DISTORTION

Levels of distortion vary between the contending lenses on test

Superzoom lenses are notorious for distortion, ranging from barrel at the short end of the zoom range to pincushion at mid to long zoom settings. For barrel distortion, the worst offenders are the Canon 18-200mm and all three Tamron lenses. However, we can easily forgive the Tamron 16-300mm lens’s greater barrel distortion, as it gives greater wide-angle viewing than any other lens. The amount of pincushion distortion at medium and long zoom settings is very similar from all of the lenses, although the Sigma 18-200mm is technically the worst.

Negative results of higher values indicate greater barrel distortion