Exceptionally good quality  reasonably priced but heavy telephoto zoom
344567
I have owned this lens for two years since selling of my Nikon gear to switch Canon. I had over a dozen supposedly high-quality Nikon lenses. I was very surprised to see the picture quality possible with this lens was far better than I achieved with any of my Nikon lenses. I wanted a mid range telephoto zoom but could not justify the extra price of the f/2.8L. At the same time I had read that the lower priced consumer grade Canon zooms left much to be desired . After doing a lot of reading, I saw that reviewer after reviewer raved about the quality of Canon "L" glass. It's true, it is that good, believe the hype.

The lens is large and heavy; with the included lens hood it become enormous. Solidly constructed and massive to hold, it makes cheap consumer zooms feel like junk by comparison. Autofocus with my Rebel 400 was surprisingly fast and accurate. On a whim I took a photo of a commercial jetplane in flight far overhead. This would have produced a blurred blob of color against a blue sky with my Nikon gear. On later review I was pleased to see a razor sharp photo of the underside of the plane with the markings clearly legibible. I haven't used it very much compared to my 17-40L f/4.0. That lens has accounted for 90% of the exposures I've made since switching to Canon. But when used it has not failed in terms of function and quality.

Highly recommended, a bargain for the price given the quality of construction and images.
1513894
i've returned after some testing. Not sure how it got so many 4 stars+ review. The price is great if the image quality is up to par. It's hard to use lens without Vibration reduction nowadays. I prefer not to lug around a tripod everywhere i go. I ended up buying a discontinued Nikon DX zoom lens at great discounted price (comparable to this Tamron's), with VR! the lens is so much, faster, sharper, quieter even when it has a plastic mount. can't beat the price when image quality is first priority.
4657107
Autofocus is not fast enough for birds. I wish they had made a 250mm high quality f/5.6 APS-C prime instead of this zoom. 250mm is not that sharp. I really don't know why canikon won't make good APS-C telephoto prime lenses. All telephoto lenses are expensive and EF lenses.  For this price point this is a real winner. That is why I gave 5 stars.  We hope Sigma will make a 300mm f/5.6 lightweight prime in affordable price for APS-C shooters.
4415431
I've had this lens for a few years using it on my Canon Eos system.  Overall I've been fairly happy with it.  The quality of the glass is good, and at F/5.6 through out the range it's fairly fast.
On the down side it is very heavy and almost always requires a tripod mount.
It comes with a built in tripod ring that allows you to rotate the lens and body on the tripod.  This is a very useful feature and no large lens should be without.
Over all I recommend this lens for those with a limited budget looking for a longer lens.
1239723
This relatively lightweight lens is top-notch in delivering high quality images with little-to-no distortion throughout its 70-300mm (really 140-600mm) focal lenths when taking outdoor shots. Indoors, images are also sharp but autofocusing is somewhat slow in low light conditions. However, as another reviewer mentioned, this limitation can be mostly overcome by setting the camera to manual and auto focus. I'd highly recommend this versatile, leightweight lens when you are looking to add a long-range zoom lens to your photo equipment.
3181559
Very good image quality -- Affordable price -- The constructions looks almost like a pro-lens-- Decent zoom plus Lumix G5 2x 4x digital zoom gives very nice results.
2634901
I would really rate the lens 4.5 stars because of two reasons. It is heavy and expensive. The Tamron 18-300mm for Nikon and Canon is a great lens thats $499. 50% of the price of this lens. Some of my friends who are semi-pro use the lens on their Nikon cameras and love them.

I really thought hard about buying this lens. I already have the Sony 18-105mm lens and love it. It is more lightweight and is extremenly sharp. I considered buying the Sony 70-300mm amount zoom lens and I decided to buy this on instead because I wanted a more usable range so the 24mm low end range helped sell me on they lens. My main concern was sharpness.

I have a Sony alpha A6500. I tested this lens versus my 18-105mm and it was just as sharp as my favorite 18-105mm. So now I will keep my 18-105mm lens as my walk around lens because of its lighter weight. When I need a strong telephoto lens, I will strap on my new 24-240mm lens knowing that I will not be scaraficing too much for wide angle shots.

