Sony E-Mount Lens Guide Here >>

Sony Nex-7 and Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens – Sample Photos – More pics added!!

If you fallow along you know I just received the Nex-7 and a bunch of lenses the other day, and I got a chance to take a few sample pics with the Nex-7 and the New Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens! Nothing incredible cool yet, but decent sample pics nonetheless 😉 The Tamron and Nex-7 make a nice lightweight combo with a serious zoom  equivalent to ~ 27-300mm!!

Right off the bat I notice the Vibration Compensation or VC, works extremely well. it’s very visible that it’s working, especially at the higher end of the focal range like 200mm. The Zoom itself is pretty smooth and a bit tighter than I expected from Tamron, but I imagine it will loosen up a bit with use.

Here’s what the Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens looks like mounted to the Sony Nex-7

Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Nex-7 w/ Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm

 The Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens

Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 18mm
Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 200mm
Tamron E-Mount 18-200mm VC III Lens @ 200mm

And here’s a few Sony Nex-7 sample photos all shot RAW and 100% Crops.

All the Exif info is just below the photos in the Caption area. None of these photos were edited at all. I imported the raw files to Lightroom v3.6 and left everything at the default. No noise reduction at all and 25 on the sharpening slider is default. I exported the files at 65% quality, 1200px max (some of the 100% crops are less than 1200px), and as jpegs.

Also, be sure to Click the Photos for the full 100% ~1200px crops.

This is a gorgeous and very well maintained farm that I drive past on the way to work everyday. On the way home, depending on the time of the year, the sunlight falls on the farm providing some noce texture and warm colors. All the dynamic range was easily captured by the Sony Nex-7 Raw file. I took a few of the same shots at different focal lengths for lens examination purposes.

nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 18mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 18mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 36.7mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 36.7mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm, f/8, 1/320sec, ISO 200 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm, f/8, 1/320sec, ISO 200 – Handheld

This is just a snapshot through the windshield of my car looking away from the farm above. The highway on the left is what I take to work and see this farm from everyday.

nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 18mm, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 100 – Handheld Cropped
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 18mm, f/8, 1/125sec, ISO 100 – Handheld

This next photo is also just a snapshot. The camera was resting on the kitchen table and I was shooting through the middle of two white glass candles at the back of the couch which created a nice foreground blur.

nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 133.9mm, f/6.3, 2.5sec, ISO 100 – resting on table
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 133.9mm, f/6.3, 2.5sec, ISO 100 – resting on table

Here’s one of those glass candles from above, but in focus this time. Also, the highlight area on the right side is the TV and the raw file was slightly blown out as the exposure was 1.6 seconds.

nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 133.9mm, f/6.3, 1.6sec, ISO 100 – resting on table
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 133.9mm, f/6.3, 1.6sec, ISO 100 – resting on table

This can of sprite was also resting on the table, but I was hand holding the Nex-7 and Tamron at a pretty high ISO of 6400. The 100% crop has a bit of visible noise.

Nex-7 Sample Photo
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm, f/6.3, 1/30sec, ISO 6400 – Handheld
Nex-7 Sample Photo
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm, f/6.3, 1/30sec, ISO 6400 – Handheld
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 200mm, f/8, 1/320sec, ISO 500

 Some sky pics:

Nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 103mm, f/8, 1/250sec, ISO 100
Nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 63mm, f/8, 1/160sec, ISO 100
Nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 69mm, f/8, 1/400sec, ISO 100
nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 18mm, f/3.5, 1/800sec, ISO 100
Nex-7 - Sample photos
Nex-7 w/ Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens @ 23mm, f/16, 1/4sec, ISO 100

Closing Remarks

That is it for now, but be sure to check out the full hands on Review of the New Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens Here >>

The Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens is available now at @ BHPhotoVideo | Amazon

  1. Im looking at getting the Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC Lens for Sony E Mount Cameras or the sony 18-200mm . What is the diffrance is one better then the other and what are the macro capaclities i have heard it is farley good for a zoom, also all of the photos seem to have alot of noise compaired to my stock lens is that typical for a zoom or are they just dumbed down for the web the clouds shots do not look so shard they kinda look like a point and shoot camera pic. If you ca reccomned a lens between the 2 what would you reccomend? plz get back to me if you can brigamer@gmail.com

    1. Hi Brian,
      I have both lenses now and will be testing them extensively!! The immediate differences between the two lenses though are:
      -Lens groups/elements: Sony 13/15, Tamron 13/17
      -Minimum focus distance: Sony 1.0? (30.48 cm) Tamron 1.64? (0.5 m)
      -Angle of view: Sony 76° – 8° , Tamron 76° – 8°
      -Diaphragm Blades: Sony 7, Tamron 7
      -Dimensions (DxL): Sony Approx. 3.0 x 4.0? (7.62 x 10.16 cm) , Tamron -Approx. 2.7 x 4.0? (6.86 x 10.16 cm)
      -Weight: Sony 18.5 oz (524 g) Tamron 16.2 oz (459 g)
      -And Both have Image stabilization
      If your in a rush and need a choice right now, I would go with the Sony based only on my experience with the other Sony Nex lenses. The Tamron is not as sharp as them. Again, I have not used the Sony 18-200mm yet though so stayed tuned!!
      Best,
      Jay

