One LENS To Rule Them All? TAMRON 18-400 REVIEW
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- Опубликовано: 25 апр 2018
- Is the TAMRON 18-400 the only lens someone would need on a cropped sensor camera? This is a review of the Tamron 18-400.
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To learn more about this lens Click Here.
You can get this lens for Nikon and Canon mounts and sometime in the future I would be for Sony as well.
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Wind tunnel test has convinced me. It's on the list now.
Wind tunnel test is great quality assurance!
explain your comment
@@coleyounger7229 Why is it so hard to understand what a joke is?
@@ufodeath you must be a joke …..lol
@@coleyounger7229 You must be a total moron if you can't understand that the wind tunnel test is a joke.
pretty impressed by the wind tunnel test results... when I want to choose a lens, I always come back to the wind tunnel tests to make my choice.
Just bought this lens today and took it out. It is amazing!!! It feels great I personally think the build is nice and not too terribly heavy. Great zoom and wide angle was awesome. I recommend this lens 100%
Really appreciate this kind of information! Thank you for doing these. Got me into manual in less than a week just learning the exposure triangle.
I'm not a super technical guy but I know a nice photo when I see one and have carried around enough heavy lenses to know that I appreciate my 18-400 Tamron. I have it on my d7100 Nikon, but also use it on my little d3100 Nikon sometimes. Super happy with this lense. I love everything about it. It looks good and feels good too. I try to carry other lenses sometimes, then I ask myself why? It doesn't make sense. This does everything I need. I've heard criticism of the VC. I don't know why. I think it's great. Nothings perfect. Oh. and the price is crazy good for what you get.
thanks for your review, really helpful, quick question, do you use VC even when on a tripod?
photography is a hobby and it should make fun so you do it so you have more times chance of a great pic and inspiration for more go for it, honestly i would recommend maybe just one extra prime lens extra to the zoom maybe something super wide/ fisheye or some lightweight 35/ 50mm f1.8 would do bedder for portraits for shure, thinking myself of a superzoom for Fx D750 28-300 nikon f3.5-5.6 VR about 500 € used would be awsome for filming or fast pro zoom lenses but without vr
no way i got the same cameras. pretty helpful hey.
Very helpful review, Fro. Bought one today and can't wait to use it when I travel to Arches National Park.
This lens is a great all around lens for my Nikon D7500, I have really been surprised by how great some of the photos have turned out.
Good to know you are continuing your passion. Seen you years ago.
I freaking love your reviews. This would be a nice walkaround lens if you get decision paralysis but don't want to carry around a lot of glass. It's not for me, because I have the 55-250 and out of all of my lenses, it will eventually be the first one I replace. Not because it's bad, but because the variable aperture drives me nuts and I want that f/2.8 goodness. Though I was listening to your podcast and the thing you said about starting at a higher shutter speed so you can adjust that quickly when the light changes instead of messing with the ISO is going to help me SO much with that lens in particular. Thanks for another helpful video!
Great review! I have the Tam 18-270 and I love it, it never leaves my Nik.
I bought this lens exactly because of the vast range it offers. However, after using it for a couple of months, i was shocked to find out the severe focus breathing issue in this lens. I shoot birds and wildlife upclose, and when i compared it to my Canon 55-250mm lens, my Canon lens gave me closer shots at 250mm than the Tamron at 400mm. I contacted the Tamron supplier in Dubai but they refused to acknowledge the problem and said the lens was fine, even though i showed them samples of both lenses. The Tamron lens also has sharpness problems and it really struggles to acquire focus in less contrasty scenes. Despite its great range, i was disappointed with its performance. I hope that you try the focus breathing and compare the lens to other lenses at closer distances.
i have the canon 55 -250 mm and was thinking to buy the tamron, were you able to correct this problems?
I agree!!
I had the same experience, barely getting 300mm at full zoom on my backyard bird feeders. I traded for the Tamron 100-400 F4.5-6.3 VC and am much happier.
