You don't have to take a lot of lenses with you when using interchangeable lens cameras. However, they can open up new creative possibilities. Tamron 18-30mm F3.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD (699): This zoom covers wide viewing angles, takes sharp photos and has macro focus. The Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD ($699) is a better zoom than you might expect.
It also features weather sealing which makes it ideal for outdoor and travel photography. If you're tired of swapping lenses with your Fujifilm X or Sony E mirrorless camera, the Tamron 18-300mm is worth a look—it's one of the best all-in-one zooms we've tested, earning it our Editors Choice award.
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Zoom Large, Aperture Narrow
Interchangeable lenses are preferred by photographers for their ease of use, portability, flexibility and image quality over point-and shoot compacts and smartphones. There are occasions when you won't need to have a backpack with multiple lenses. A single lens can be a great option if you are going on a short walk or just need to take a few photos for the day.
Tamron is one of the innovators in the space, with its most recent SLR superzoom covering an incredible 18-400mm range. The 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD doesn't have quite as much zoom power, but makes up for it with strong image quality and weather sealing. It's also made for different cameras—the 18-300mm is available exclusively for mirrorless cameras, not SLRs.
With an angle roughly equal to 27-450mm full-frame, the 18-300mm lens covers the APSC sensor format. You can use it on full-frame cameras too, but with reduced resolution—this lens is made for Sony cameras like the a6100, not the full-frame a7, a1, and a9 series. Fujifilm X mount models all use the APS–C format.
The lens' widest angle can be described as a medium one. It can also zoom in to get close views of distant objects. There's a caveat—the lens doesn't gather that much light, so it's best used in bright settings, especially when zoomed in.
We should note that the 18-300mm and other all-in-one lenses don't cover every angle—no lens of this type covers an ultra-wide angle. If you want a lens that covers a wider view than the starter zoom that came with your camera, look at the Sony E 10-18mm OSS or Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 for Sony systems, or the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 OIS WR for Fujifilm cameras.
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Construction and handling
The 18-300mm lens is sturdy, particularly when considering its coverage range and low price of $700. It's a plastic barrel lens, but the materials themselves are sturdy—the housing is in no way flimsy. For photographers who have weather-sealed cameras such as the Sony a6600 or Fujifilm X-T4, internal seals provide moisture resistance. To keep fingerprints from getting on the front glass, anti-smudge fluorine protection is an important addition.
At its shortest position, the 18-300mm comes in at 4.9 by 3.0 inches (HD). It telescopes to zoom, about doubling in length at 300mm. A zoom lock switch is included to keep the lens set to its shortest position. It comes in handy when carrying the camera on a strap—gravity can make the zoom creep out to the 300mm position if you leave it unlocked.
It weighs in at 1.4 pounds. However, this lens is slightly heavier than Sony's Emount all-in-1 18-200mm F3.5-6.8 OSS LE. Fujifilm does not have a superzoom. The closest rival for the X system, the XF18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR is a Tamron 18-30mm but zooms in less.
Tamron bundles the expected accessories with the 18-300m. The lens ships with front and rear protective caps and a petal-style lens hood. The hood ratchets on and off with a simple twist of its bayonet mount and can be mounted in reverse for easier storage. The front element has a thread for 67mm filters.
Handling and autofocus
Its zoom ring is the biggest control on the 18-300mm. Tamron used a rubber wrap that has ridges, as is typical for most lenses. This makes it more comfortable to hold and protects the zoom ring. The zoom can only be set with a small amount of torque due to the Telescoping lens design. However, this is not as severe as other types of lenses.
Tamron uses linear VXD focus for the 18-300mm, a type of motor that is both quick and quiet. Focus response is instant, and the lens racked focus from close to far in an instant with our Sony a7R IV test camera.
You can also use manual focus. You will need to go into the camera menu to switch modes. The lens does not include a toggle switch. After you have done that, you can control the focus with the smaller of the two control rings on the lens, which is the one closest to the mount. It is made of bare plastic and has ridges that provide a better grip. It turns with a little bit of resistance, with the nonlinear response preferred for photography—turn the ring slowly for fine adjustments, or quickly for dramatic shifts in the plane of focus.
