What is the perfect lens to travel with? It's a difficult question to answer, but one I have always admired is Tamron's 28-300mm focal length lenses.
These are zoom lenses that Tamron has made for a number of years, and in fact my sons' Pearce and Frazer started their photography careers with older versions of this very lens. I remember how they enjoyed the simplified, one lens approach to help them understand the basics.
Now, today, I have the updated Sony FE version in my hand right now and I have to say, it is small and quite beautiful!
Combine this with its truly excellent focal length that covers everything from medium wide to telephoto, and a reasonable RRP of $1,649, and this is a really useful lens for many photographers who need a one-size-fits-all approach.
The build
First off, the Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD lens feels very good in the hand, and is surprisingly well built. Tamron says it comes with protective features like a moisture-resistant construction and a fluorine coating, which are nice to haves. It's also quite lightweight at just 610g, and takes a standard 67mm filter.
I also really appreciated the firm zoom action, and the inclusion of a focus set button and a zoom lock mechanism. That means there's little to no lens creeping when you point down to the ground at either of the extreme ends of the telephoto.
That said, it does have a slow creep in-between the extremes of the focal length at times, which may or may not annoy you.
Inside, there's an optical construction made up of 20 elements in 13 groups, including Tamron's XLD and LD lens elements, and 9 aperture blades.
Included are the standard front and rear caps, and the lens hood is also well-made and works well.
Image quality
In the field, the 28-300mm f/4-7.1 works very well. This is undoubtedly due to its versatility - imagine combining two to three lenses to get your desired creative result! Well, it's possible with a zoom lens like this one.
In addition, not only does the 28-300mm offer a super zoom range, but you can use it as a macro lens too. With a MOD (Minimum Object Distance) of 0.19m and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.8 at the wide-angle end it also offers a good close focus.
I photographed our pet dog Millie for a series of portraits for awhile and then took the lens out to a local beach. It easily covered most of my shoot needs, only becoming a bit limiting when a bird was on the beach at a distance. As you can see from the photos above, the out of focus areas have nice rendering too.
However its our cameras' modern sensors that allow a lens like this to really come into its own. Matched to the 50MP Sony A1, a 50% crop offers a 600mm equivalent result and still loads of image information. That solves the bird issue!
Likewise, a lens like this is a good option for a camera with a smaller APS-C sensor too, say a Canon R100 with the equivalent Tamron 28-300mm. Due to the 1.6X smaller sensor factor the 28-300mm becomes a 45-480mm.
These are all things to consider if you are starting your photographic journey. Combine a lens like this with a wider lens to cover subjects closer than 28mm, and you can have a two lens, very light kit that covers most photographic needs.
One downside of the lens is it offers a relatively slow variable maximum aperture of f4 at 28mm and f7.1 at 300mm, which does limit your options when light levels drop.
However, despite this I still feel confident with the results after looking at multiple images on my big screen that I could shoot with this lens at 28mm right through to 300mm in good light and be happy with the results - both optically and for accuracy in contrast and dynamic range.
Autofocus
The focusing speed of the Tamron is good enough for most typical subjects, but it is not as fast focusing as more expensive lenses. This is likely because of the lens' large focal length, but it's also been built to a certain budget.
Despite this, it does use Tamron's Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (VXD) autofocus drive seen on the company's more premium models and Tamron's own VC mechanism to help manage camera shake.
If you were to compare it to shorter lenses like a 70-200mm f2.8 it's obviously going to be slower, but a lens like that is typically several times more expensive, as much as twice the size and weight and has a more limited focal range.
The wrap-up
I really enjoyed my brief look at the Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 lens, and I am happy to encourage anyone new to photography, or anyone travelling where weight is an issue to consider it.
Over the years, I have witnessed many photographers missing chances because they had to change lens, or their wide aperture lens was too large and heavy. Not with this little beauty!
I suggest you visit your local camera store and test drive it to help you make up your own mind.