It will be OK as long as the wide zoom range is more important to you than speed or image quality. Both are sacrificed to get the extreme zoom range..

As a generalization, 35mm zoom lenses that cover more than about 3X (50-150mm or equivalent) have been forced to sacrifice image quality or speed to achieve the zoom range. There are exceptions, but they are very expensive...

Dxrad wrote:.

Will buy a Rebel xti shortly. I now have a point and shoot but theshutter lag is killing me when trying to take action shots oftennis.However I am spoiled by the 10x zoom on my present camera.Would a Tamron18-250 be a good choice for a lens?.

Check for reviews onhttp://www.photozone.de.

Long zoom lenses for SLRs are (usually) a bit of a compromise in two ways: the wider the range, the worse the quality, and the slower the lens at maximum zoom. If your best aperture at full zoom is something like f/6.3, and you don't have a sunny day, you'll struggle to get a sharp shot without a telephoto lens..

An option is to get a lens with an image stabiliser built in. Some people seem to like the new Sigma 18-200 with their 'OS' stabiliser..

For ultimate image quality you'd split your zoom range into at least two lenses. But for less critical travel shots, a long zoom might be good enough for you. Photozone usually has samples to look at to help you decide..

Androohttp://Androo.smugmug.com..

Photozone seems OK with the lens. Just wondering what users think...

If you're referring to the Sigma 18-200 OS look at these posts.

Http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=23951595http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=23930493http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=23932192http://forums.dpreview.com/...forums/read.asp?forum=1031&message=23679019.

And you can look at this small gallery of shots I've taken with it..

Http://www.flickr.com/photos/.

'For every complex problem there is a solution that is obvious, simple..and wrong'..

Dxrad wrote:.

Will buy a Rebel xti shortly. I now have a point and shoot but theshutter lag is killing me when trying to take action shots oftennis.However I am spoiled by the 10x zoom on my present camera.Would a Tamron18-250 be a good choice for a lens?.

Dxrad,.

I just picked up my XTi and I also bought the Tamron. The two are a great combination together. But let me tell you something important. If you are like me and coming from a point and shoot (Sony H5) with built in image stabalization, you may be let down with that much zoom. Every little movement will be shown if you are at the 250mm range. Make sure you have a tripod and or a steady surface to shoot from..

I don't want to turn you off from the lens (because I absolutely love mine), but just remember there will be a huge learning curve without the image stabalization. I hope this helps, and if you have any questions keep them coming...

Thanks for the feedback and recommendation.Will probably get some type of kit to include tripod,filter,case, etc...

I just picked up my XTi and I also bought the Tamron. The two are agreat combination together. But let me tell you something important.If you are like me and coming from a point and shoot (Sony H5) withbuilt in image stabalization, you may be let down with that muchzoom. Every little movement will be shown if you are at the 250mmrange. Make sure you have a tripod and or a steady surface to shootfrom..

Using a tripod with this lens for tennis will likely also require very careful selection of a head, in order to facilitate rapid recomposition; less so if he's only interested in one player, but if he wants to rapidly switch from player to player... like a ball head with a very good tension adjustment, or maybe (and more expensively) a gimbal head..

It's quite possible that something like a Bushhawk would be better...

Dxrad wrote:.

Thanks for the feedback and recommendation.Will probably get sometype of kit to include tripod,filter,case, etc..

I would strongly recommend that you avoid such kits: the filters are a waste of money and the tripods are usually very flimsy. Kits are a way of adding profits for the merchant..

If you are shooting sports, then a monopod may be a better choice than a tripod..

Brian A...