For Sony Nex an important travel companion

I've tried numerous travel zoom lenses since Canon 35-350 mm L, Tamron was here always innovative and even Sigma and the camera manufacturers often surpassed.
A lens construction of 76 degree angle to 8 degrees telephoto (equivalent 28mm wide angle to 300mm telephoto in small picture) is always a great compromise and only very costly to construct. Mostly, these lenses are good at wide angle or normal range and then with increasing tele focal length grows softer and weaker in the imaging performance.
But who does not constantly change lenses while traveling and want to attract dust on the sensor, can not get at a travel zoom.
By faintness of effective f: 6.3 is more suitable for travel to sunny, bright places, but if light and contrast are present makes it flawlessly fun to photograph it. Of all the designs I've ever used by Canon, Nikon, Tamron, Sigma, Panasonic, Olympus and Leica, the Leica is 14-150 mm for MFT by far the most successful compromise. For the mirror-free system cameras, Olympus has the smallest and most handy 14-150 mm 'but this Tamron arouses more confidence and not be disappointed in the image quality to happiness.
I had the thicker Sony lens 18-200mm Tamron and parallel to try out. The structures are very similar, to the same components, so the assumption is not far off that Sony produced by Tamron.
However, the Sony-Zoom is significantly thicker, heavier, with larger diameter front and still more vignetting.
Already alone from handling it gave me little like, it does not really fit the small, flat Nex cameras. His prize is a toad that not everyone likes to swallow.
Also, I have tried, whether me the Sony combination of the good, compact 18-55mm and the new long 55-200mm telephoto, like better.
Tamron is now not so much cheaper, but noticeably slimmer, processed pleasant, is available in black and summarizes better for me. The blend of polycarbonate and metal housing is very well laid out and meticulously crafted. The rubber is very wide and comfortable grip. It also falls in black on far less and fits harmoniously to the camera.

Autofocus:
What I dislike is the unreliable autofocus, some photos are always sharp and others again not even picture series' 3-4 shots in succession from the unmoving Landscape mostly show 2 Blurred and a sharp image. But I can not blame the lens, as it happens with all Nex-lenses and also at various Nex cameras I've tried 'here Sony is still a long way from the reliability and speed of Olympus and Panasonic removed. Especially in low light or contrast the Nex cameras weaken previously very. Fortunately, the AF remains silent, so that even films is possible.
If another judge autofocus here as well and quickly, then they had no current MFT camera in hand.
Mir is the AF very important, so I compared closely with the Sony 18-200 mm. The Sony Travel Zoom has fewer problems with low contrast / light and focuses a little faster and it focuses silently. Ultimately, however, the feel of the Tamron has me more convinced.
The improved AF of Sony lens depends certainly with the larger diameter front together, because his light intensity remains up to 120 mm to f: 5.6 while the Tamron already at 75 mm sweeps its wings and f: 6.3 drops. Sony is ultimately up to the telephoto setting 1/3 stop brighter.

Image Quality:
Still strong so dim a light weak zoom power in the high-resolution (diffraction-limited) sensors little sense, I use it mostly with f: 6.3 'f: 8 a. And in this area, its focus is really impressive. Especially in the range of 25-150 mm, it stands very sharp at the ends, it leaves something to 'help because then the close on f:. 8
The vignetting adheres even in the frame and is even better than the 18-55 mm and the Sony 'considered in RAW' 18-200 mm in JPEG it is largely corrected by the camera.
Unfortunately, even here the chromatic aberrations are not corrected by really good, the camera takes a part, but who looks critically they can discover in some lighting situations anyway.
The Image Stabilizer provides to my Nex 5N mostly 3 levels, on my Nex 7 but at most 2 stages' which is the much higher resolution of Nex7 owed. It's really unfortunate that Sony is not here on the good quality, in-camera Super SteadyShot of Alpha cameras. For that I would even like to accept a larger thicker camera.

Summary:
With two lenses, or one?
For me definitely two. But not 18-55 mm and 55-200 mm 'but 18-200 mm & 1.8 / 24 mm. I have the Sony keep 18-55mm when really small push with better short range.
Since Sony has me 55-200mm is unacceptable, it is at the telephoto end less sharp than the Tamron 'was the 18-200mm VC Tamron a good and safe purchase.
I have it completed by the good example Zeiss 1.8 / 24 mm. Although Zeiss has a cooler color balance, but that can be corrected to happiness.
The 3.5 / 30 mm Macro gives me nothing, the focal length is too short for me.
Thus, the Tamron 18-200mm VC remains for the time being the most important objective and a successful compromise in my Sony bag. Now we need a 4,0 / 10-24 mm!
There are today only a handful of really satisfactory travel zoom 'This Tamron 18-200mm VC is one of them!

Light:
+ Yet handy
+ Processed pleasant
+ Good optical performance at full aperture
+ Good image stabilizer up. 3 steps
+ Good rather warm color reproduction
+ Not slip through the focal length while wearing
+ Metal Armoured
+ Silent AF
+ Good nearby
+ Compact sun visor
+ Available in black

Shadows:
- Just price value
- Defects in coloring
- Very faint, from 75 mm only F: 6.3
- AF is not always reliable and slowly in low light
- Be restricted for Panoramic Photos

Optical: 3-4 star; Mechanics: 4 stars; Autofocus 3 stars; Inexpensive: 3-4 Stars

HarrysInFocus