What's focus breathing
@@marxiewasalittlegirl Lens focal lengths (e.g. 400 mm) are reported with the focus distance at infinity. Depending on the design of the moving optical elements in a zoom lens, this maximum focal length may not be achieved at closer (i.e. "finite") distances. Unfortunately, few reviewers or manufacturers report focal lengths for finite distances.
To formally test for focus breathing, you can measure the angular separation between stars in the night sky as the focus distance is varied. But it's often easier to compare fields of view with a lens that doesn't suffer from focus breathing. To minimize its impact, you can use extension tubes to focus on closer objects with the focus distance set to infinity, but since I do a lot of birding at close distances, I prefer lenses that don't suffer from focus breathing.
I’m sticking to my Nikon 18-200 that I have now in my bag for sometime. Master and love the one you’re with.
This is my favorite lens. I love its versatility for the wide angles and then being able to zoom in! I’m still a new photographer but it fulfilling my needs.
Oh Jared, you are great, man, I seriously love the style you talk. How did you built it up? BTW thanks for that review, love ya.
thank you so much for the RAWs 👍👍
I took this lens with a Canon M5 mirrorless camera on a British Isles cruise earlier this year. I did have a 24-70/f2.8 and a 70-200/f2.8 as backups. I was satisfied with the results, which were to document our trip with some photos. It was a great walk around lens. It performed very well in most instances. The only time that it did not work well was when I was trying to capture movement. I was on our balcony snapping some shots of gulls flying around our ship. It was having an issue tracking the birds in flight in AF. I tried a few shots in MF and that was just OK. Overall, the Tamron did OK. I even took some indoor shots at a Beatles museum with varying light levels and I was pleasantly surprised. I think that as long as you realize the limitations of the lens, this could be a decent travel lens. If you want to be creative, pull out your good glass.
My Tamron 18-400mm is perfect for my artistic needs. I actually used CommLite to adapt it to a G7 M43 camera and now have about a 36-800mm lens which allows me quite a latitude and scenes to shoot without ever having to remove the lens subjecting the sensor to dust.
Good honest review and great shots
All i can say is your pictures are amazing on my wish list Great job
When I took your workshop in S.F. many moons ago, you recommended the Tamron 70-200mm for my Pentax K3. Although the lens is heavy, the Tamron 70-200 takes beautiful images - great recommendation Jared, thanks!
Actually, you should read the paperwork! For example, the Sigma 150-600 lenses in their paperwork it's written that you should not disconnect the lens while the OS is on. The correct way, to avoid having glass stuck in an unrepairable and out of warranty manner, is to turn off the OS and then disconnect the lens from the camera.
Therefore: read the paperwork! Or at least get an eye on it! :P
Great concise review by the way!
the OS is not active when the camera is off. and the proper way to switch a lens is by turning the camera off.
That may just be a safety precaution. I have owned the Sigma 150-600mm lens for over a year and I switch lenses and three different cameras often and never turn the OS off, only the camera. The only time I ever turn it off is when I mount it to a tripod.
Y’all haven’t lived til you’ve popped the lens off with the camera on.
Thanks mate just bought this lens so I was worried about the limitations. You cleared that up for me 👍
Except for the lowlight shots, this is awesome lens. Have been enjoying it for 2 years now.
I bought this lens as a replacement for my kit zoom and it is head and shoulders sharper. Jared is right on the money about the distortion and the vignette however so I can't recommend it for landscapes unless that's the vibe you're looking for. I would add that it stands up to rain really well but can suffer from auto focus compatibility issues. Happy with my purchase but Mr Polin is right when he says there are other options that will grow with you for longer.
I have the 16-300mm version, I like the wider end, the moist resistance and full time manual overwrite.
However, getting 100mm longer reach would also be very nice.
Hey bro is it good for Sony a6500 with adapter?
And is it gonna work?
Would you replace 3 lenses with this one? If so why or why not?
Jared Polin the link for the 11 days course doesn't work
I wouldn't REPLACE. But I would use it a lot for leisure. No point having sharp images and a dirty sensor when I'm posting instagram.
