Canon 10D and Tamron 28-300mm XR

I just did purchase 10D and Tamron 28-300mm XR
zoom lens. I am not having much luck with images.

A lot of my images are soft. I almost always have to
use the unsharp mask.

Anybody else have the this type of problem?

I am new to Digital SLR. I also have Canon s400 and pictures are very sharp.

Please help....

I have the 28-200 Tamron. Pictures are quite sharp, but must stop down one past 3.8. For longer tele pix, must use a tri[pod ti get best pix. Unsharpen mask is nothing to be ashamed of if pix a little off. Do a focus test, found elsewhere in this forum. If poor, bring both lens & body back to seller.

As discussed often on this forum, unsharp mask is always needed when processing digital images. The USM can be done in-camera, but best results are obtained by sharpening in Photochop.

How about Sigma 28-200mm F3.5-5.6 compact aspherical hyperzoom? I am think for on of this for holiday...

I have used the Sigma 28-200mm and own the Sigma 28-300mm

These lenses are great for what they are intended,. ( a flexible all purpose lens)

but we can not expect them to work miracles. Any lens at 300mm and most at 200mm will need serious care to get a sharp shot without effects from camera motion etc.

If these $200.00 lenses were the answer to all our problems the high end lenses would be out of business.

But you can get great results from them with practice. A lens that long and that light is a recipe for bad habits and unstable shooting.

And use USM