TAMRON - 16-300 mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Nikon F Cameras - Black - B016N

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Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Images: Coloured fringing in distant subjects extends well into the frame at f/6.3. At f/11 fringing still exists, but it is less obvious in the centre of the frame When we convert the marked focal lengths into measurements we can relate to 35mm or full-frame systems, we are presented with the effects of a 25-465mm focal range. The significance of this is that most zooms of this type designed for APS-C cameras start at 18mm, or 28mm in full-frame language. That 2mm difference, which seems nothing when marked on a barrel, makes a whole focal-length step in the real world – we all understand the genuine difference switching from a 28mm to a 24mm lens can make. In this sense, then, it takes a tiny but important step beyond lenses such as Nikon’s AF-S DX 18-300mm, and offers something more in line with the kind of wideangles that bridge cameras offer. Barrelling and pincushion distortion do make an appearance, though, bending lines close to the edges of the frame at almost all focal length positions. While the barrelling at the 16mm end is not as bad as it could be in distant subjects, when we focus on closer things it is an issue. A church interior, for example, will suffer only a little, but the small bedroom of your house might take on an obviously distorted look.

Not only have Tamron delivered a lens that offers a uniquely huge zoom range, but they've managed to make one that performs well, is well specified, and is good value too. Beyond the 50mm mark, the bending switches to the other way – inwards in the middle – and we enjoy pincushion distortion, the slimming properties of which chubby faces appreciate so much.I had expected to write at length on the subjects of vignetting and curvilinear distortions, but on the darkening of corners the lens has rather disappointed me. While some fall-off in illumination is detectable in technical subjects, in the real-life situations in which I’d expect this lens to be used that darkening is not really noticeable.

This is what superzooms are all about - one lens, that goes from wide-angle, through the standard focal length range, and on to a very respectable telephoto. Tamron has even trade-marked the term 'all in one' and its 16-300mm lens leads the class with an 18.8:1 zoom ratio. As is often the case with super zoom lenses, distortion is at both ends of the range, although it isn't too intrusive with this lens. At 16mm 5.4% barrel distortion is present, which is a reasonably high level and at 300mm 0.87% pincushion distortion is present, which is much less noticeable. The distortion pattern is uniform across the frame, so any distortion should be relatively easy to correct in image editing software afterwards if required.Levels of chromatic aberrations are an issue for this lens towards the edges of the frame, especially at 300mm. Here it exceeds two pixel widths, which is a level that may be clearly visible along high contrast areas towards the edges of the frame.

MPB puts photo and video kit into more hands, more sustainably. Every month, visual storytellers sell more than 20,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Choose used and get affordable access to kit that doesn’t cost the earth. Dave, you say I'm making a "pointless observation" because the lens will only be for casual snapshots. Thanks. But in your desire to put me down, I think you've missed what I'm really getting at, the context. Image: Shot approximately halfway through the focal range at f/8, this image shows plenty of details in the horses’ hair Sell the kit you’re not using to MPB. Trade in for the kit you need to create. Buy used, spend less and get more. Buy. Sell. Trade. Create.The other two switches are to toggle the AF/MF and VC on/off. The AF/MF switch on the side of the lens makes it easy to switch between the two focusing systems. Zooming to 70mm, results in a drop in sharpness to very good levels in the centre of the frame at maximum aperture, but clarity towards the edges of the frame is improved, reaching good levels. As is the case at 16mm, f/8 provides the best performance across the frame; with excellent sharpens in the centre and very good clarity towards the edges. The absolutely huge zoom range offered by this lens, hasn't compromised the size, with it having similar dimension to many 4x or 5x zooms lenses and it weighs only 540g. The low weight and compact size make this lens an ideal candidate as a walkabout lens for those times you may wish to travel light. It feels right at home on the Nikon D7100 body used for testing, and will make a good companion for smaller, more compact DSLR camera bodies as well. High quality plastics with a matte finish have been used for much of the construction of the lens barrel, and it feels reasonably robust as a result. A rubber gasket, located around the metal lens bayonet, will help to prevent the ingress of dust and moisture into the camera body.

At 16mm and maximum aperture, the sharpness delivered by this lens in the centre of the frame is already outstanding, and clarity towards the edges of the frame is fairly good. Stopping down improves performance across the frame, with peak sharpness being achieved at f/8. Here clarity is outstanding in the centre, and excellent towards the edges of the frame. This time though, the focal length range also extends wider, from 18mm to 16mm (28mm to 24mm equivalent), bringing serious wide-angle capability to the superzoom category for the first time. A couple of millimetersimprovement over the previous Tamron 18-270mm F3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD may not sound like much, but it makes a very useful difference at short focal lengths and the extended range now sets a new record with a whopping 18.8x zoom ratio. Closest focusing distance has also been reduced to earn the 'Macro' designation (even if it's hardly macro in the true sense of allowing 1:1 reproduction).The Tamron AF 16-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD is quite light considering the massive 18.8x zoom range on offer, weighing in at 540g. It certainly doesn't feel too weighty in the hand and proved to be well balanced on the Canon EOS 7D that we tested it with. The lens extends by about an extra 8cm when fully zoomed out to 300mm.