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Third-Party lens manufacturers such as Sigma and Tamron have long been the kings of the niche market of the single, multipurpose travel lens. The Sigma and Tamron 18-200mm lenses (and more recent versions with OS) are a travelers dream when it comes to value for money and range.  Nikon has had an entry in this market for a couple of years and while the optics are reportedly excellent, the roughly 2x price tag can be off-putting for cost-conscious traveler.  Recently though, there has been some movement in this somewhat stale market, in the form of the recently released Tamron AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 Di-II XR LD Aspherical IF and Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS lenses. Click to read on…

Tamron 18-250mm

Both of the new lenses are designed specifically for ASP/C-sized sensors, in other words the prosumer DSLR market. The Canon 18-200mm is obviously not offered for any camera outside the Canon range, and is positioned as a late entry to compete alongside the Nikon 18-200m with above-par performance and above-par pricing. A nice touch is the addition of IS found in most of Canon’s DSLR targeted products.

The Tamron lens is intriguing, because it provides a never-before seen combination of wide-angle and 13.8x super-zoom capabilities. The price point is also interesting, sitting in showrooms next to the Sigma 18-200mm with OS.

The pros over at Digital Photography Review have reviewed the Canon 18-200mm, and a review for the Tamrom 18-250 can be found at PopPhoto.