by
Chuck_S » Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:28 pm
Angela, I did a little more research. As you found out, the Quantaray 18-200 is a rebranded Tamron. Quantaray is Ritz's house brand, hence the salesperson pushing it hard (higher profit margin on house brands).
Generally, the reviewers don't do house brands, so it's hard to find a technical assessment of Quantaray lenses. However, there is a review by Ken Rockwell of the Tamron branded version, and here's the link to it:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tamron/18200.htmKen is one of the most reliable reviewers out there, so I would read carefully what he has to say about the lens.
Personally, I haven't tried a lens that goes from super wide angle to moderately long zoom - I tend to use the 28-135 by default. The large range is appealing, though, for the reasons you cite.