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Value – Need a versatile telephoto zoom, but short on cash? This lens retails for less than $200.00 and can be had for quite a bit less. Wide focusing span - My wife and I are avid nature photographers. To be able to grab a closeup on a butterfly from several feet away is a plus; to be able to get it up to half life size is outstanding. This lens allows us to do this. Zoom capability – In our Canon arsenal, we have several standard zooms and wide zooms as well as macro lenses. For super telephoto work, we use Canon’s storied 300mm f4L IS complete with the 1.4x extender - an excellent lens for wildlife, but not scenery. The Tamron AF70-300 f4-5.6 effectively closes the gap, letting us get decent bird shots at 300mm, then end the day with awesome sunset shots at 70. Weight – after I gave my wife the Tamron AF70-300 f4-5.6 for Christmas, she of course immediately wanted to try it out in the field. For us that means side by side tests against the 300/1.4x on identical camera bodies (50D) in the lavrados and varzeas of Roraima, Brazil. Hiking 20 kilometers through a dense rainforest was a chore with the Canon lens - a downside of having all that high-quality glass – but my wife had no problem hauling the Tamron around , and ended up using it a lot more, on everything from butterflies to landscapes. Getting this lens, I thought that the lack of image stabilization may be a problem. However,due to its light weight, this has not yet proven to be the case. Low-light capability – the first two tests for the Tamron have taken place at sunset and in a very dark forest, respectively. Right away, on its very first day in the field, the Tamron was used to get closeups of Jabiru Storks, ducks in flight, and a Giant Anteater in low light! It performed extremely admirably with the flight sequences, and caught the storks and anteater rather well, but did come up short in one area. In the heaviest shade and in the dimmest dusk, the Canon produced portraits of Erato Heliconians and Savannah Hawks with considerably less noise than the Tamron – again a result, no doubt, of the lens workmanship. However, for most situations, the Tamron produced photos on a par with the Canon combo. Size – Let’s face it – telephoto lenses of both prime and zoom configurations are a bear to pack away, often requiring an extra investment in travel and toting bags. The Tamron really shines in this category, measuring 3inches wide by less than 5 inches long in its 70mm mode. It can literally fit in just about any bag. Lens Performance- Many reviews of the Tamron lens fault its performance at the 200-300mm range, stating that it’s soft focusing when wide open, and exhibits vignetting and chromatic aberration as well. I can honestly say that I only have seen this in bird portraits set against empty skies. In most situations , this lens has thus far performed admirably, reproducing true-to-life colors and good sharpness. Its focusing is not as smooth as that of the Canon, but it focuses quickly enough for most nature subjects. Going only up to 300, it does not perform as well on birds as the Canon combo, but its light weight and macro capability probably make it better for butterflies. Summary – This lens’ versatility,value and overall excellence outweigh its few performance shortcomings. For nature photographers looking for good all-purpose lens, this is certainly a good candidate! See us put the Tamton to the test at http://davidednelzasjournal.shutterfly.com/.Read full review
I have owned several of the lenses in the 70 to 300 and 100 to 300 zoom range...as far as the aftermarket lenses goes this seems to be the best.. it incorporates modern features like the ultrasonic motor and newer materials of construction. This lens is a little bulkier than several others that is lighter than you would expect. It focuses quickly with the two different brands.. Canon and Sony... That I have tried. If you buy the native high-end lenses from most grand you might get a performance advantage.. but you will double or triple the cost..especially now that use prices are going down these lenses are incredibly hard to beat.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This lens comes with a built in motor for D40 D40X D60. Picture quality is good, a little soft at the extreme ends of the focal length. No image stabilization but for the price you can't really expect that. AF is a little slow and the motor is a little noisy. Its a good lens for what you're paying for compared to the Nikon 70-300mm AF-S VR. Price difference is around $250 to $300 less for the Tamron 70-300mm. Manual focus ring is big and easy to use. So, with the price point in mind this lens is actually a good buy and for those on a budget, this is perfect. The only compliant is that it is not have an internal focus, so if you intend to use filters use one that is able to rotate with the lens.
For those who want a powerful tele-zoom lens and are not yet ready to go for expensive "L" series this is a perfect choice! ***PROS: -One of the best in class in terms of picture quality -Very tough build, not water tight but extremely durable (almost feels like you can use it instead of hammer and it'll still make great photos); -USD motor: almost instant focus; -VC: great stabilization, I managed to handhold shutter speeds of 1/8 and 1/4 even!!! With absolutely no smear and blur on pictures!!!; -Has full time manual focus override (in AF don't forget to half press shutter release before turning focus ring though!); -Front element does bot move or rotate during focusing; -Supplied with lens hood; ***CONS: -Weight and size maybe... But well, it's a big boy... if you want this kind of telephoto you got to be ready to carry weights) AND! It's still a lot lighter than most "L" lenses; ***COMPARED TO CANON 70-300 IS USM: If you're considering buying this lens you have most likely taken a look at the similar Canon model as I did; So why did I go for Tamron instead? Before ordering I went to a local photo store and took several test photos with different Aperture values with both lenses attached to my Rebel T2i. Viewing pictures I did not notice much difference in picture quality. And since both lenses are not cheap low-end models I don't think quality will be an issue. Hell both make great pictures! So the choice was based on what do I like more about Tamron and here's what that is: -Front element does not move or rotate during focusing. I was kinda surprised that on Canon's counterpart it does! Such an expensive lens with this front element twisting and turning like on a cheap 18-55... (What were Canon thinking about?); -Tamron comes with a lens hood. Canon is just being nasty not supplying lens hoods... It is an expensive lens, and after you buy it, according to Canon,s philosophy you MUST spend some more on a lens hood...; -The quality of materials and the feel of Tamron lens to the hand just felt much much better for some reason. It feels a lot tougher than Canon too.; -Tamron is a lot cheaper!!! And for this difference I got myself a good Camera Bag and a polarizing filter.; -VC on this lens is absolutely fantastic!!! I'm not a pro and have probably seen and held in my hands like five or so stabilized lenses in my life and this VC is the BEST I ever saw.; -The one thing that I like more on Canon is that it had a zoom-lock button that does not allow the barrel to extend under it's own weight (when not in use). Tamron does not have it, BUT! Tamron's zoom ring is extremely tough, it rotates very steadily and slowly, there's no chance it will extend on it's own, even if you decide to go horse-back riding with a camera hanging on your neck.; Hope you find this useful and choose this great lens as well. I certainly do not regret it a bit. Cheers, Mish; PS If you have any questions about the lens, you can contact meRead full review
I havnt had time yet to really "work" with this lens since it just arrived, but from a few test shots to look at the auto-focus quality and get a feel for the zoom, this lens is great! I agree its "loud" but not in the sense I was expecting when I read other reviews, its just a noise and personally it doesnt bother me. The auto-focus is a tad slower than what I'm used to with nikkor lens but again its nothing I cannot handle. One review had mentioned the switch between normal and macro getting stuck and this did happen but it was an easy fix no big to-do about it. Cameta Camera is when I purchased mine and for the price plus the extras in their buddles this was a steal for this piece of equipment. I would recomend it to anyone whether professional or hobbyist. Myself being semi-professional I think its great, I snapped a picture of a friend and it wa exceptional! If you are currious to see some shots, give me a few weeks and check out Southern Charm Photography on facebook (default is a picture of a barn and on the lower right side is the name) and message me and ill give u the settings for more prospective!Read full review
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