Until the late 1990s people shot film and enjoyed the results either in the form of prints (typically 4x6 inches in size) or color slides. Professionals and some purists examined their negatives or slides with a magnifying loupe, but for the most part, close scrutiny of image sharpness was difficult to perform. Studying a postcard-size print or inspecting a color transparency at 8X did not reveal enough detailed information for a photographer to critically judge the performance of his equipment. It was possible to identify pictures that were clearly out of focus but, quite frankly, things had to be pretty bad to be noticed.

Even the very earliest digital cameras were of such poor resolution (VGA, which is a mere 640x480 pixels) that it was impossible for human eyes to assess image sharpness to the extent that any judgment could be made about the lens that was used to create the shot.

That was a few short years ago. Nowadays even casual amateurs use 12-megapixel (or higher) cameras that produce something on the order of 3000x4000 pixel resolution. And after a day’s shooting they download the images to their PC and review them with an image browser or editing software. What’s the first thing they usually do? They grab the magnifying tool, crank it up to 100% or higher and carefully examine the image structure.

This is a longwinded way of saying that images captured today are subjected to much more critical scrutiny, but are equal to the challenge because they are sharper and overall are better than images captured 20 years ago. Camera and lens performance—especially lens performance—has improved to keep pace with the new way consumers evaluate their images.

You may ask: if today’s lenses are so good, why are some images still unsharp, even when the camera has high-tech, state-of-the-art autofocus? The answer is that the camera often moves ever so slightly during exposure. The single most destructive force that negatively affects sharpness is camera movement. The slightest shake—the tiniest tremor—can cause an otherwise perfect picture to be fuzzy and unpleasant. Small degrees of camera movement went undetected 20 years ago because images were not critically examined as they are today on a routine basis.

It’s easy to understand why camera shake is more noticeable when a telephoto lens is used. Teles magnify the image and thereby magnify the amount of apparent movement. It’s like holding a broom by the very end and swinging it in an arc. Your hand moves only slightly, but the fat part of the broom moves a lot. What many people do not understand, however, is that camera movement can also ruin images shot with wideangle and normal lenses. So having a countermeasure to negate camera shake is beneficial across all lenses and more important where telephotos are concerned.

But how do you stop camera shake? Good work habits help. By that I mean keep your elbows tucked in close to your body, regulate your breathing (don’t hold your breath—but be aware of your breathing rhythm) and press the shutter smoothly instead of pushing it wildly. You can also use a tripod—and sometimes you should—but tripods can be slow and cumbersome, and can suffocate spontaneity.

You can also shoot at a fast shutter speed if the lighting conditions allow it. The ancient rule of thumb suggests using a shutter speed equal to “1 divided by the focal length” of the lens you’re using. For example, with a 200mm lens, shoot at 1/200th of a second or higher. It’s nice in theory, but often impossible to practice. And please note that some people are simply more (or less) steady than others.

The better way is to use a Tamron VC lens. VC stands for “Vibration Compensation.” Until you actually see it in action, and see the results, it sounds too good to be true. Tamron has developed a ‘solution for the shakes’ that really works. It works so well that you can see the difference in nearly every picture you take.

VC rewrites the aforementioned rule of thumb and allows you to shoot at a slower speed, typically by two to four stops. If you can successfully handhold an old fashioned 400mm lens at 1/500th of a second, you should be able to shoot at 1/125th or even slower with a Tamron 18-270 VC lens zoomed out to the same equivalent focal length. By exercising the good work habits outlined above, I would not be surprised if you could shoot at even slower speeds. I have gotten tack-sharp images at 1/30th of a second and acceptable stuff at 1/15th by keeping my elbows tucked and using a Tamron VC lens.

Tamron’s proprietary Vibration Compensation mechanism uses three driving coils to move the compensating lens element electromagnetically, based on signals originating from the movement of tiny steel balls (see diagram). The amount of movement of the lens element that compensates for vibration is precisely regulated by the steel balls. The adjustment is smooth and certain. Tamron is able to keep the zoom lens small overall by utilizing a simple mechanical design that moves the compensating element in a plane that is parallel to the image via electronic control alone. And the results are quite compelling.

I regularly use two Tamron VC zoom lenses. I like them both equally; each has its own place and purpose. The 17-50mm f2.8 VC is wonderful for general shooting, portraits, low-light situations and everyday use. This is the lens that is attached to my camera most often. However, when I’m venturing to new places and I’m not sure what I’ll encounter, I bring the Tamron 18-270mm VC zoom for either primary or secondary duty (on a second camera body).

The breathtaking 15X zoom range that this lens provides means that I am ready for doggone near any situation—from scenic landscape, to portrait, macro and long distant shots. With this lens I’ve photographed Geisha in Japan, baseball players in New York, airplanes in Chicago and my family in Hawaii. On my Nikon, the 18-270 gives me the working equivalent of a 27~405mm zoom.

Because the 18-270mm range handles everything from sweeping wideangle landscape vistas to sneaky candid telephoto people-watching shots, the 18-270mm VC zoom is the lens I often take into Manhattan when I’m wandering around without a particular destination or assignment. When milling through a crowd of people it’s inconvenient to stop and change lenses. That’s when I really appreciate the versatility of the 15X zoom range. I also take it to places like balloon festivals, apple picking adventures and county fairs where I know I’ll be shooting candids of people, close-ups of small objects and things far away. I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Check out my blog on Shutterbug magazine’s homepage. Please comment. http://blog.shutterbug.com/jonsienkiewicz/

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