VC in Tamron 18-270mm PZD vs. non-PZD

[bakubo]

I have had the Tamron 18-270mm non-PZD for almost 1.5 years using it on my Canon 60D. The whole time I have had it there has been something annoying about it though. When the lens VC has gone to sleep and it awakes it takes a second or so to initialize and stabilize properly. If I take a photo too quickly then there is a smearing of the photo. Of course, I try to always wait a second, but from time to time something happens in front of me quickly and the delay of the VC ends up causing a smeared image. I had the Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 DC OS several years ago and never had this problem with it. I also have a Sony A700 and the IBIS doesn't have this problem either. This Tamron is the only lens I have experienced this problem with.

My question is does the newer Tamron 18-270mm PZD have the same VC issue? The newer lens is also smaller/lighter so that is attractive, but if it has the same problem with VC then I don't think I would get it. About a year ago I actually had the Tamron 18-270mm PZD for a short time, but I didn't think to check this issue before returning it.

Also, there is the new Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM that I have been seeing advertisements about in Japan photo magazines recently. It is about the same size/weight as the Tamron 18-270mm PZD:

Tamron: 74.4mm x 88mm, 450g, mfd 49cm, 62mm filter
Sigma: 75.3mm × 87.7mm, 490g, mfd 45cm, 62mm filter

Does anyone have any experience with this new Sigma? Does the OS do the same as my old Tamron VC lens?

[David Kilpatrick]

Henry - I had the same problem with the 28-300mm VC Tamron and the 18-270mm on Canon. All Tamron lenses work like this. Canon lenses take up to 1 second to initialise IS, Tamron take between 1 and 2 seconds and it makes all the difference.

David

[bakubo]

Henry - I had the same problem with the 28-300mm VC Tamron and the 18-270mm on Canon. All Tamron lenses work like this. Canon lenses take up to 1 second to initialise IS, Tamron take between 1 and 2 seconds and it makes all the difference.

When you say you had the problem with the 18-270mm you are referring to the PZD version? If so, then I will stop considering it. You have not had this problem with the Sigma 18-250mm OS? A long time ago I had the first Sigma 18-200mm OS with my Canon 30D and I don't recall ever having a problem with an OS delay like the VC delay. The new Sigma 18-200mm OS II is smaller/lighter so I am looking for info on it.

[David Kilpatrick]

The Sigma lens OS floats into place when you switch on, it still takes 1 second to be stable. The Tamron one does a sudden jump and sometimes this happens when the camera wakes up and you try grab a shot - you get blur as it catches the moment the VC activates. The Sigma has a more gentle action and I have never managed to catch the lens out the same way.

It does not seem to go to sleep like the Tamron does on Canon. I think you can probably trust the Sigma better but I am also sure there is a delay - the Sigma parks the group off-centre, and brings it to the centre position when you turn on the camera.

David

[bakubo]

Yes, that is exactly the behavior I see. The good thing is that this Tamron VC, once it is awake, seems to be excellent, maybe better than any I have used before. I haven't done any testing, but it sure seems to work really well at longer focal lengths and better than the A700 IBIS and the old Sigma 18-200mm OS I had. The Sigma had a swimming view sometimes, as you say, and the Tamron once it is awake is rock steady. Unfortunately, the Tamron has too much delay in getting itself initialized and working while waking up. I try to remember to half-press the shutter release as I am bringing the camera up because if I do that then the VC is usually ready to go when I get the camera up to my eye, but I forget sometimes and there are also times when that isn't an option. For example, if I am watching something through the VF, sometimes for quite awhile, the VC will go to sleep and then suddenly I want to fire. Sometimes I can keep the VC awake by continually half-pressing the shutter button, but there are other occasions where I have found that there is not much I can do to eliminate the Tamron VC slow wake-up problem.

Well, with the poor exchange rate here (but it has been improving a bit for the last week) any photo purchases are generally quite a bit more expensive than in the States so if I decided to buy something I would probably wait until back there. The smaller size/weight of the new Sigma 18-200mm OS might be attractive once I see it reviewed somewhere.

[bakubo]

I sold my Tamron 18-270mm VC non-PZD a couple of days ago on a Japanese auction site (Yahoo Japan auctions) and got a reasonable price for it. I have decided against the PZD version because of what David has said and I also found someone else saying the same thing about the PZD version's VC:

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1640508

Fairly close to the bottom I found this about the PZD lens:

Also while the VC works it takes a few seconds to spin up after you engage it, this takes a bit to get used to.

I am considering the new Sigma 18-200mm OS II which is the same size/weight as the Tamron PZD.

[bakubo]

The person who bought the lens from the auction posted feedback this morning, in Japanese, of course. He was very, very pleased. Said that when he opened the box he thought that there was some mistake about it being a used lens because he thought it must be a new one. Japanese are real sticklers for quality and demanding customers. Glad to have a happy buyer. I take care of my stuff as much as possible. Maybe I should try to get rid of some other camera gear that I have with me here that I am not using.