Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DiII VC PZD Macro

I purchased this lens a few weeks ago as a walk around lens. While I like the zoom range, I am not impressed with it overall. The chromatic aberration is horrible. The barrel distortion is noticeable at 16mm. vignetting is also noticeable at 16. This lens needs post processing. The VC jumps at first click of the shutter button but I can live with that. I do have to give props to Tamron for its image stabilization. At 300mm It's still effective enough to take good useable pictures. Focus is a tad faster than the 18-135 kit lens that came with my 60D but doesn't come close to Canon's USM. Sharpness is acceptable but I wish it could be sharper. All these issues have been discussed and are known associated with this lens. Getting a different copy still won't solve the problems so I'll be keeping mine.
With that said, can anyone recommend a good program to correct the chromatic aberration, barrel distortion and the vignetting? Preferably with a Tamron 16-300 preset.

With a new or updated version of the combo Photoshop-Camera Raw you have the presets of 99% the lenses available on the market.
And so fix most of CA and distorsion. Have u tried shooting @F8? should be a little bit sharper, and at the wide end maybe @F10.
PS-CR helps me a lot with the 18-200.

Yeah i know it's boring to face all those issues, and compared to the USM glasses it looks so "plastic".
But it's the eternal debate, zoom vs prime, cheap vs L, and so on.
Sometimes i prefer to stay light, and i grab my plastic tammy

The Lightroom profile for this lens removes barrel distortion as soon as you click the Profile box. That also removes most CA, and what is left can be removed completely by nudging the CA sliders slightly. These issues are very easy to correct.

I had the first, non-PZD motor version of the 18-270, and the 16-300 is notably better, in my experience. It is what it is, and it ain't what it ain't, but with post-processing it yields nice images. When you only want to carry one lens around, it will do the job.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking, I'm just waiting for prices to hopefully drop a bit. 16mm compared to 18mm is a pretty big difference for me. Hoping to throw it on my SL-1 as a second camera when I don't want to lug a 5D and multiple lenses around.

2 things I would change about this lens are switch the focus ring and zoom ring so that the zoom ring is close to the body like the 24-105L. When the lens hood is installed backwards, it covers half of the zoom ring, making it hard to zoom. The second thing is reverse the direction of the zoom dial. Right now it's Nikon direction. I just sold my 18-135 non STM. I am keeping this lens. I got mine for $535 new with 6 year warranty and $35 rebate. They included a $629 receipt for me to submit with the rebate. One thing I don't like about this lens is the focus. Sometimes when I shoot indoors, the focus won't lock and it searches and searches. I had to manually focus to take pictures. It needs good lighting to take indoor pictures.

CPRPOTN wrote in post #17701830
2 things I would change about this lens are switch the focus ring and zoom ring so that the zoom ring is close to the body like the 24-105L. When the lens hood is installed backwards, it covers half of the zoom ring, making it hard to zoom. The second thing is reverse the direction of the zoom dial. Right now it's Nikon direction. I just sold my 18-135 non STM. I am keeping this lens. I got mine for $535 new with 6 year warranty and $35 rebate. They included a $629 receipt for me to submit with the rebate. One thing I don't like about this lens is the focus. Sometimes when I shoot indoors, the focus won't lock and it searches and searches. I had to manually focus to take pictures. It needs good lighting to take indoor pictures.

I have never understood why someone would take photos with the lens hood in the "stored" position. I can see that it would be in the way of the zoom ring, but there is no benefit, whether protecting the front element or reducing glare, if it is not installed properly when shooting. Different strokes, I guess.

As far as the direction the zoom ring turns, it has to go one way or the other, so somebody is going to think it is "wrong" no matter what they do. It would be nice for us Canon users if Tamron had gone the other way, but it isn't hard to get used to.

Regarding indoor focus in poor light, it is a slow lens. The cure for this is to buy more expensive, faster lenses.

I don't carry a camera bag. As this is a walk around lens meaning I would walk around with it. Walking around means going outside, Outside means glare so lens hood would help. What do I do with the lens hood when I get indoors? Using pop up flash would cast a shadow with lens hood on. Turn the lens hood around. It is designed to be installed backwards as well. You're right, if I want to focus indoors I'd need a faster lens. At 16mm, it's F3.5 The 24-105 I have is F4 and it has no problem focusing in doors under exact same lighting condition. I'll eventually will get a f2.8 zoom lens. Right now, I'm broke. This is all I can afford. My 24-105L broke. My 18-135 is sold cuz I just bought the 16-300.

I understand that the lens hood casts a shadow with the built-in flash, and I know that the hood attaches backwards, but I respectfully submit that it does so only for storage purposes. It was never meant to be in that position when the lens is being used. I also understand that you don't carry a bag to put it in, but that does not make the lens poorly designed.

Well, it came with a hood. The hood is made to mount backwards. Based on that, they should have relocated the focus ring closer to the camera body. Canon did it. Sigma did it. Tamron could have done it. Anyway, I bought the Tamron knowing all the flaws so I have no regrets. It is a very versatile lens. Best zoom range on the market. Best optical stabilizer in its class for Canon mount. Until Canon releases an 18-300 STM lens, I'll use this lens.

I picked one up for $383 on ebay this week (used), still deployed for another month but look forward to playing with it after that. It's for my backup camera (SL-1) for when I don't' want to bring the 5DMKIII around.

Noticed that the zoom ring was sticking over a few months and finally stuck so that I was only able to zoom from 16-28mm. Maybe related to me not really using the zoom lock? Called Tamron, they told me it was a warranty repair and I sent it in last Mon. 1 week later and its back. Have to say I am pleased. Zoom ring is fixed, someone cleaned out all the internal dust bunnies, and I assume a firmware was upgraded (VC and focusing seem "cleaner"). Two thumbs up for Tamron customer service.

The only very very minor con is that Canon replaces the caps I don't send in. I only sent in the rear cap to Tamron to see what would happen. But hey, I will take 6 year warranty any day!

Still working fine this lens

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/MAea​Ni

Some more from the Faroe Islands

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/Peti​4C

Once again something from the Islands: Saksun (Faroe Islands)

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/NdD6​ra

Cool shot. Huge northern roads!! Only tip, when you do post, IMHO, you should fade more (usually i do 250px, someone says less its fine) as the line between sky and horizon is too hard.

IMAGE LINK: https://metalhk.files.​wordpress.com/2014/03/​20110924_400_5522.jpg