On Saturday September 5th, I took my new Tamron 18-270mm lens attached to my Canon XSi to Tucson, Arizona for the Arizona Wildcats vs. Central Michigan University tailgate and football game (Arizona 19, CMU 6).
Here are the photos I posted to Flickr. My review is under the photos.
First, keep in mind why anybody would by an all purpose "walking around" lens. I did not want to take all of my photo equipment to a tailgate and football game, especially since severe weather was predicted. I wanted to travel light. The Tamron 18-270mm lets you do that. I feel it does many things pretty well. Is it an excellent portrait lens? Of course not. Is it a great telephoto? Hey, not to bad. For the convenience of having such a walking around lens, you do give up f/stops. It just isn't what photographers would call the fastest glass in the world.
Was it worth the $599 (minus $70 current Tamron rebate I got via B&H Photo). Sure it is; I would do it again.
But you be the final judge. I was taking photos in a variety of conditions. Cloudy and sunny during the day; stadium lighting from a distance at night. If I were on the sidelines, I'd not have to use the full 270mm zoom and have better lighting. I'd also probably use a tripod or even monopod for more stability. As it was, I sat in the 42nd row on the 50 yard line.
I vote the Tamron 18-270mm lens a double thumbs up for convenience, performance, and price!
Jim Patterson