Conclusion

The type of user that the Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD is aimed at will be perfectly happy with the performance of it. Picture quality is overall very good and we got some lovely sharp results from it. The super-zoom lens can be a bit hit and miss, especially at very wide aperture settings. We had to re-shoot the sharpness shots a couple of times because of a few issues with focusing and the image stabiliser. The latter is something that should ideally be turned off during tripod use anyway so it really only serves as a reminder that it will definitely cause problems.

The Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD does suffer from all types of aberrations. It has chromatic aberration at the edges of the frame - more predominant at wide-angle but that's to be expected. It gets very soft at the extreme apertures but when it's sharp, it's sharp enough.

This lens will certainly suit the photographer that wants an all-in-one lens to cope with all sorts of situations. It obviates the issue of humping lenses around but, as with anything, there's a catch. In this case it's the image quality at the extreme ends of the zoom range and at either end of the aperture range. Take a look at the test shots and if you think you can tolerate them then the Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD is certainly not a bad lens to shoot with.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	3.5