Lenses like this one have often been called "vacation lenses," because they're perfect for times when you just don't want to hassle with lugging along a whole kit of lenses. The range of 28-300mm went from a pretty wide angle to a longish telephoto back in the days of film, but with current sub-frame DSLRs, the 28mm wide angle end translates into only a 42-45mm (depending on your camera) focal length, just slightly wider than what's considered normal (that is, neither wide angle nor telephoto). So the Tamron 28-300mm f/2.5-6.3 XR Di AF still covers a useful range of focal lengths, but you'll want to take along a shorter zoom to handle any wide-angle shots as well. (Really, the Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF AF or Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical IF Macro AF fulfill the role on sub-frame cameras that was formerly played by lenses like the 28-300mm on full-frame file bodies.) Still, if you want to cover a broad range of focal lengths from normal to really long telephoto, a lens like the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 could be just the ticket. Let's take a look at how it performs! REad the whole test here