| THE
SP 11-18mm
f/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical IF TAMRON
Like
the 10-20mm Sigma, the 11-18mm Tamron is a new entry on the market.
In fact, the serial number on our test lens was only 85, so we
clearly had an early production sample! As with the other test
lenses, this lens is optimized for DSLRs in terms of optical coverage
and lens coatings.
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SP 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical IF Tamron Super
Wide Angle Zoom Lens
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BUILD
/ PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The
Tamron 11-18mm lens is the lightweight in this group. It weighs
only 355g and in use it feels noticeably lighter than the others.
Its finish is similar to what you’d find on most consumer grade
lenses. The locations of the zoom and focusing rings are in their
traditional positions, with the focusing ring at the front of
the lens, and the zoom ring at the rear. As with the other lenses,
this lens is a “G” design, with no aperture ring.
This
lens takes 77mm front filters, and has a pinch-front style lens
cap that can easily be attached or removed with the bayonet-mount
lens hood installed. The manual focus override is a bit more awkward
than on the other lenses: you’ll need to use the AF control on
the body. We also found the focusing feel poorer than the other
lenses: it has a very loose feel typical of less expensive AF
lenses. The distance scale is well marked with distance of 10ft
or 3m appearing on the scale as well as many closer distances.
Setting a hyperfocal distance is easy on this lens. As with most
zooms, there are no hyperfocal markings on this lens.
The
lens hood is reversible and average in depth. Internally, the
lens features an optical formula of 15 elements in 12 groups and
a seven-bladed diaphragm. The lens has a maximum aperture of f/4.5
at 11mm which drops to f5.6 at 18mm. The minimum focusing distance
is 9.8 inches or 0.25m – pretty close.
PERFORMANCE
With
both bodies, autofocus with the Tamron 11-18mm is accurate and
precise, although low-light conditions could cause problems at
the longest focal length, where the effective aperture is only
f/5.6.
We
observed very good contrast in our images with the Tamron at all
apertures and focal lengths and good color rendition. Performance
at 12mm was a mixed bag. Wide open, the lens was very good in
the center, but quite soft in the corners. Stopping down to f/8
improved matters a lot, and it then turned in excellent performance
in both the center and corners. Landscape photographers shooting
at f/8 and above would not have major sharpness issues with this
lens. At the 18mm focal length, images were very sharp, and were
comparable to the other three lenses tested. Light fall-off with
this lens was good – not as good as the Nikkor, but much better
than the Sigma and similar to the Tokina. As with the other lenses,
there is a noticeable softening of images due to diffraction effects
at f/22.
Optical
distortion was a bit more noticeable in this lens compared to
the others, but it was not bad. There was easily visible barrel
distortion at 11mm which lessened at 15mm and virtually disappeared
at 18mm. Chromatic aberration was average for this group; you’ll
want to use the correction tools in Photoshop for some images.
We found that this lens would probably be usable from 15-18mm
on a film body. A tight range, you say? Perhaps, but it presents
a viable ultra-wide lens for a 35mm film camera if you needed
it.
CONCLUSIONS
The
Tamron 11-18mm Di II lens produced fine quality images, but its
construction quality was a step down from the others. Its limited
focal length range and slower maximum aperture may also be a limiting
factor for many photographers. On the other hand, it was noticeably
lighter and more compact to carry around as compared to the others,
and users valuing portability may find that virtue more important.
This
lens is a good choice for Nikon shooters who:
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Want the lightest weight, most compact ultra wide lens available
• Use a 17-55mm or 18-70mm lens and don’t mind the absence of
the 19-24mm focal lengths
• Want to be able to use it as a 15-18mm lens on a film body
once in a while
• Shoot at f/8 or above most of the time (e.g., landscapes).
On
the other hand, this lens may not be the best choice if:
•
You use a 28-70mm lens
• You shoot in low-light situations; especially wide-open
• You want more substantial construction and a smoother manual
focus feel
Despite
our comments on construction, this lens turned in a very fine
overall optical performance, and we were pleased with image quality.
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