Pros: I am an amateur hobbyist photographer with a strong interest in taking beautiful photographs and not necessarily in ever becoming a professional photographer. For over a year now this lens has not left my D3200. It allows me the versatility to shoot very nice (not amazing) macro shots and still gives me the reach I NEED to take a quality picture at quite a distance from my subject with little hesitation. It is not perfect for a professional - it has idiosyncrasies that, compared to its much more expensive kin, would be limiting factors. However, for any amateur photographer who is looking for a quality lens with great versatility so they don't have to lug around more than one lens and keep switching out for their zoom, this lens IS perfect.

With a steady hand it shoots marvelously in low light conditions and has come through like a champ in scraping up whatever existing light it can find resulting in far-better-than-expected shots from terrible conditions without a flash. If you're not so steady, a tripod fixes that problem. I've successfully used it for artistic shots and the bokeh is STUNNING (if you like that sort of thing).

I strongly recommend this lens for others with interests similar to myself looking for more versatility from their kit without breaking the bank.

Cons: Not enough to deduct an egg, but as mentioned in other reviews, this lens will develop creep. It is not, in my opinion, a game changer as I have developed a habit of setting the lock when I'm done with a shot. If you walk with this lens facing down and not locked it will fully extend.

Other Thoughts: This lens is all that I had hoped for and more than I expected. It suits my hobbyist photographer needs perfectly and has not let me down.

Pros: As a semi pro photographer I own the Nikon trinity of 2.8 lenses which are very expensive , I bought this for family trips to Disney and travel photography where I don't wanna bring my expensive glass with me .. this thing is sharp , shoot at f8 for max sharpness throughout the range , fast focus , mounted on my d7100 I have the range of 18-400 if I turn on my crop mode ... 1 lens for all occasions , strongly suggest this lens , really impressive for the price. And very light as well , feels well built with metal mount.. o yea and tamrons 6 YEAR WARRANTY! that's longer than Nikon gives on their glass!

Cons: noisy focus motor ,
its soft at long end if not at f8 or greater.
No vibration compensation . but at this price and focal range what you expect!? not really a con but something to keep in mind.

Other Thoughts: buy this lens now , its well built and performs excellent under most situations . for the price it simply cannot be touched in my opinion.

Pros: Little lens creep. Focuses quickly and also acquires image fast in low light. I found I had to shoot at fast shutter speed if I was to use all of 200 telephoto - hand held. Does fine at 200 mm on tripod.

Cons: Weakness is not having vibration control.

Pros: works as well or better than the kit lens,

Cons: it came with a $100 rebate. I've had the lens now for 3 months and no sign of any rebate. I would of given 5 stars, but took one star for the rebate, I never seem to get back no matter how carefully I fill them out and send them in. I try hard not to buy anything with rebates, I think for the most part it is shady advertising.

Other Thoughts: I put on a Nikon D60 and it works great, I no longer need my kit lens as this one replaced both. It's not a high end lens but for the money it works quite well. I like that I don't have to carry extra lens now.

Pros: Just mounted this lens last night after my UV filters came in the mail. Newegg once again, came through with quick shipping, great price, AND they are the only vendor online that had the Tamron mail in rebate advertised (that I saw anyway).

So far the lens is decent. Does not focus nearly as fast as the Nikon lenses that came with my camera, but I can live with it just because it offers a huge amount of versatility in one lens that will save me time when walking the streets and snapping photos (and the chance of getting dust/dirt/grime/water/you name it in my camera).

Cons: AF motor is slightly louder than the Nikon factory lenses as well as a bit slower to auto-focus.

Also, Newegg did not have the filters needed for this lens which is an odd 62mm. Had to find those at that other website that sounds like a river. Another small gripe is that they offered free freight on this lens as well as free freight on a new SDHC memory card, but when I added both to my cart, it changed the freight to $5.00. What's up with that? Wouldn't it make more sense to give me free freight for both items than to have me enter 2 separate orders if both items ship free anyway?

Other Thoughts: Overall, this lens is a great addition to my camera gear and will get thoroughly tested soon with a vacation I have planned.

Pros: So far, no issues with this lens. Quality and zoom are great. No shadows on the outsides of the pictures.

Cons: Didn't come with a supermodel.