Buyer's Guide 2008: Lenses

EXTREME ZOOMS
Seemingly defying all laws of physics and optics, some lenses emulate every other lens rolled into one. Ideal for travelers or casual shooters who want nothing more than a compact kit with complete coverage, extreme zooms cover focal lengths from very wide to very telephoto in a single unit.

The new Tamron AF18-250mm ƒ/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) delivers a huge zoom range in a compact lens designed for use with small-sensor digital SLRs. Available in Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony mounts, this 13.9x zoom provides coverage equivalent to 28-388mm. The sacrifice with extreme zooms is usually found in the variable maximum aperture, in this case, taking the Tamron from ƒ/3.5 at the wide end to ƒ/6.3 at full tele, but the size and price benefits can be worth the speed trade-off. Estimated Street Price: $499.