Perhaps you've heard Tamron's radio commercial; The one where you always have the wrong lens on your DSLR when the right moment for the PERFECT photograph comes up. They do have a point and here's their solution ; a great gift idea for anyone who's looking for that ultimate "walk around" lens!
The Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO Lens (Whew!) covers an extremely broad range of focal lengths, from an extra-wide 18mm length to a telephoto 270mm length (the 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 419mm!) The resulting 15x zoom ratio is the world's largest, representing a wide cross section of Tamron high-power zoom design technologies. Plus, their built in vibration compensation works throughout the entire zoom range, giving you the freedom to create a wide variety of images. The lens lets users capture once-in-a-lifetime panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, all without getting too close to the subject or changing lenses.
The lens is surprisingly small & lightweight (less than 4 inches long & only 1 pound!) and is an excellent value for the holidays! We sell this lens in Nikon & Canon AFS-C mounts for $599.95 and it has a $70 Mail-In Rebate until December 31st, 2009. Want a little more info on this lens? Here's a excellent review from PC Magazine:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329914,00.asp
We have 2 mini-classes this month before holiday shopping kicks into overdrive! DSLR basics class tonight at 7, followed by point & shoot basics next Thursday. And stay tuned for more holiday gift ideas, right here from now till Christmas Eve!