Serious videographers may not love the nonlinear response—it's not a good fit for use with complicated follow-focus accessories used for moviemaking. Vloggers, one-man-band documentarians, and aspiring Peter Jacksons can still find some use for the lens for video—autofocus is quiet, and there's virtually no focus breathing. The breathing effect, a visual change in angle of view when focus is shifted, is distracting for video—we're happy to see Tamron avoid it with this optical design.
A strong feature is macro focus. The lens can focus up to 18mm, which is useful for close-ups and 1:1 magnification. It can lock at 300mm to about 3 feet. This allows for good macro results across the entire zoom range.
One note on the close focus—the fluorine lens protection comes in handy for photos where a subject is nearly touching the front of the lens. Dust on the surface of a lens is typically inconsequential to imaging, but is visible when focusing so close. Take extra care to wipe off the front element when using the macro focus.
Tamron's VC optical stabilizer is included in its lens. Even if you have an IBIS stabilized sensor, it's still a great feature. You'll be able to see a steady image through your viewfinder as you set up your shot. At 300mm, I was able achieve blur-free images at 1/8 second.
With extreme care, it could go up to half-second. Stabilization that is this efficient means you won't have to be concerned about blurring caused by moving objects, but from shaking hands.
Tamron 18-300mm in the Lab
To quantify my results, I tested the Sony a7RIV in 26MP APS–C crop mode. I also used Imatest software. This pair produces strong resolution with the 26MP sensor format across its entire range. It gives excellent results at 18mm (2.900 lines), and then drops to 300mm (2.100 lines), but it still delivers impressive results.
Those are good marks for a superzoom. You'll still want to follow the rules of photography—for landscape shots it's generally a good idea to narrow the aperture by a stop or two when you have the light, and that's the story with the 18-300mm as well. And even with the excellent optical stabilization, remember to use a shorter shutter speed to freeze action—I recommend 1/500-second for sports action and backyard bird photography.
Adobe Lightroom Classic already has a correction profile for the lens—if you use it for Raw, development corrections are a checkbox away. Adobe's major competitor, Phase One Capture One Pro, doesn't have a profile for the lens at press time, and Phase One is generally less good than Adobe about profiling lenses.
A very small vignette can also be removed by in-camera adjustments. Although the Tamron 18-30mm has slightly dimmed corners in Raw capture mode when it is at maximum aperture, it isn't noticeable enough to be worth considering.
The 18-300mm has a rather modest f-stop, but can still blur backgrounds under the right circumstances, and especially when working near in its close-up focus range. The quality of the blur is pleasing too. Defocused highlights are rounded, with soft edges. The aperture blades are also round, so images will still show rounded highlights when the lens is stopped down.
With the correct settings, landscape photographers who are looking for the sunstar effect can create multi-point starbursts using the 18-300mm lens. For the best multi-point starbursts, you will need to work with a broad angle. You can stop down to f/22 if necessary. As the aperture is opened, the effect decreases with subtle lines appearing between f/5.6 to f/8.
A All-in-One for Shutterbugs
There has been a steady increase in the optical quality of lenses over the past decade. There are a few factors at play—it's easier to design lenses for mirrorless systems, and images get a benefit from lenses that sit very close to the image sensor, as well as the precise, speedy on-sensor autofocus.
The Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD puts to bed the notion that an all-in-one zoom has to be one of low optical quality. Its optics net crisp photos and can blur backgrounds under the right conditions. Autofocus is quick enough for action shots, close-up macro work is doable, and splash protection gives comfort when working under rain clouds.
The obvious drawback is the aperture—F3.5-6.3 optics mean you need to work under decent light to get good results, especially when you're zoomed all the way in. If you're more interested in making images after the sun goes down, look to an F2.8 zoom—the Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 is our favorite for Sony cameras, and the Fujifilm XF 16-55mm F2.8 is there for the X system.
You'll want to carry (and buy) a second lens to cover telephoto subjects if you opt for an F2.8 as your standard zoom. The Tamron 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD is a strong option for photographers who want to take just one lens for a hike, vacation, or afternoon with the family. It's one of the better all-in-one zooms out there, and our Editors' Choice.