Sharpness Cont... 2

Sharpness at 50mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens was attached to a Canon EOS 60D for this test and mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. The lens was set to manual focus to ensure constant focusing throughout. A short two second self timer was used to reduce vibration as well as the mirror lock up mode. Photographs were taken indoors in ambient light so any changes in colour or exposure are due to that.

The full frame at 50mm

At the 50mm setting, the sharpest aperture is still f/8. There appears to be only a slim margin from being in focus to out of focus so for a wider variety, set your camera to allow third stop settings. At one stop or half stop, you may not get the desired results. Edge of frame sharpness still leaves a lot to be desired but it's better as we move to the centre of the focal range.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4.5
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22
f/27