A Taste of Tacoma with the Tamron 18-270

Forget the camera, forget the lens, forget all of that. With any four-dollar camera, you can capture the best picture.

Alberto Korda

It wasn’t my intent, but I may have stepped over the line between “Guy with a Camera” and “Amateur Photographer.” I say that because I have just spent a significant chunk of money upgrading my camera and lenses. That said, I don’t like this at all. I don’t like that I can now have a discussion about the relative merits of my lenses beyond “If it’s far away, I just slap that thar big one on.” Ultimately, I hope not to talk about these things much. Instead, I hope that you notice a difference in the relative quality, sharpness, and creative range compared to previous trips.

Indulge me briefly on the lens upgrades I’ll be using this trip, then I promise never to speak of them again. I think.

To the right is the Canon Digital Rebel t2i with the standard 18-55mm kit lens. Looks like a completely normal camera, doesn’t it? To the left is the same camera, outfitted with a new Tamron 18-270mm zoom.

I bought the Tamron because it encompasses almost the full range of my last setup, but now that I put it on the Rebel, I find it curiously reminiscent of some testosterone laden remnant of a previous age, like perhaps the Gee Bee Racer.

Here’s a final shot of the camera with the zoom lens fully extended. Really, if I’d known it was going to look like this I would have opted for something less, ahem, compensatory.

But I remind myself that this is not about the lenses, it’s about the pictures. So, where best to try out my new setup than on some artsy Northern European modern architecture? So. Check it out.


Cool building. But wait. This isn’t Oslo or Riga. I’m not even in Europe yet. Guess what, you South Puget Sound poo-poo-ers out there, this is the Chihuly Museum of Glass. It’s not in Europe. It doesn’t smell bad. It’s in TACOMA.

The glass cone-shaped structure is the “Hot Shop,” where visiting artists create works before the eyes of fascinated patrons. Here’s the same structure from the inside.

This artist is manipulating the work inside what is called the “Glory Hole.”

Back to the lens for a moment, and here’s the one of the big reasons I bought it. Here’s a shot taken with the Tamron at full zoom.

Here’s the same lens, from the same position, at its shortest focal length. Nice, eh? In terms of build quality (sorry!) the zoom doesn’t go from one end to another with a lot of grace, but it keeps me from needing to slap a new lens on for distance.




Next time: Washington DC with the Canon 10-22mm.