Definitely not a work lens.
I'm instantly gonna ditch my 24-70, my 70-200 and my 300mm I'm using for sports. And with this lens I can also ditch the second body I often carry around.
Julia Engel I'll take all those off your hands
That's pretty much what I think of it. It doesn't strike me as a pro lens, but it seems like a good choice when you are just out there for your personal enjoyment. This is not to say that I believe that it is impossible to take professional shots with it as photography is about much more than just gear, but fact is that you do sacrifice quality for reach and flexibility here.
However, I do see the possibility that this flexibility is also what might enable a photographer to grab an unexpected opportunity. You are shooting with a 85mm on a fullframe but then you see a a beautiful bird in the distance? Why not grab your backup APS-C with this Tamron lens to get this nice, but unexpected shot? You are shooting with a 70-200mm on a fullframe, but see an unexpected opportunity for a wide angle shot? Again: Why not grab your backup APS-C with this Tamron lens to get this nice unexpected shot before this moment is lost forever?
Can't comment on this lens but I spent 17 days in China with the Tamron 16-300 and my Canon 11-22. 90% of my shots on the Tamron. Over 2800 frames taken and 6 were OOF or otherwise unusable. I have printed up to 30x24 and could go larger. I was surprised at how ell the Tamron performed and doubt anyone (except fellow photographers/gear heads) would find the pix anything but great focus, contrast and color. I'll leave the "is it art" discussion to others but all I know, I've sold several large prints to very happy customers who I did not even solicit (they saw the pix and wanted one). So... I wouldn't be surprised if this lens is a great bargain for what it does.
I am an amateur, and just switched from bridge cameras to DSLR 6 months ago. I was buying the Tamron 16-300 for my Canon 77D to keep the freedom of the bridge cameras on the DSLR. And in bright light, during the summer, it was performing well. But indoors, or during the darker winter days, the quality of the images are getting worse. I am not sure if it is the correct expression, but the images have a very-very soft focus. For me - and I am emphasizing that I am just an amateur - the photos taken indoor, are in many cases seams to be nearly out of focus (using the IS and AF). Is this normal? Or is it just something I might doing wrong? Or could it be an defect of my camera or the lens?
I compared and researched the canon 24 to 70 with the Sigma. At the time, they compared well for performance but the Sigma was less than 1/2 the cost. What would you do?
This thing is perfect for travelling. Great work.
The Wind Tunnel Test made this video for me.
Cool!!!
I agree with you in all points !!!
I only have Canon full-frame cameras, 5D4 and R. But because I had to wait for the RF 24-240mm, I bought this Tamron 18-400mm; because the R also has an APS-C modus.
Now the 24-240mm is here and originally I wanted to sell the Tamron. But , as in the video said, it has some charming advantages. So I have now bought a M50 for this lens. This is the reasonably priced universal solution, if not always top quality is needed.
It seems so good and vibey to watch the review of my own lens
Damn I really like your videos. Keep it up dude.
I have this lens and the Tamron 10-24mm (newer version).....both great for traveling!!
I use this lens for bird photos with a Canon 80D. Love it!
Glad to hear. Just bout a 40D. Considering this lens.
I have a 90D and this lens works awesome with it!
@@JohnDoe-zg6fn Good to hear, that's exactly the combination I want to buy
My photo buddy has the 18-400 mm on his Canon 80d . He gets the best pictures . He up graded from the Tamron 16-300 mm. I have the Nikon D 7100. Let me tell you. The results are great. i don't blow up my pictures to wall size. The 8X10s and 11X14 are great. I love photography but on a tight budget and the weight of all those lens . it is the 18-400mm or the 16-300 mm Tamron.
Has anyone else had issues accessing the sample RAW files? Very very helpful video though thank you!!
Excellent review Jared. Can you please post the readings of all the parameters which you tested in your sniff test ?
