Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD vs Canon 50mm F1.8 MkII

Right, this is a quick test of the Tamron PZD and Canon 50mm f1.8 Mk II. The aim of the test is to show how surprisingly well the Tamron compares at close-up photography. Everybody knows that the Tamron is not the sharpest lens in the bunch especially at full zoom, but, I am of the opinion that in a real life situation the Tamron fares good enough. In any case to a level that it produces respectable enough images and coupled with its excellent vibration control, you will end up with more "keepers". Now, the Canon is not a close up lens, but it is legendary for its sharpness (keep in mind its price). So, it would have been an unfair comparison because the Canon cannot focus as close as the Tamron. This is easily solved with a set of diopters...

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Mator

One of my favorite cartoon characters is Mator. You just have to see him in action in Cars and Cars 2. This test of the Tamron PZD is aimed at showing the usefulness of the lens at macro photography. The model of Mator that I have is about 8cm (3.5inches) in length. Sure, the PZD is not a true macro but, because of the 270mm zoom and relatively close minimum focusing distance of the lens you can get close enough to get some very useful close ups in most situations. Plus, with careful focusing you can manage decent sharpness at the same time as you can see from the 100% crop below. Focus was deliberately aimed the the front headlight area and depth of field set to try and create a typical real life car photo look. Note the image was taken...

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1968 Ford Shelby G.T.500KR

Enjoyed myself last night playing with painting with light. My "patient" model was a 1968 Ford Shelby G.T.500KR in 1/18 scale. Not a very detailed model but good enough for low light work. My flashlight was a 3 LED model. Exposure was set to bulb and f-stop to 18. And then you just guess it from there. I've tried a number of techniques like lighting the car from the back etc. but for this shot, I aimed the flash at the nose and side and then slowly moved the around the back of the car making sure not to have much light fall on the bodywork. I am pretty pleased with the old border look adding to the period of the model. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 39mm, Exposure 24sec at f18, ISO 100, Focus manual,...

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Wellington Botanical Gardens

Some more close ups from the Wellington Botanical Gardens (see earlier post Sweating it Out). Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/200sec at f11, ISO 400, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter UV. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 59mm, Exposure 1/400sec at f8, ISO 400, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter UV. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/200sec at f11, ISO 400, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter U...

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Red 1956 Ford Thunderbird

I did some 1:24 scale model close up tests last night and here is one I am pretty pleased with. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 50mm, Exposure 2sec at f13, ISO 100, Focus manual, VC off, Flash none, Filter UV. How was this shot? Well, I've found some interesting plans on Flickr last week for a simple softbox design you can use for close up photography. (Andy's DIY Softbox) Here is my version constructed using Coreflute (Correx), and a 23W 6500K cool daylight globe. I have folded white cards, and ones covered in aluminum foil that I can move around to add highlights. I can also add a layer of colored transparent sheets, or sheets of black card between the frame and softbox to control how much light comes...

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Gully

There was a huge flock of gulls at the beach today drawn to concentrations of white bait in the water. Some let me come quite close. This specific picture caught my eye because of the beautiful textures in the sand. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/400sec at f8, ISO 100, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter ...

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Sweating it out

Work closed early today for the holidays, so myself and two photography friends went to the Wellington botanical gardens to see what we can accomplish at the main hothouse. I must say, I am sure I've dropped a couple of Kgs! My one friend was shooting with my Canon 18-55mm IS II (his Mk I is in for repairs) and my other friend used his Sigma 17-70mm. Both very capable lenses I must say. The only two areas I think the Sigma wins compared to the Canon is better f-stop and closer focus for macro shots. All in all we've spent about 2 hours inside taking a lot of pictures. I am sure my friends may beat me on image sharpness, maybe, but I can confirm that I've shot a lot of photos in excess of 100mm, getting nice and "close" to flowers far off....

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Gazania Mania

My wife's little flowers outside. Not much to say, but to mention these were shot hand held in a light breeze. I tried to snap the shots in between "gusts". I've applied minimal denoising in Lightroom. I cannot wait to get some close-up filters for this lens! So far not much I can find to fault the lens with except zoom-creep. This lens does like to go from 0 to hero (270mm) all by itself. Maybe it cannot wait to shoot at full zoom :-) Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/250sec at f18, ISO 400, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter UV. Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/125sec at f18, ISO 400, Focus auto, VC on, Flash none, Filter ...

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Knight Bishop

On my first night with the PZD three of us got together at a friend's place to play in his close up "studio" (think temporarily converted living room). One of the items we shot was this chess set. Lighting was done with a hand held LED torch. To make sure I had the subject in focus, I switched the Canon 600D to live view and used the arrow keys and zoom buttons while manually focusing with the other hand. As you can imagine, AF + re-composition with close up photography very easily leads to slight out of focus shots. The live view + zoom trick allows for pre-focus composition and the ability to fine focus on exactly the point in frame that you want. Only vibrance and saturation changed in CS5. To show the focus the PZD could manage I did not...

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Paekakariki Road Lookout

The day was very overcast and cloudy, but I was lucky and caught some sunshine as we got to the lookout point (http://www.geolocation.ws/v/P/3056126/kapiti-island-from-paekakariki-hill-rd/en). The wind was blowing a cold southerly down our spines, but I am glad we took the detour to take this shot. This shot is a 5 frame hand held panorama with only minor saturation and over exposure recovery performed. I used one of my Canon's view finder focus points as reference to make sure the horizon stays on the same level in all 5 shots. Exposure was measured on the rightmost of the 5 shots, set in manual, and then I took the shots from left to right. I was sure to get some overexposure with the sun reflecting in the water, but that was all planned...

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Venus Flytrap

Canon 600D, Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD, tripod. Focal length 270mm, Exposure 1/100sec at f20, ISO 800, Focus manual, VC off, Flash none, Filter UV only The Venus Flytrap has always been a little plant that I could just not get enough of. I always stand amazed at how fast this plant can react to insects crawling though its traps. This one is a snap (pun intended) of one of my son's plants. Lighting was natural sunlight, background is a simple black piece of A4 paper held about 40cm back. Saturation, noise reduction and vibrance changed using CS5. My 600D was set on a tripod, and my Tamron PZD was focused manually. I must say I am very impressed by the  resolution of the fine details. Keep in mind this flower...

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Dollars out, the fun starts

This blog was started to record my experience with the Tamron 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 VC PZD, but more about that later :-) First let me introduce myself. My name is Andre Serfontein and I am based in New Zealand. I am by no stretch of the imagination a professional photographer, but as you will see from my current equipment list, I am a keen amateur photographer. My induction into photography started at school in the 80s, being head of the photography club at school. Those are fond memories of shooting with my dad's Pentax, developing and printing B&W at the school lab, to developing my own color slides at home. Photography to me, is about learning and having a lot of fun at the same time. To do this, I believe you do not have to have the greatest and latest of equipment. You do however...

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