  2. Well i finally got to test the tam at the local camera shop they got one in, I find it to be farley good and the sweep pan actually worked fine for me ive read some reviews were every image but the first came out blurry with the sweep, One thing i dint like is that the lens zoom seemed to be so tight that when i held my Nex C3 and turned the zoom i could feel a little bit of play in were the lens mounts too which all cameras have a tad bit of play there but it really felt like the hole lens was turning with the zoom when you first started zooming. Did you exp this. I am going to wait to make a purchase until i can find some better reviews of the sony 18-200 compaired to the Tamron, i really didnt like on the tamron how the lens mount seemed like it moved a hair when you started to use the zoom almost like the lens was too bulckey for the mount? altho ive never shot a reg dslr and i dont know if those lens move like that or not, the local camera store (porters Cameras) said that a tad bit of shake were the lens mounts to the body is normal. The tamrom seems like its built like a tank compaired to say cannons nikkons dslr kits lens and most of there zooms it just feels tuff. Jan 30, 2012

  3. Hi Brian !
    I was thinking to buy this lens too because smaller than the Sony one.
    But it seems that there is no vigneting or distorsion auto correction from the Nex 5N or 7 body. Only the lenses from Sony can be corrected by the firmware.
    So probably I would buy the Sony zoom…softer than the Tamron too.
    Probably the Tamron is too tight to be used in video.
    I think the little play you note is normal. I used to have a GH2 with 14-140 zoom, I did have this little play. All GH2/14-140 users know this. So it’s not serious at all.

  4. Well i ended up buying the tamron and i was happy with it to a point , ive had horrible problems with the auto focus i was shooting like some kind of a blackberry bush and i could not get focus on the berry it kept focusing on the back braches and grass around it i also found some birds in trees i zoomed in and focused and it focused on the trees it would never get the bird in focus it always got the branches i changed metering modes focus modes and no help altho i could start out at 18mm and zoom about 20mm each time till i got to 20mm of the same subject then the blackberry things were in focus but if i pointed the camera at something else and focuses then point it back to the blackberries it would not focus i would have to back back out to 18mm and auto focus while moving in? The camera shop said they didn’t know what was going on so i exchanged it tonight havint tested it out, but the problem didn’t happen in the house or reg stuff portraits it was only when i was shooting like trees closer up but 3-5 feet away trying to take a pic of a leaf or something like a landscape but when i tired to do small things zoomed like a flower or berry or like a group of pinecones on a pine tree it would not focus from like 150 to 200 i have to back clear out to 18mm and move up slowly for the auto focus to work i could however zoom in and manual focus.. You have any such problems?

    1. Hi Brian,
      I’ve had the same exact issue with both the Sony and Tamron lenses. I think it has something to do with the amount of light that the sensor is getting at f/6.3 which is intern perhaps making it harder to focus when zoomed @ 200mm. That is a total guess though! I think it is more to do with the IQ of the camera, because I’ve had this very same issue with the A77 as well. It just seems like the Sony’s struggle at nature type stuff, but when it comes to people it almost always locks right on. I wish I had better answer for you, but I don’t believe it’s your lens if that helps!
      Another way to get around this issue is to use manual as you are, or find something with better contrast near where you want to focus, and then re-frame the shot.
      PS. I finally got the Tamrom 18-200mm vs Sony 18-200mm video done, and it will be up Today at some point!! Yeah 😉
      Best,
      Jay

      1. Yea i have been using it in DMF mode and just touching up the focus but sometimes it gets very annoying i see this cool bird sitting in a tree set it on center focus put the bird in the center and the trees are crystal clear and the bird is a blob lol, just seems like it likes to focus on the subject be hide what your trying too if it is similar in color like allot of birds look like trees and there small even when zoomed at 200 there pretty small, but yea its probably just the overcast type of day if it was sunny or shinny out and didn’t look like rain i bet it would prob focus fine altho i haven’t tried this new one i got yet.

        1. Brian,
          lol, Yeah DMF sucks when it comes to that and I ended up turning it off even though it’s awesome sometimes.
          As far as the focus goes, you will find that it is hit or miss in those situations depending on a # of variables. When I had that issue with the A77 a while back I was so confused why it would just go past stuff when trying to focus, so I compared it to the 5D Mark II. Obviously the 5D Mark II destroyed it, but because it’s a Full Frame Pro grade camera, it’s not a fair test really. I often wonder if it’s because of all the face detection technology built in? It’s always looking for that stuff to track etc.. so it stands to reason that could be part of the situation. I wish I had a concrete answer for you, sorry. You will start to be able to predict when it will and won’t be able to focus. In those situations I just try and find something with high contrast reletivly close to the same focal plan. then re-frame. Often faster than manual, but not always 😉
          What do you think of the image quality??
          Jay

  5. hello !
    you have tested Sony & Tamron zoom.
    Can you confirm if the Tamron has the firmware correction (as 5N &7 with the Sony lens) or not … distorsion ?
    thank you

    1. I’m not 100% sure as I shot in raw 99% of the time. I did not do a raw vs jpeg comparison either, but I will find out for you guys ASAP!!

  6. Brian,
    I just received today the Fotodiox Pro EOS (A) – SN(e) and put it on my NEX 7. I then attached my Canon EF 70-200 2.8 L lens. I have a couple of quest ions that I need to better understand. The lens would not focus and an error message came up when I pushed the shutter “Cannot Recognize lens – attach lens properly”.
    In the lower RH corner of the rear screen a message that says “FOCUS with 3 dots in a triangle” appears. This is adjacent to the bottom button below the Mode Ring. When the button is pushed the message states “Invalid because Lens not attached – attach lens properly”. Is there something I am doing wrong that can be easily fixed, do I have the right mount adapter or is there some other solution. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
    FYI – does it matter that the blue Iris ring is on a particular number? I apologize for my lack of knowledge!!
    Thanks,
    Steve

  7. Good article. I have the nex 5n with tamron-18-200mm but i don’t know with case i have to buy to protect it once mounted on the NEX. I don’t want a case too big !!!
    Do you have an idea ?

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