Wanted to drop in here and let you know. This lens lives on my D7200 and I love the images I get from it. I have other cameras for "special" stuff, but for everyday carry "on the road" photography, there isn't a better APS-C lens on the market. You get the composition you want, with very nice quality. At least for the Nikon guys out there... buy with confidence.
Jared, how does the image qualify at the telephoto end compare to the Tamron 100-400 you tested recently?
I'm recently retired and have always used (in my opinion) very good quality equipment and have always leaned towards using ONLY Canon L Lenses on a full frame.. i no longer care to carry a ton of equipment so i sold My canon 6D and three lenses and purchased an 80D for the articulated rear screen and one lens ..the tamron 18-400 Iwas blown away at the Sharpness and the color I get with this lens.. maybe i just got a really good copy but I'm very happy with this purchase... I need to mention that I've previously tried the Tamron 16-300 and absolutely Hated it.. always felt the focus was Soft... not a pro by any means just a guy that likes nice sharp pictures with color that pops
Just to add to my previous...This is a very good lens indeed. I use it for all sorts of applications, on my D500 except wildlife photography, when I use my 200-500 Nikkor.
The 18-400 is great for field hockey , I can cover all of the pitch from the half way line, getting close ups and distance shots. It's the lens I use the most.
tectorama why don’t you use it for wildlife? I’m new to photography and want something for wildlife while on horseback trips and if I only had to carry one lens that’d be great.
@@yourbarista4154 hi Barista I'm going to buy one but also this is not the perfect lens for professional wildlife photography, yes you can use it it will be sharp enough to get a 3ft sized prints to hang on displays but it won't be the greatest sharpest output. It's an all-rounder lens but if you want to do it professionally I would advice you to buy a Tamron 150 - 600 mm G2 or Sigma 150 - 600 mm sports
Phenomenal Perspectives thank you. I just ordered one. Maybe it’ll be a good lens for me for a while. I like the idea of only carrying one lens while on my trips.
@@yourbarista4154 that's great. Can you give me a review after using it for a while.
Phenomenal Perspectives Certainly
Someone who tho goofy, speaks to the hobbyist in terms easily understood! Jared you helped me make an informed decision after passel of geeks who spoke to me in photo-eeze. Of course it would have been the same w/o the 'sniff' test and the wind tunnel but the rest clarified some details I needed to understand. Thank you.
I own this lens and I'm pleased with it for the money it cost me. Its quite heavy and will take good quality pics up close or far away. I own other lenses too so its a good addition to my collection.
Hi do you recommend tamron 18-400 I would like to have a lense for different use as I have already tamron 70-200 but need something wider
I tried to see if this was already asked but I was not able to find the question. First your channel is great and I have learned many things from you. Second your reviews have helped me with some buying and getting what is right for myself. I do need to know as I owned the CANON R7, will this lens fit the R7 with the EF to RR converter?
I bought this lens for my Canon 77D to take on hikes. Not having to lug around several lenses has been really nice. Plus, I’m getting some good images from this 18-400.
Jerry Jones Jr I'm thinking about getting this lens for that reason: hiking and backpacking. Good to hear you're getting good images.
would you be able to send some of the pictures to josecanchack@gmail.com? I want to buy this lens..so, want to see the picture quality. Another review says the sharpness is not good at 18mm.
I've been looking at this for 3 weeks. I keep capturing documentary stuff and events on my ursa mini pro. I never have time to switch lenses and sometimes I'm in a spot where I'd rather not open up that sensor to the air. This might be perfect, especially for getting those candid shots of smiling people and interaction without them having a huge cinema camera in their faces.
its nice to see ur review
ive been shooting for 5 years now and i love it
More of these videos! We all miss them.
I have purchased it's little brother (not so little), the Tamron B016N, that is a 16-300 mm lens at F/3,5-6,3 , now I use it for a year on my Nikon D3300 and with great satisfaction.
At time of the purchase came out the the 18-400 lens and hesitated a little about which one to buy. Finally I decided to buy the previous one, because of the extra 2 millimeters on wide
angle, because I make many building shots or in cramped spaces. The crop factor of my Nikon is 1,5, the wide angle narrows to 24 mm instead of 28,8 mm on the 18-400 lens.
