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

Tamron’s superzoom goes extra-large in a new way

Tamron has a history of ‘world firsts’ for the outright zoom range of its superzoom lenses, and this is a case in point, with an unparalleled 18.75x zoom range. While matching the Sigma 18-300mm for maximum telephoto reach, it also goes extra-large in wide-angle viewing, with a 16mm focal length. This is equivalent to 25.6mm in full-frame terms, compared with the 28.8mm of the other lenses. There’s a noticeable difference in how much you can squeeze into the frame.

The PZD autofocus is much more refined than in the older Tamron 18-270mm. It’s still a motor-driven ultrasonic mechanism but the manual focus ring remains stationery during autofocus, which greatly improves handling. Equally unusual is that full-time manual focus override is available, and there’s an up-market focus distance scale beneath a viewing panel. The high-class feel of the lens is further enhanced by quality plastics and a metal mounting plate, complete with a weather-seal ring. Other weather-seals built into the lens complete the ‘splash-proof’ design.

Performance

The optical path includes LD, XR and hybrid aspherical elements, which help to boost sharpness and contrast while keeping the size and weight to manageable proportions. In this case, however, sharpness is better throughout the entire zoom range, although colour fringing is a bit worse at either end. As you’d expect, barrel distortion is slightly worse at the wide 16mm focal length.