Tamron 18-270mm lens

[DJC2]

Hi - has anyone used this lens?

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/tamron_18-270_3p5-6p3_vc_n15/

They seem like a great solution for travelling. Having read the reviews, most seem to give it a thumbs up with only a few negatives that wont worry me too much.

Now, the serious part! The best price I can get in Australia is just over a grand. Overseas stores (eg on ebay) are sellling them for around $600 - $650, and thats with free postage and a UV lens usually chucked in. For that saving, I would be happy to take the risk on the warranty.

Has anyone got any recommendations on reputable overseas on line stores for camera purchases? Feel free to PM if you prefer

Cheers
Darren

[Justin Boyle]

Big zoom has never been my cup of tea. I would only ever buy a lens with 4x zoom give or take. That lens you are looking at is 15x. That is my personal opinion. I know that the pictures from the lens are reasonable, probably does represent value for money and it is is convenient but for me all the little problems with a big lens like that would annoy me. All big zoom lenses like that have bad chromatic aberration. Some people don't notice it I do and for me it is a deal breaker. They are always soft at the edge unless you shoot in the magical sweet spot of the lens which means it really isn't as flexible as once thought.

I'm a nikon fan so if it was me I would buy the nikon 18-70 lens and then a sigma 150mmm f2.8 macro. Both really good lenses.

This is a handy website,
http://www.pbase.com/cameras
Just select your brand and then browse down to the lens you want. It will load up a heap of photos and if you want to see more just refresh your browser or hit more.