The Tamron 28-300mm is not designed specifically for digital SLRs. It also fits 35mm film cameras and full-frame digital SLRs, and the type of camera being used has an impact on its effective focal range and everyday usefulness.

On a full-frame camera, it’s a genuine 28-300mm – a very useful all-purpose super-zoom that offers wide-angle and long-range telephoto capability.

On a digital SLR, though, the smaller sensor size means that the Tamron’s equivalent focal range is approximately 43-465mm. This does affect its appeal. Wildlife and sports fans might appreciate the gain in focal length at the long end of the zoom, but the loss of real wide-angle capability does compromise the Tamron’s usefulness as an everyday zoom on a digital SLR.

But it’s not the end of the world. It is possible to adapt surprisingly well to the lack of a wide angle, and often simply by changing your shooting position. Besides, 43mm equivalent isn’t that far from what you get with a compact (35-38mm typically).

Of course, it’s not ideal. Most of us would be more inclined to use the Tamron as a medium to long range zoom alongside our digital SLR’s kit lens.

Will it appeal to photographers using a full-frame EOS 1Ds, or the brand-new Nikon D3? Possibly, but buyers of these cameras have already spent thousands on camera bodies and having done that they’re more likely to buy top-quality optics from the makers rather than low-cost independent lenses.

Focal range aside, this is a very versatile lens. Long lenses are extremely difficult to keep steady, and Tamron’s countered this with a proprietary VC (Vibration Control) system activated by a switch on the lens. It works well, too, helping keep shots sharp in low light and proving particularly useful at longer zoom settings. Here, the problem isn’t just keeping the picture sharp – a high enough shutter speed will do that – but keeping it centred in the frame as you press the shutter button. With the VC on, long-range shots prove much easier than with equivalent non-stabilised lenses.

The macro mode is worth drawing attention to as well. The minimum focusing distance of 49cm sounds unexceptional, but this is maintained right across the zoom range, so that by the time you’re shooting at 300mm, even small objects are filling the frame. The VC system proves its worth with handheld close-up shots, too.

The Tamron’s zoom range, vibration control system and macro capabilities are all very impressive. What’s also quite striking is the overall build quality and the feel of the controls. £500 is a lot of money, of course, and you’d expect a lens at this price to feel like it’s worth it, but the Tamron’s optical design is so ambitious, you might expect some corners to be cut somewhere.

Apparently not. The zoom and focusing rings are smooth, and the AF/MF and VC switches on the lens barrel are excellent. There’s also a zoom lock switch that locks the lens in its fully contracted position, which could prove useful during storage and handling.

The main question with a lens of this focal range is going to be its optical quality, and the Tamron was surprisingly good here. Shots taken at all but the longest focal lengths look crisp and contrasty, and this was born out by the lens resolution tests, which produced very good levels of sharpness at the 28mm and 90mm settings. The sharpness values dropped at 300mm and this was visible in the test shots. And while chromatic aberration was well controlled at the shorter focal lengths, it was starting to become a little obtrusive at 300mm.

But this is common and it’s a characteristic of telephoto zooms in general that the longest focal lengths are the weakest, especially with extended zoom ranges like these. As long as the Tamron is used at relatively small apertures, the results can still look pretty good. The vibration control system helps here, allowing somewhat slower shutter speeds (and hence smaller apertures) than you’d risk normally.

The Tamron 28-300mm is a bit of a compromise for digital SLR owners because its focal range isn’t ideal and because of the expected performance drop-off at maximum range. But how often will you use maximum zoom? Probably not that often – and if you want to improve significantly on this level of performance, you have to spend an awful lot more money on specialised glassware.

Final Verdict The Tamron’s a very good, very versatile super-zoom, though its focal range is a tad long for it to be a do-it-all kit lens replacement OVERALL

Our lens reviewer, and technical expert, Rod is a veritable photographic encyclopaedia. His illustrious CV has seen him write for many mags, websites and journals.