1.8 Tamron 70-300mm (2000 model)

Range and size and weight with a good macro ability. Price is reasonable. Good overall travel lense.

AF tends to hunt at times. Needs quality highspeed film at least 400ASA. Not for serious amateurs.

I was not satisfied with the Sigma 28-200 so decided to change for the Tamron based on what I read here. I found that I had to use 400ASA film or a tripod to get reasonable pictures. Still not satisfied that is was superior to the Sigma I used Fuji nph400 which was much better than the terribly grain Kodak 400max. Some of the shots taken were quite good in color rendition and detail but always lacking the something when examined closely. The macro mode produced pleasing images. When I compared my photos to those of a 1988 pentax zoom point and shot they were only marginally better. The lens is good for casual photography. For lens quality it was rated 2.89/5 or average according to various reviews on the photozone survey. The softness is noticable above 160mm and I find I don''t use much above there. I will be trying the Tamron SP 24-135mm rated good at 3.61 and highly praised here.

Customer Service

Still waiting several weeks for them to mail me depth of field tables otherwise none.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-200mm; Nikkor 50mm1.8; Miranda 50mm1.4; 135mm 2.8.

-small -light -sharp

-distortion -slow (both focus and aperture) -chromatic aberration

Actually I write with regard to this lens'' successor, the 28-200XR but photographyreview.com does not yet have a section for it. Full review on my site: www.virtualtraveller.org

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-200 Super Minolta 24-105D

Its close focussing capability, construction (part metal) zoom lock, sharpness

minimum aperture of 3.8-5.6

VERY capable lens: Great zoom range, very sharp. I only shoot slides, I occasionly have the ones I like best printed on cibachrome, and pretty large too (30 by 40 cm) And still the pictures look great (when shot with Velvia). I can only reward this lens with 5 stars

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

tamron 28-200 super

Wow! What a lens! Sharpness is great and has great contrast and color saturation. The ability to cover from wide to telephoto on one lens, with this much sharpness, contrast, and ease is wonderful. My primary lens on my Nikon F3. Macro is very nice, and minimum object distance is superb. Nice lock on the lens to keep it retracted. Controls, zoom and focus work extremely well on my manual focus Nikon. It's small size is a great asset.. but the real clincher is it's tack sharp, edge to edge images.

Slower lens than some, but I shoot a lot of stuff on tripod, and stop down anyway, so that is not an issue. 72mm filters are more expensive, but so are lenses of this caliber that have even lower f-stops with even larger front elements.

I would not be afraid to use it as a professional. I believe you will get great shots, with all the sharpness you will need. It's truly a remarkable lens! Take a picture of a distant windmil, or other structure and blow it up like I did and you'll see great defenition.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-70
Tamron 60-300 SP

conveniant
the only lens i need.

none

i take photos on rare occasions, but when i do, this is the only lens i need because im out in the daylight and i feel so free with my ability to zoom in and out at the twist of a handle. i love this lens. but i noticed you have to use fast film... like 400 ISO. and i dont carry a tripod around with me either. and ive gotten all my shots with no problems. this lens keeps me happy.

Customer Service

nope

Similar Products Used:

nothing compares in my opinion for my needs

the obvious: wide zoom range. compact. convenient. a locking system at 28mm setting so it doesnt zoom from gravitational pull when held vertically.
the not so obvious: durable, great for macro photography, great reviews from magazines, sharp photos between 40-160mm range, fast AF capability. great lens hood. good looking in silver (in my opinion).
great feel when twisting the rubber rings for zooming and focusing. just the right amount of friction and turn.

-slow maximum aperture. (3.8-5.6)
-has difficulty AFing in dim light or solid colored objects.
-72mm diameter means expensive filters.
-produces slightly dark image in viewfinder which can be bothersome if you have a split image viewfinder and/or are working in dim light. the matte viewfinder is brighter but its slightly more difficult to focus with. you just have to compromise with the two. its not a big deal really. read on and see why...
-it can cause a shadow from using the built-in flash at close range.

this is the best lens for avid travelers! be it world traveling, hiking, or just a stroll around the town. the zoom range is amazing and i find the results to be best between the 40-160mm range. its not a big deal that the image in the viewfinder is slightly dark because this is not a lens that can be used in the dark to begin with. you must have a faster lens along with it. i actually dont use this lens as my primary lens. instead i have the 50mm 1.4 lens for almost all my travel photography since you can never beat the sharpness of a prime lens. but you'll never notice any difference in the sharpness between the two on a 6X4 photo even if you look thru a magnifying glass! with the speed of the 50mm 1.4 i dont usually change to the tamron super II. but on the days when im walking thru beautiful landscapes and/ or on sunny days, the super II usually takes over. it gives me great ease in framing a scene because of the extensive zoom capability. and during day shots (even on overcast days) the tamron super II works just fine. but just to be on the safe side, if you are just going to be making 6X4 prints, then you are better off using 400 ISO film to reduce the need of a tripod. on a slightly cloudy day during the summer in boston, i used 100 ISO film with the tamron lens. i had to use my tripod on almost all occasions. but the pictures still came out crispy clear. i would highly recommend this lens to anyone that wants the ease of just carrying this lens around for day shots. just keep a faster lens handy and you'll be fine on 99% of photographic oppurtunities. one thing that is very important. during sunny days, ALWAYS keep the lens hood on to avoid sun flare showing up on the photo. when using a built-in flash, ALWAYS take the lens hood off... even from its backwards packed position. otherwise you may get a shadow at the bottom of your photo caused by the lens hood. and if ever taking a macro photo from approximately 19 inches away with the zoom lens extended all the way to 160-200mm, TRY to use a shoe-mounted flash. the lens in its extended position with the use of a built in flash almost always causes a shadow of the lens on the bottom of your photo. i havent used other 28-200 lenses but from the comments ive heard from several dealers and friends, ive heard that the tamron is better than the sigma. even my father that has been taking photos professionally for over 40 years was impressed by the advanced technology of this lens as well as the name 'tamron'. he still uses his 30 year old camera and knows about sigmas and tamrons. he was happy to see i got the tamron over the sigma. i guess their reputations have come a long way! i am giving this lens 5 stars because it just cant be beat AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A FAST PRIME LENS HANDY! so really my only complaint is that this lens is a little slow, but with its numerous benefits, i still dont feel good about taking even one star away from its ratings!

Customer Service

not needed. and they returned my $35 rebate within 2 months. so that was good.

Similar Products Used:

zeiss

Extended range
Close focusing
Zoom lock
Nice lens hood

Slow

My photography focuses on family activities- travel, school and sports. The extended range is outstanding, they are not very patient for lens changes. With direct testing, I found it to be as sharpe or sharper at 4X6 as 50mm, Nikon 28-105 and Nikon 28-200. The zoom lock and close focusing led me to selling the Nikon 28-200. I use Supra 400 film, but I am sure there will be times that I will need a faster lens. I do not use this as a professional lens, but a family lens and it is great.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28-200

nice compact size
great zoom 28-200 range
nice manual grip
sharp
great colors
great defination
good for carrying on a neck strap all day!
price

expensive filters
slow focus in low light

In my opinion this is a wonderful lens in which I can see great improvements in contrast, sharpness, detail, and overall quality from the other lenses that I've used. Macro is a very good feature that has come in handy in several situations for me. Optics is great and so far it has been very durable too. I shoot mainly velvia, and I really enjoy the flexability of this lens. I was torn between purchasing canon's 28-135 IS and this one, and I went ahead and got this Tamron because its cheaper, and I have not regretted it. CHECK OUT the reveiws in POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY's DECEMBER 2000 issue page 119 on this lens. It has excellent reviews from the pros! The only thing I have a little problem with is that focusing is a little slow in low-light situations-but it does have manual-in which I also use in the outdoors for extremely quiet situations. Works great with my quiet ELan IIE. I am VERY pleased overall. Great quality for the price.

Customer Service

not needed yet. but stil waiting on my $35.00 rebate after nearly 2 months...

Similar Products Used:

sigma 28-200
kalimar 80-200
minolta