Buying a Lens for Your Digital SLR
A Quick and Easy Way to Extend Your Camera's Versatility
What’s the best way to upgrade your digital SLR? Take advantage of your camera’s defining feature—its lens interchangeability—by adding a wide-angle zoom to the short normal zoom that came in the kit.
This will let you do everything from capturing sweeping scenic vistas to getting the whole family into a classic shot around the holiday table. And if shooting sports from the nosebleed seats is your thing, or you have a hankering to shoot wildlife with a camera instead of a gun, a telephoto zoom will give you the reach you need.
Can you possibly do all these things with one lens? Yes, if it’s an all-in-one zoom that covers focal lengths from wide angle to that of a super telephoto lens. The epitome of the all-in-one zoom lens is the Tamron AF 18–270mm f/3.5–6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro, the first 15x zoom lens with built-in Vibration Compensation to combat camera shake.
This lens combines an extraordinary 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 28–419mm with Tamron’s state-of-the-art, electromagnetic triaxial Vibration Compensation (VC), an image stabilization system that delivers crisp handheld images and steady viewing. Its advanced optical design ensures sharp, flare-free, high-resolution images across its focal range, and it uses an internal focusing (IF) system that provides macro focusing as close as 19.3 inches.
Considering its enormous range, this lens is remarkably compact and lightweight. $630, for Canon and Nikon DSLRs with APS-C-size sensors.