Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 now available for preorder at amazon.com

The new Tamrom Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 is now available for preorder for both Nikon and Canon digital SLRs.

I think this new lens will be a great travel lens (if it has a similar quality like the older Tamron AF 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3).
The new Lens is light and small which makes it perfect for carrying around or putting in a (large) pocket or bag.
It’s not a perfect lens for low light photography because of the maximum aperture being only f6.3 at the long end. But for most shots this should be enough.

If you want maximum image quality you need more expensive lenses and also several instead of just one. For example, the Canon EF 4/70-200L IS is a very sharp and high quality lens but larger, heavier and more expensive than the new Tamron. And it has a much smaller zoom range which means that you would at least also need something like the Canon EF 4/17-40L and you still wouldn’t have all the zoom range of the Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3.

A lens like this is always a compromise. You get a small, light and reasonably cheap lens at acceptable but not outstandig optical performance.

For many situations like travel photography or taking pictures of your family and friends, this new Tamron may be a very solid tool worth adding to your gear.

Caution: This lens is desigend for DSLR cameras with a 1.6 (Canon) or 1.5 (Nikon) crop factor. It won’t work with full frame cameras like the EOS 5D or Nikon D700 and other full frame DSLRs.

Canon version	Nikon version