My goal with this lens and my 18-105mm lens is to strap one lens on my A6500 for a shooting project without having to switch lenses in the middle of it. This is a great sharp lens and I recommend buying it if you can afford it and the weight is not an issue for you. It is the most versatile Sony travel lens you can have in your kit. Next week I will be going to Maine to put it through it paces.
1198211
Pro :
1. Easy auto mode , works very well in outdoor scenario
2. Good quality image (compare to DSLR) for point and shoot category (specially if you only aim to post photo in facebook)
3. Plenty of manual settings for people who likes it, I sometimes did it too (see [...] for some sample of his Lx-3 photos)
4. Excellent build quality and materials, feels solid (even better than low end DSLR)

Cons :
1. Don't try to compare it with the latest camera for low light photography
2. If you very concern about weight, this camera has metal frame so it's about twice weight of low end plastic digital point and shoot camera)
3. If you compare with Canon S100 this camera a bit slower and lack of warm color (it has tendency of cool / blue colors)
4. The price didn't went down too much for such old camera
2360476
This camera is likely more than the casual user needs, in fact I think even some professional photographers could do most everything they need to with this camera. About a year and a half ago I saw this camera with the kit lens, a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Canon-EF-75-300mm-f-4-5-6-III-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-for-Canon-SLR-Cameras/dp/B00004THD0/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras</a>, a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Canon-EF-S-55-250mm-f-4-0-5-6-IS-II-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-for-Canon-Digital-SLR-Cameras/dp/B0011NVMO8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras</a>, a&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Canon-Mark-II-Inkjet-Photo-Printer-PIXMA-Pro9000/dp/B005KOC0TA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Canon Mark II Inkjet Photo Printer PIXMA Pro9000</a>, and a couple of tiffen filters for around $550 after some rebates. I was looking into cameras, and this deal was too good to pass up, so I made first entry into the DSLR market. I have been very impressed with the camera, it takes over 300 pictures on its battery, has good low light performance, and there are a bunch of generic accessories available for the photographer on a budget.

The camera itself feels a little unsubstantial. I have held super zoom cameras that seem more sturdy, and the grip is slippery. The auto-focus is also a little slow. These are really only cosmetic issues, sure the body is plastic and not magnesium, thus it has less resistance to the elements, but that will be the case for any camera under a thousand dollars. The sensor works well and there are more adjustments available than you will likely know what to do with.

While 12.2 MP seems low it is not really a bad thing to have fewer pixels on an entry level camera. Although pixel technology in sensors have decreased in size incredibly rapidly, the sensors themselves have not improved proportionally. This means that as the number of pixels increase, the amount of light received per pixel decreases and can result in less vibrant images, although they may be more detailed. 12.2 MP is also just not that low of a pixel count. A 1080p HDTV has only 2 MP, and a movie theater has about 8 MP. I think that you'll find 12.2 MP more than adequate.

While this camera takes fine pictures, its video performance could be better. The video is limited to a resolution of 720p and 30fps, additionally it has no input for an external microphone. As such this is not the camera for the video enthusiast. the 5d and 7d are some of the best options for video, in fact they have been used in feature films such as The Avengers and Black Swan, However those cameras cost several times as much as this one, so a video shooting option is nice.

The screen is fine, It has a fairly high pixel density and is large enough to do see the interface in decent detail. Where this camera and all cameras like it excel is in the ability to zoom into an area on the screen in live view mode and fine tune the focus to razor sharpness.

Overall I'm happy with this camera, it takes beautiful pictures, and is a pretty good bargain. While this camera lacks the features of its more expensive siblings, it has more than enough options to satisfy the casual photographer, and might even make a nice backup for the professional. This makes a good first DSLR, and in the very least allows for the amateur to experiment without the costs associated with film.
1205253
At mid-$200's this is an excellent value.  I've had the camera for about a week. I'm a professional photographer and own several professional digital Fuji bodies. I needed a good point and shoot to carry with me for casual family shooting.  I am surprised and pleased with the quality of the images, especially at 50 ISO and fine settings.  I only need about a 1 to 1.5 mb file size to get an excellent 5x7, which is really the largest size I would ever need for this application.  Plenty of features, including a full Manual setting if you need it.

The only negative so far is that it does not focus very well in moderate to low light, especially at the higher focal lengths (and accompanying higher F stop)but I guess that's understandable for a slower lense.  To compensate, in lower light I tend to shoot at the widest zoom settings.

