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Cons: Great all-round package

Pros: Inconsistent image quality (mainly focus)

Summary: Sometimes great, sometimes pretty ordinary. Unfortunately more of the latter than the former. My older Tamron 18-250mm 3.5-6.3 is a much better lens. I'd like to use this lens more (because of the convenience) but I just can't rely on it.

Cons: 1. Innacurate autofocus. Sometimes (10-15%) won't "confirm" with my Nikon D70, so the shutter won't fire unless I move to manual focus. This is not quite a show-stopper. 2. Zoom control is not smooth with markedly more resistance in the mid range. 3. Some vignetting throughout the range, probably worsened by my use of UV or polarizing filters. 4. Only f6.3 at 270mm. However can get f5.6 at just over 180mm.

Pros: 1. Surprisingly good image quality. Sharp and contrasty though a smigen worse at full telephoto. Overall a really pleasant surprise. 2. Amazingly good VR (vibration reduction). Worth at least 3 stops I would say.

Summary: If it wasn't for the autofocus glitches i would give this a wholehearted recommendation. It may well be better on newer Nikon DSLRs. But even so I'm happy overall. You can see some of my efforts with this lens on flickr [see "Takwabay"]. Look at the exif data to confirm lens type and focal length used.

Cons: It is a superzoom with a huge range that affects performance. Slightly tight spot as you zoom past 100mm.

Pros: Range One lens solution contrasty and good color rendition

Summary: This lens was a quick purchase for a trip where I wanted to carry one lens.I have a couple of P&S superzooms(Canon SX20,Panasonic FZ30) but this lens on a dslr body is in another world compared to them(I'm not limited to iso 80/100 either). Stop this lens down a bit and it's surprisingly capable.I've honestly been more than pleased.Don't believe all the "anti-superzoom" hype.Try this lens out!

Cons: The lens does have lot of "zoom creep" if tilted downward. Autofocus in low light/low contrast is not quite as good as Canon mid to high-grade zooms, but not bad either. Corners are soft at maximum apertures at the wide and long extremes of the focal length range.

Pros: It has true 4-stop+ IS that exceeds the performance of any other lens I have ever tried (which is most), except that it ties the IS quality of Canon's 70-200 f/4 L IS. Unlike most "superzooms" it doesn't have peaks and valleys of quality at various focal lengths. It is optimised at the middle, most commonly used 25-100mm range. At about 35-85mm it just about impossible to tell from an L lens except wide open in its corners. 18-270 is such a range it can be safely taken as a travel lens or used in any situation where lens-switching is impossible. Even where it is not optimal, it is never bad, unlike most superzooms which devolve to piles of blur at some settings. It's macro capabilities are impressive for a lens not specifically aimed at the macro market.

Summary: This is a fantastic lens. Despite my collection having some that cost twice as much, if I could only keep one lens, it it would be this one.