- The popular Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 Di LD Macro features a built in motor to ensure fast accurate focusing
- This telephoto zoom will crop in tight or bring distant subjects in close
- There is also an incredible macro mode for photographing small objects up close giving a magnification ratio of 1:2
- This phenomenal lens comes with a 6 year warranty
- Also a flower shaped lens hood for maximum glare protection with no vignetting
Product Description
The popular Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 Di LD Macro now features a built in motor to ensure fast accurate focusing with the latest Nikon digital cameras. This telephoto zoom will crop in tight or bring distant subjects in close. There is also an incredible macro mode for photographing small objects up close giving a magnification ratio of 1:2. This phenomenal lens also comes with a 6 year warranty and a flower shaped lens hood for maximum glare protection with no vignetting.
D. Brodsky @ 5:39 pm
I own both Canon gear (Canon 40D) and Nikon gear (D40). Since Nikon is my cheaper lighter gear, I am not to invest a lot of $$$ into it. While D40 is light and cheap, it is an excellent camera which I use all the time for many reasons. I needed a tele lens to compliment my kit 18-55 lens (which is excellent in itself and gets great reviews). I was between Tamron 70-300 and Sigma 70-300 APO since Nikon’s 70-300 is 4 times more expensive than Tamron and Sigma. After reading tons of reviews and playing with both Tamron and Sigma, I chose Tamron and I am very happy I did. There are several versions of Tamron’s 70-300, however this one is the latest, 2008 version, which autofocuses on D40, 40X and 60. This lens is remarkable for the amount it is sold for. I’ve taken many great photos with it on vacation and around town. It is also very compact and light. While it is not an ideal lens to shoot Birds in Flight (neither is D40 with its 2.5 fps) due to its slow autofocusing mechanism, it is great for general photos and portraits. As you can see from samples I even took some bee shots with it. I took a star because of slow autofocusing, but hey, you are paying $130 for it, realize it. I recommend this lens over Sigma for budget shooters who want 300 tele, but don’t want to pay $450 Nikon wants for its version. I am happy with it
The RainMaker @ 7:10 pm
I bought this lens because of the price and though it is a fair lens, you get what you pay for. The lens is relatively show and sometimes takes a while to lock onto the subject. It has good range though, being a 70-300 lens. Also, because of a lack of image stability, I’d advise shooting on continuous or simply taking multiple snaps of the subject, especially at the higher focal lengths. How useful the macro feature is debatable seeing as how you must be three feet from the subject and the Nikkor 70-300 I tries out seems to focus from close to that same distance without having macro.
All in all, I’d recommend it solely for someone who just need a basic 70-300 lens and doesn’t have much money to spend. Just know that because of the softness of the photos that you may have to tinker with your camera’s sharpness settings or just sharpen in Photoshop. That being said, I have some really nice shots I did with the lens still.
J-Mon @ 7:49 pm
I waited a whole week with anticipation for this lens. Now after trying for 2 days I’m very disappointed.
I have a Sigma 70-300 for my D70 (which works great) but can’t work with my D40x so I ordered the Tamron because I heard it was pretty good. It shoots far and is about the same softness as the Sigma and would be a great lens but the CA (color fringing) is terrible. I live near the ocean and take lots of photos of ocean activities, surfing, canoe races etc. Purple color fringing was a big problem. Had to use photoshop to remove it, too much work.
I have owned Tamron lenses in the past with film SLRs and they were wonderful, but not this one.
Would I recommend this to anyone? Only if they can’t or don’t want to spend the money for the Nikon 70-300mm. I wish that I would have gotten the Nikon or Sigma with HSM. Which I am now looking into.
So if you want just a basic 70-300mm lens then this will probably work for you.
Dr. Steve @ 9:44 pm
From 70-200mm, my sample of the Tamron 70-300mm Di zoom lens is markedly sharper than a Nikon 55-200mm VR lens that I owned and then sold, based on comparisons done with a 10 MP Nikon D60 DSLR camera. Indeed, from 70-200mm, the Tamron lens is quite sharp, period. It’s clearly softer at 300mm, based on images viewed at 100% magnification on a 24″ computer monitor, but when viewed at 50% magnification (closer to relative default print size), 300mm images look fantastic. More importantly, at 300mm it produces images that print with excellent resolution at 11×16″.
CAs are the one clear weak point for the Tamron lens but they are easily corrected via basic post-processing of RAW images (maybe JPEGs too?). AF speed is similar to the Nikon 55-200 VR AF-S lens and VERY accurate in good lighting.
At around $140, this lens is a remarkable value and worthy of a 5-star Amazon rating, though I’d give it 4.5 stars if that option were available.
J. Lambert @ 10:08 pm
This is great lens for the money. Actually, an incredible deal. It is worth the price just for the macro mode. The pictures I have been taking of flowers are excellent.
Comparing this lens to it’s competition – the Nikon 70-300 & Sigma 70-300:
The 3 lenses are comparable in length (4.6″), diameter (3″), & weight (1#). They each have 9 bladed apertures. They are all about the same price. None have VR – you have to spend 400 more bucks to get this for a Nikon.
The Sigma and Tamron are superior to the Nikon, because
- they have LD glass,
- they are Digital Integrated,
- they have focus motors,
- they have Macro modes (1:2),
The Tamron is superior to the Sigma, because
- it is a newer design (introduced 1/08 as opposed to 10/03),
- it has a 6 year Warranty, as opposed to only a 1yr for the Sigma.
Notes: The Tamron and Nikon use 62mm filters, the Sigma uses 58mm.
Buy a monopod [ASIN:B0002YE6EU Canon Monopod 100 for SLR Cameras & Lenses]]