On the other hand, last week arrived my 2x teleconverter from Japan through eBay. Its for Nikon and all the electrical contacts are included, so I can use the autofocus and
all the functions as without it. So now I got a 900 mm telephoto lens, that is slightly longer than the zoom lens alone. I hardly could wait to test it outdoors with maximum focal length.
informative and humourous loved it
I had Tamron’s 70-200 g2 and 150-600g2 and sold them as they were to heavy for me to really enjoy them. Picked up the 18-400mm and it is lighter and offers me one lens to travel or zoo photography with. Manage your expectations and unless you’re a professional photographer, the image quality will be acceptable for a beginner or enthusiast.
Great review!
Thank you. I feel much better about buying this lens.
Thnx for the tip u gave in ending tht really helped
Great review
I really like how the wind curved around the lens, not even the sony gmasters have this good of a wind tunnel design, this makes it by far one of the best lenses on the market
How can I buy one
Thanks. This was helpful.
1.5 years have passed since you posted this video, the Sony version of this lens still has not come out yet. Any update?
I replaced my d5300 kit lens with this and its just amazing. One lens for every situation.
Absolutely agree with your assessment of this lens. I recently purchase it and had a chance to use it. However mine smells a bit more like campfire...
thank you very much for these videos
it's really helpful for us
Hi Jared! Great review, thank you!
If this isn't the greatest "all-in-one" can you recommend another than might be less of a trade off? Would a Tamron 16-250mm be a more appropriate lense?
I shoot Canon and I have a T5i and I already have a 10-22mm wide angle, 30mm prime, 50mm prime and a few others. I was hoping to use this while travelling and I LOVE landscape photography and some objective photography, mostly in nature and I wanted to get rid of my 18-55mm and also my 50-250mm. I'm also planning for the future and so I'm ok with buying good lenses now to avoid buying again in 5-7 years.
Great review :)
Though it wont compare to a quality 2.8 70-200
How is it for portraits?
I did like the sharpness with the animals..
This lens is a must-have. Perfect on the D7200.
Seems a perfect lens for traveling. It's like a all in one.
Jared doesn't comment on the focus breathing, which is severe. When photographing birds on the backyard feeders (at a distance of say 10 meters), I was lucky to match the magnification on my 300mm zoom. Since I like to do close shots on birds, it was worth trading up for the Tamron 100-400 F4.5-6.3 VC, which has minimal focus breathing.
This was very helpful. Thank you!
This seems like a fun walk around lens if you can get if for cheaper used.
I love your videos thanks
Thanks for the honest opinion as always 🙏👍
I got this lens good for travelling but been using it for sports shooting drift cars car racing sports bikes at the track had no problem this lens on my Nikon. All so landscapes and portraits - 70mm tho highly recommended all round lens on a budget
Missed most of what you said at the end, was laughing too hard. Thanks, I needed that!
what made you laugh?
The sniff and wind tunnel test. Caught me totally off guard. That was hilarious.
hey fro,.. should i buy this for sports photography,.. i was thinking of the 100-400 sigma or this one, what you recommend ??
Hi
Thanks for this review. I am using this lens for a year. Now I need some better, sharp, more zoom lens than thus one. which would you suggest please?
what best setting for the focus mode to use this lens on nikon d3400?? my images are not coming out sharp with this lens...
I am just a hobbyist and have had this lens for years and it has been great for a walk around/hiking lens. However, I have upgraded to a Canon R6 and still using this with EF/RF converter, so wondering if there is a better choice. I also have the Canon RF 100-500 for birding, but the size/weight make it not convenient for general hiking. I generally do not carry extra gear when and hiking would like to start doing a bit with landscape photos. Considering the RF 24-105 f/4 or RF 24-240 f4-6.3. I am assuming one of those lenses would give me better results, but will it be enough to justify the change and losing the extra reach? Anyone have any advice?
