TamronAuto Focus 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras (Model A14E)

This is a perfect lens, as all terrain lens this has the hability to do a variety of great funtions as: Great Zoon, Very Aceptable focus speed, light, Hi queality pictures.This les is not expensive (less than $200), and as a extra benefit it include a tulip light cover, this prevent unwanted light coming into the lens, and prevent the lens to be hitten by any object.Some people have concern about the focus speed, and my experience with this is that the speed is fast enought for the all the mayor needs, it is important to mention that the differece between this lens and the $2,000 competitors is less than a second. Then, this lens is a great value item for your camera.About the lens focus in low light I dont have any problem, because in low light condition it is suppose that you will use flash, because this is not a extreme Hi Aperture lens (3.5-6.5 aperture), then if you plan to use flahs you will have the modeling light from the flash, and this will help you to focus, or you can use manual focus. This is not a exclusive situation for this lens, because all the lens with the same aperture has similar situations, some more, some less, but remember, this is a less than $200 lens.For me it is important to keep in mind, we need to evaluate the items in their category and levels. however, this lens is bether than others more expensive levels. I have Canon 70-300mm and Tamron 28-200mm, and Tamrom 28-90mm. and the traditional Canon 18-55mm, for me, this is the better one, because the image quality and the hability to have all the other lens in just one lens.As final i can say that you may think about your lens need, because if yor are only a Hobbie or entry or Mid Level photographer, maybe you dont need a Hi End lens, but if you makes photo sessions for $2,000, then it has sense that you buy accesories acording to your service offered.

First off - I am strictly an amateur photographer with no training. I use a Sony a100 DSLR. I wanted an all purpose lens that I could use while hiking and driving off-road without having to carry a telephoto and the regular lens that came with the camera. I love to photograph scenery and wildflowers. This lens allows me to do long-range photos of mountains or scenery off in the distance, while still allowing me to zoom in on flowers - without changing lenses. This lens fits and works perfectly. It is a little heavier than my other lenses, but I am getting use to it and the difference is minimal, plus I don't have to carry an extra lens in my backpack. It seems well built and sturdy. I have no complaints and highly recommend it.Update - September 2011: I just came back from vacation in Utah. This lens is great. It is the only one I used. Does closeup, mid-range, and distant. Using at most fully extended you really have to concentrate, hold your breath or brace yourself. Didn't feel like lugging a tripod on hikes. The pictures are wonderful. It is a great all-purpose lens. A little heavy, but worth it, plus I didn't have to carry a pack with extra lenses so weight equals out. Love, love, love this lens.

I have an A55 and A57 and a multitude of Minolta primes and zooms. I purchased this lens more for convenience but was quite surprised at the overall quality of the lens. On the positive side, it is lightweight for it's magnification ability, has a very smooth zoom action. To my surprise, my A57 auto corrects for barrel distortion with this lens, though not mentioned as one of the supported lenses, that is quite a wonderful covenience for me, less work post! It is fairly decent sharpness wise both wide and tele- stopped down to f8-f11 it gets better. The autofocus is a tad slower than my proverbial zooms and is a little noisy, but since I don't shoot action, it is of little consequence. Build quality is decent for the price and my copy was very well made. Compared to my Minolta primes (50mm f1.7, 28mm f2.8) it is not as contrasty and compared to my Minolta 35-70mm f4, not as sharp- just using these known lenses as a reference, you can't compare apples with oranges. This is now my walkabout lens, more serious shots I reach for my primes.Overall, for what it does, plus being supported for correction by my A57 for barrel distortion esp on the wide end, this is great all around lens and worth every penny. At the current price, for it's feature set, it's weight and contruction, it's hard to beat this one. I posted a few sample shots.