[narrowfeather]

I have this lens. Tamron makes some really nice lenses, this is not one of them. Yes it is very inexpensive and sports a great zoom range but you will be better off saving the money and buying a better lens.

The image quality is poor at tight zooms, especially at faster aperatures, but stopping it down, on a tripod, in open daylight, it still renders soft images with readily apparent chromatic abberation.

It says right on it that it is a macro lens, but it is not. The instructions tell you to switch it to macro mode for shooting macro, but there is no switching mechanism to do so and it will NOT shoot as a macro lens.

Also the front element rotates during focusing, making use of polarizers a pain in the backside.

The specs make it look like a great deal for the money, but it is not. It isn't a good lens at all in my opinion, although others say they get pretty good shots out of it, I find it nearly impossible. If you are a beginner, FORGET IT, you will never be happy with this guy, spend a tad more and get much better shots.