Just got this lens a month ago and am having issues with autofocus not working. Anything that i could be doing wrong? Other than that im happy with the lens.
The one reason I want this, is for when I am at an event, as Jared described, where I need to take the full range. Currently for those, I use a Tamron 28-200, which I do like, so I think I would be happy with its bigger grandson.
I loved the sniff test. I'm getting this lens today. I need to sniff it. lol. Great Video.
Yeah, I was expecting kind like smells like new or something...LOL
FINALLY, someone that actually gives the info I needed. Well I won't be buying this lens for my D780, I will focus on something else. Any suggestions? I don't have the money for the very expensive lenses, but I do wish to have a good lens that has some zoom in it. Although super zoom is not a must have, it just would be cool to have something along the lines of a 18-200, 24-300 type range). Goals for this lens will be a general purpose lens that does well over all but isn't too expensive. I would love to have your opinion on this.
I just got a steal deal $104.00 on a Tamron SP A005 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di VC USD for my Nikon's..
I was completely stoked by the images that came out of my Nikon D2x AKA the brick.
It made good on the D700 as well.
Wonderful complete lens.
I'm shooting my friend's wedding, which lenses would you recommend for my Nikon d500?
I got a tamron 18-200 back in around 2010. That was a pretty cool lense. This one or the 16-300, that's the question 😎
Hi Jared. Your videos are always helpful. I have nikon D 5300 with 18-55 mm kit lens and 50 mm 1.8 f prime lens. Currently I am not able to decide whether to take Tamaron 18-400 or Tamaron 100-400 mm to cover everything within. Moreover my budget is capped to $700. what are your best suggestions. Will you suggest any other lens to take or which one among them.
I’m having difficulty of focusing with this lens? Im using eos m50 ii with viltrox adapter. It always trying to focus something and also auto focusing 300 - 400mm is really hard. Any suggestions against this issue?
Will this lens work for video such as concerts and big event halls auditoriums will it work well indoors will it work well on a Blackmagic Design Studio Pro 4K camera
The thing is, every lens has a certain focal range where is going to perform better, sharper and so on. For example my old Tamron 18-270mm which is a terrible lens, from 70 to 150mm it performs quite well and I would not hesitate to use it even today at that focal range, but anything below or over that I will no longer touch it. So even if you might grow as a photographer beyond this kind of lens, you can still find some use for it.
Please do a video on the new canon 70-300 4-5.6 II, with the little lcd screen on top.
My photo buddy has this lens on his Canon 80 D. It has given him great results.
hey jared,do you think this lens will work great on a sony e-mount with the right adapter? do you have any adapters you'd suggest?
Can I use this on my Sony a68 camera ??
An 18-400? Wow...for years I've been considering what lens to go with next after my Canon 18-200. I didn't want to give up the versatility of the zoom range, but have wanted to get something that gives me a sharper image. I'll have to rent one once they're available and give it a try to see if this is the next one I want to add to my camera bag. (If only this or the 18-200 was a 2.8 fixed aperture lens!)
I've owned one of these lenses for some time now, and I can confidently say that it's a brilliant lens. I do a lot of sports photography with it on my D500, and I wouldn't be without it.
tectorama good too know as I'm looking into the D500 later this year.
Do you have this 18-400? Is this worth the money? are pictures too soft at 400?
I’ve had this lens on my D500, since it came out over a year ago....a superb combination. It’s range from near macro focusing to long telephoto in just an instant really satisfy my commercial and fun Photography very well. Low light focusing and tonal range produce excellent images, shooting RAW with post production in Lightroom. It serves my often active shooting style superbly.
Yes, that is what this video is all about. It's a great choice of lens to take if you are travelling liight.
A second question. I’m thinking of buying this lens for my Nikon camera. It has great reviews. Since it’s over a year old, is there any newer lens you would recommend with about the same price/features?
Can I use it for macro photography for gemstones and jewellery?
what do you think about the tamron 18-200mm f3.5-6.4 on a canon ef-m m50 mk2?
“The Pope up in his popette thing.”
That was fantastic.