One for All, and All for One

From photographing ants to capturing images of the moon, Nilofer Khan puts the Tamron 18–300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD through its paces to see how it fares.

- Nilofer Khan

Tamron 18–300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD

PLUS

• Optical performance

• Fast AF

• Build quality

MINUS

• Sagittal bokeh

• Colour fringing

Since 1950, Tamron has been innovating lenses for various camera mounts. In 1992, upon the demands of their users, the company pushed themselves to produce a lens that does it all, the AF 28–200mm f/3.8-5.6. Thereon, the company kept building on this technology, with the latest iteration being introduced in October this year, the 18–300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD. It is also the very first all-in-one ultra-telephoto lens for Fujifilm mounts.

Features

The company states it is the first lens in the world for APS-C mirrorless cameras with a zoom ratio of 16.6x (the full-frame equivalent of 27–450mm). Constructed using 19 elements in 15 groups, including four LD (Low Dispersion) and three hybrid aspherical lens elements, its BBAR-G2 (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2) Coating suppresses ghosting and flare. It has a minimum focusing distance of 0.15m at 18mm and 0.99m at 300mm. The maximum magnification ratio is 1:2 at the wide end and 1:4 at the telephoto end. It has a seven-bladed diaphragm and maximum apertures of f/22 to f/40. The lens features a VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor for its focus mechanism, as well as VC (Vibration Compensation) system. It has a moisture-resistant construction, and its fluorine coating on the front element repels water and oil.