Overall I am extremely pleased with the results for a point and shoot.
781583
Heavier lenses are not a problem - just be attentive.
Mated it with a A6500.
Great for 4K video and stills.
Power zoom works on Sony 18-105mm.
3382680
I just acquired the a new Sigma 150-500mm lens for not much more than what they go for used...Super Value...especially with case  / straps accessories & 4 year warranty. I am a hobbyist and shoot with a Canon 70D. I also have a Sigma 105mm Macro and am very happy with it... so when considering a long telephoto lens.. I gravitated toward Sigma. Build quality of the 150-500mm is very good and the quality of images is excellent and surpassed my expectations. As long as you known how you will use any lens and understand its parameters you should have reasonably good results with your purchase. This was a very good choice for me and I am sure for many others...!!
603746
This is a heavy lens but I love it.  I am using it to take action photos (football, volleyball, basketball) in relatively low-light environments.  The large aperture has allowed me to keep my to reduce my exposure times significantly (at least to the point where excessive blurring is minimized while still operating at a reasonable ISO (800 - 3200) that allows me enlarge the image enough so that I can crop it for prints.
3668566
This is an incredible value...a 12x optical zoom lens for $12, plus 2 other lenses.  Firstly, the zoom lens is bulky.  The case that is fitted to my phone is very tight, and it's a little hard to get on and off.  If you normally carry your phone in another case, of course you will need to remove it whenever you use this lens.

I was really only interested in the zoom lens.  The action is pretty smooth, the body is made from all metal parts, and the lenses are all optical glass.  3 important drawbacks you need to be aware of before you spend $:

1: On one side, the image is very dark for about the furthest 15% of the frame, almost like a vignette, but only on one side.  I foresee cropping; a LOT of cropping.

2: You are squeezing one crazy amount of usefulness from the micro-lenses used in smart phones today.  At 12x, it is VERY jittery.  This is not a limitation of the craftsmanship, just a limit of our phones today, and the tiny CCD chips they use.  You will need a tripod (tiny one included) to get much of an image at 12x.

3: You need to focus the zoom lens manually.  This might not be obvious to you.  This is difficult to get just right--easy to get it wrong.  Don't even think of using this in low light situations.  Again, a limitation of your phone's CCD chip.
1810347
The optics and general quality are what to expect for binoculars at one third the price. But image stabilization changes everything. At 18X power, conventional hand-held binoculars, even thousand dollar ones, require support; either tripod or at the very least, elbows carefully resting on a car roof or on both knees when sitting on the ground. (The latter two methods rule out skyward viewing or sweeping views). The base is threaded for tripod use, which serves as a reminder of what you would need if you forgot to put in the two AA batteries.  The Image Stabilizer feature is fingertip selective, so that fully comparing the IS image with the non-stabilized image is easy in all situations.  The stabilization is not perfect, as there is still some need to hold them steady. But the residual image-shake is less than for 6X power unstabilized binocs, and the effect at 18X is very pleasing, even startling -- binocular Image Stabilization is no gimmick. One-handed viewing is nearly as good as with a two handed grip, something out of the question for ordinary binoculars.  A limitation of the IS feature is that when attempting sweeping views, or when following moving objects like airplanes, there occurs minor blurring as the system tends to misunderstand the user's deliberate movement as jerkiness. Thus it is necessary to follow objects smoothly.  These binoculars came without lens caps for the objective lenses, a remarkable omission since the objective lenses are not well protected in the shallow recess of the encircling frame ridges. Presumably this is to keep bulk to a minimum. The eyepieces have somewhat oversized fold-back rubber cups.  While these cups are not ergonomically shaped, as they could be -- bumping the eye brow while still admitting light at the sides -- they fold back for eyeglass wearers, and offer good incidental lense protection when extended. The soft, padded, lightweight nylon carrying case is adiquit, but could use a waist belt loop for easy carrying. (A premium quality hard case would be a nice accessary.) The carrying weight is not bad, feeling about the same as ordinary 50 mm porro prism binoculars.
2476978
Powerful zoom, reasonable price! You'll have to get a more solid carrying case in case of travel. Lids are a bit flimsy but will do.
3100377
For the price, the quality of the lenses is excellent. The tripod broke the first time I tried to adjust it, which was one of the parts I was most excited about, as I have a difficult time positioning my phone for photos and videos. Other than that, the telephoto lens is too heavy for the clamp to keep it where you put it while adjusting the zoom.

Outside of these things, I'm very happy.