- 9 Groups, 13 Elements Lens Construction
- Rotation Type of Zooming
- 9 Diaphragm Blade Number
- F/32 Minimum Aperture
- 59 inch Minimum Focus Distance (1.5m) in normal setting, 37.4 inch (0.95m) in macro mode f=180mm-300mm range
Product Description
Tamron now offers a lightweight, compact, high-image-quality telephoto zoom lens with macro capability of 1: 2 that can be used with digital cameras. This new lens is a Di type lens using an optical system with improved multi-coating designed to function with digital SLR cameras as well as film cameras.With this 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, flipping a macro switch in the focal length range of 180mm to 300mm obtains a maximum magnification ratio of 1: 2 at a minimum focus distance as short as 37.4″, enabling close-up shots of flowers, insects, and other objects that normally require the use of a specially designed macro lens. Moreover, this is a zoom lens that casually offers the distant capture and foreshortening effect pleasures of the 300mm ultra-telephoto world.
Hiram Grant @ 5:39 pm
The new Di lenses from Tamron are designed to work well with digital cameras, although those with the Di will work for 35mm as well (Di-II only work with smaller, APS-C chip size digital cameras). This is an improvement on the fine 70-300 LD (Low Dispersion glass) design. The major improvements in this lens are in the coatings, to help reduce any color bias, and minimize reflections. Additionally, lens manufacturers are doing more inside the barrels to reduce reflections.
Like the older LD design, the new lens has a close-up mode (not strictly “macro”) position that allows images 1/2 lifesize on the negative. That’s about twice the size of most 300mm zooms lacking this feature.
Compared to the Canon lenses, it includes a lens hood ($$ from Canon) and a six year USA warranty (vs. 1 year). It’s a bit noiser than the Canon lenses in autofocusing. Additionally, the Canon 75-300 III is a considerably older design, which came out well before the needs of digital cameras were known. One slight drawback is that the Tamron uses 62mm filters vs. 58mm for the Canon (which is the same size as the popular 18-55 kit lens).
Mgr Martin Macura @ 7:02 pm
I just bought the lens and it seems VERY good for the price. The two parameters that matter most to me are aberration and sharpness.
- The lens has practically zero aberration, which is a great surprise (I admit I expected it for the bucks). I tried taking sample pictures in high contrast outdoor environments – the contours are just fine!
- What is kind of shocking is its sharpness, even the images taken at 300 mm without a tripod came out sharp.
- The lens is BIG.
- The motor is a little noisy and slow – switch to manual focus if you mind.
On the whole, a very good product.
billsirinek @ 7:30 pm
For the price, this is simply an amazing lens. You’ll have to spend AT LEAST 3x as much to get a better quality telephoto.
I was originally leery of purchasing a 3rd party lens (this was my first), but figured I’d give this a try since I knew a couple other people with this lens who liked it, plus I had read some not-so-good reviews about the Canon equivalent.
This lens is much sharper than my Canon 28-135 IS lens which cost twice as much used on that big auction site. I’m about to replace that with Tamron’s 28-75 f/2.8 lens based upon my favorable experience with this lens.
The lens comes with a hood too, which was a nice touch, one that Canon does not provide with their consumer-level lenses.
Seth Halstead @ 8:46 pm
I have decided to review some of items I purchased recently and I must say I am very impressed with this lens. While I am new to DSLR photography I have been an avid “picture taker” for many years. The step up to DSLR has been a great adventure and this lens is one of the exciting things that is making it such an enjoyable experience. The macro function is amazing and the telephoto is phenomenal. If there is anything about this lens that could be better it would be the autofocus. I wouldn’t have realized it if I didn’t also own a Canon 17-85mm IS lens which is of extremely high quality. The Tamron lens is a little noisy and slow at focusing, but nothing that is a deal breaker by any means. Besides, it’s a fun lens to manually focus anyway to get exactly what you want. Also, it comes with a lens hood which is a nice feature that Canon charges tons extra for. If you want a good telephoto to play with this is a great lens. The pictures are very clean and beautiful. I will upload a picture I took of the moon as an example of what you can expect. I am using this lens on a Canon Digital Rebel XTi 400D. Good luck and have fun.
Carol @ 10:09 pm
I was a little unsure of myself when I bought this lens, but now I am so glad that I got it! I’ve taken some pretty cool bird pictures with it, always handheld. I’ve also taken pictures of leaves, pine cones, trees and other vegetation type subjects outside. Most of my pictures turn out pretty sharp, maybe not perfect but you really can’t notice. And I’m sure if I used a tripod they would be completely sharp. The lens is a bit noisy when it focuses, but I don’t think it’s that bad. I’m not a professional photographer, nor am I a beginner and I think this lens is perfect for what I want to do. Yes there are better lenses out there, but those are for the professionals or people with wads of cash to throw around. I’m happy with this lens and the price I paid for it.