Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Review

Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Handling and Features

This lens gives the equivalent of 24.8mm wide-angle zooming to 465mm, on Nikon and Sony APS-C crop cameras, and 25.6mm to 480mm on a Canon camera, in 35mm terms. Previously the most optical zoom you could get in an APS-C super-zoom DSLR lens started at 18mm (27/28mm equivalent Nikon/Canon) and zoomed to either 200mm (Canon) 250mm (Sigma), 270mm (Tamron), or 300mm (Nikon).

The lens weighs 540g (lighter than the compact Nikon 18-300mm lens), and features a mostly plastic construction with a metal lens mount. There is a rubber ring on the lens mount to keep the lens weather sealed, and there are also rubber rings within the lens to stop water ingress.



The zoom ring is a tough large rubber ring with straight edges for a modern looking design. Between the front zoom ring and focus ring, which is closest to the camera, is a distance scale to let you know the distance from the lens and the subject marked in metres and feet.

Focus adjustments can easily be made as the lens features full-time manual over-ride which can easily be turned and is smooth in operation. Focus speeds are rapid with the lens quickly locking onto most subjects.

There a lens lock switch to prevent the lens from extending when not in use, and the lens is easy to zoom without any lens creep. The vibration reduction feature works well, delivering a steady image in the viewfinder. 

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