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If you're a "one lens fits all" type of shutter jock, then Tamron's announcement today of a 15x monster zoom for consumer digital SLR cameras will be a siren's song for your ears.

The new lens, which has a moniker that's more of a warehouse designation than a product name--it's called the Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO (Model B003), has a zoom range that's the equivalent of a 28-419mm zoom in the 35mm film world.

Designed for DSLRs with APS-C image sensors, the new glass contains Tamron's exclusive anti-shake technology which, the company boasts, allows a photographer to "enjoy the convenience of handheld photography in virtually any situation, from shooting candid images, to covering sporting events, to news photography, without worrying about camera shake having an adverse effect on image quality."

Other features of zoomzilla include a minimum focusing distance of 19.3 inches throughout its entire zoom range, a compact 80mm diameter, a zoom lock to prevent the barrel of the lens from sliding forward when it's being carried on the camera and a flower-shaped hood.

Initial editions of the lens will be made for cameras with Canon and Nikon mounts. When those editions will reach market and how much they will cost when they do was not divulged by the company today in its statement announcing the lens.

A fast--F/1.4--50mm lens for some digital cameras was announced this week by Sigma Corporation. According to the company, the lens has "superior peripheral brightness even at the maximum aperture and corrects a possible sagittal coma flare." On DSLRs with APS-C sensors, Sigma says, the glass effectively becomes an 80mm medium telephoto lens. It adds that a super multi-layer lens coating reduces flare and ghosting, and that the unit's optical design and molded glass aspherical lens elements provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations. Minimum focusing range for the lens is 17.7 inches. The  unit incorporates Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) technology for fast and quiet auto focusing, as well as a full-time manual override. The model  has mounts for Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony digital cameras, but Pentax and Sony do not support HSM so the glass won't auto focus with those brands. Availability and pricing were not released by Sigma at the time of the announcement.