Less is more when it comes to creating images. You only need to include enough information in the frame to tell a story to viewers. Less is also more when it comes to the amount of gear you carry with you. If you have too much equipment in your camera bag, you have to make decisions about which gear to use instead of reacting spontaneously to the subject or scene that’s piqued your curiosity enough to create an image. I’ve long been a proponent of carrying just what I need on a photo shoot instead of every piece of gear I own. I decided to give that theory the ultimate litmus test by doing a photo shoot with one camera and one lens. But the lens I decided to carry is indeed a powerhouse: Tamron’s AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF, which I mounted on my Canon EOS 7D.
Before Tamron sent me this lens, I would have never considered doing a photo shoot with just one lens. However, after some initial experimentation with the lens, I knew I could create a wide variety of images with it. I decided to put the lens through its paces at Myakka State Park near Sarasota, Florida. On a typical Myakka photo shoot I carry a tripod, two camera bodies; one with a wide-angle to medium telephoto zoom lens for landscape photography, and one with a long telephoto lens for capturing images of wildlife. Sometimes I’d also carry a macro lens for close-up photographs of flowers and insects. That’s a lot of gear, but necessary when considering the diversity of photo opportunities in a place like Myakka State Park.
With just the 18-270mm lens on my EOS 7D, I have an astounding focal length range that is the 35mm equivalent of 30mm to 432mm, which in theory gives me the capability of capturing an images with a great expanse of landscape and with a quick twist of the zoom barrel zooming in to create images of distant wildlife and birds. OK. Theory is all well and good, but now I was actually putting it to the test.
The day began with a glorious sunrise on the misty Myakka River. I started my exploration of the lens’ capabilities by creating some wide-angle shots of the river. Then I saw an area where warm light was dancing on the high grass on the opposite shore of the river. Normally I’d have to switch to a longer focal length to capture the image I envisioned, which is risky when the light is changing by the second. With the Tamron 18-270, I simply zoomed in to frame the image I envisioned. The light was still fairly weak, which would normally mean that I’d I have put the camera on a tripod, open the aperture to let in more light, or switch to a higher ISO to get a fast enough shutter speed capture a tack-sharp image. Tamron’s fabulous VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization saved the day and enabled me to capture the image with a large depth of field at a low ISO and a fairly slow shutter speed.
After photographing the sunrise, I drove to Fox’s Low Road, one of my favorite hiking trails in the park. The only extra piece of gear I took was a bottle of water. Fox’s Low Road is a photographer’s paradise. The trail meanders through a lush meadow that is dotted with picturesque trees. I like to capture the big picture of the lush landscape and clouds, but occasionally I like to capture details like vines climbing a tree trunk, or a patch of photogenic leaves. The 18-270 made it possible to capture both extremes without having to change lenses in a dusty environment. With a minimum focusing distance of 19.3 inches, I can also use the lens to create close-up images of butterflies and flowers.
Just before I left Myakka, I heard the cry of a red-shouldered hawk. I walked to the area where I thought the hawk was, looked overhead and there it was in a nearby tree. I zoomed in to 270mm, focused the bird’s eye and captured several images.
On the Myakka photo shoot, the miniscule Tamron powerhouse exceeded my expectations. I was able to create a wide variety of images under varying light conditions. Indeed less is more when you go on a photo shoot with the Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD LD Aspherical IF lens.
Disclaimer: Tamron sent me this lens as part of an ongoing agreement to review and write about their products. However, whether I’m being compensated for a product review or not, the result is the same: I tell my readers exactly how I feel about a product, good or bad.
For more information about the Tamron 18-270mm for Canon digital SLRs, click here: Tamron 18-270 for Canon
For more information about the Tamron 18-270mm for Nikon digital SLRs, click here: Tamron 18-270 for Nikon
For more information about the Tamron 18-270mm for Sony digital SLRs, click here: Tamron 18-270 for Sony
