You can have just about everything in one lens!

I shoot a Canon 40D for fun, mostly things like birthday parties, horse shows, and some sports. These events place a premium on being ready for anything in an instant. The Tamron 18-250mm is the lens for the job.

The zoom is, well, extreme. Even on a 1.6x body, the 18mm is still pretty wide. I've taken some nice creative shots with this. Zoomed in, you can shoot from a long distance and get decent shots with reasonable tradeoff in image quality from 200-250mm. It's a push-pull design that extends about 2.5x longer at 250mm than at 18mm, but the balance is reasonably good even at full length. There is a "lock" button to keep the lens from opening up when carrying it, and it is necessary at times.

The optical quality is better than I had expected. While not perfect (no superzoom can be) there are very few times I take a shot and wish the lens had performed better. I notice vignetting at the 200-250mm range, and light purple fringing in very bright shots. When shooting wide open these are more noticeable. If you shoot in manual modes, keep stopped down by a stop or two when the light permits. I've shot in indoor situations with good success as compared to f/3.5+ lenses.

The autofocus is snappy and consistent. Unless you're used to working with pro lenses and bodies you'll be impressed.

The construction of the lens is quite sturdy - a solid metal body wrapped in knurled rubber, with no plastic to speak of. The overall weight is quite comfortable, and I can handhold this rig without hesitation.

Compared to the other f/3.5-5.6 zooms out there, this is a great performer at a good value. It costs more than an entry level zoom (e.g. Tamron 75-300mm), but it's much more lens. To exceed this level of versatility and performance you'd need to spent 5x more can carry twice the weight.