Best superzoom for Canon DSLRs: 8 tested

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro - £170

A throwback to the days of non-stabilised superzoom lenses, the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro was one of the first superzooms to be designed exclusively for APS-C cameras, and was launched back in 2005. The build is only slightly larger than Sigma's extremely compact non-stabilised 18-200mm, and it's marginally lighter, at just 398g.

Build quality feels quite good and, like the Sigma 18-125mm f/3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM, there's no hint of zoom creep. In other areas, the Tamron lens is quite disappointing. Autofocus is quite shrill and noisy, along with a slow action that's also prone to AF hunting, where the system oscillates back and forth before locking on to its target.

Like the original Sigma 18-200mm, the lack of stabilisation coupled with a slow maximum aperture of f/6.3 at the telephoto end makes handheld shooting quite a hit-and-miss affair.

The Tamron's sharpness wasn't quite as good as other lenses on test, even when reducing the aperture to f/8. Despite having a 'Macro' badge, the maximum magnification factor of 0.27x is only about the same as most other lenses in the group, and is actually slightly less than with the Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD.

18mm sample image from the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro

200mm sample image from the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro