As I have said in my last couple of blog posts I recently ordered and received a new lens the Tamron 70-300 Di LD Macro. I was looking for a lens for my Pentax K10d that could get in closer for wildlife pictures and after a lot of research this seemed like the most affordable solution. I purchased it online and it was on sale for only $130. Considering what I paid for it I think I got a great deal as this lens so far has done just what I wanted. Before purchasing the lens I read several reviews like this very detailed one on photozone.
I took the lens out for its first real test on Saturday and shot a bunch of photos with it. Overall it performed solidly and produced sharp images with plenty of punch to them. There was several photos that had pretty bad chromatic aberration though (here is an example of one at close to 100% crop) . As you can see this is one of the weaknesses of this lens. However it mostly only shows up in high contrast situations where you have a dark object like a branch against a bright background and you usually can not see it unless you zoom in on the image. I found that using the chromatic aberration reduction in Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 gets rid of 90% of the problem at the press of a few buttons so for me this weakness is not that severe. Here is the same photo after running the chromatic aberration reduction in Paint Shop Pro. I am sure I could get rid of it even more if I put more time into it then the 10 seconds I spent fixing that example. I would say out of the 300+ images I shot over the weekend only 10 or so had chromatic aberration issues (and most of those could have been corrected in Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro as they where not that bad) the rest really had no chromatic aberration issues at all.
The lens is built pretty well, has a metal mount, and has a solid feeling to it which is nice. The zoom ring is much harder to turn then my Pentax DA 50-200 lens so that will take some getting used to.
This lens also has a 1:2 Macro mode. When you are at 180-300mm you can hit the switch on the top of the lens and switch the lens into macro mode. The macro mode works pretty well actually which is an added bonus of the lens. You can see a couple of macro examples in the sample gallery I posted below.
Overall I have to say I am pretty pleased with the lens after my first weekend of use. Really for $130 it is producing much better results than what I paid for it. I will keep you updated on whether my opinion on the lens changes as I use it more.
Below are some sample photos that I shot this weekend with the Tamron 70-300:
Update (12-08-2008): To see newer photos I have taken with this lens that are not posted on this page’s gallery go to my Tamron 70-300 Archive Page.
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- Squirrel in Tree
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- Leaf Bud Macro
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- Lone Tree
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- Reeds Macro
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- Four Masts
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- Water Tower
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- Reeds and Water Tower
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- Reeds and Water Tower 2
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- Wood Pile
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- Picnic Table
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- Weathered Pillar
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- Seagull in Flight
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- Shrubs
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- Chipmunk
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- Close up of Cat
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- Bell 2
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- Bell
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- Squirrel Grass
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- Reed Macro with Bee
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- Two Morning Doves
I agree with your assessment of the Tamron 70-300 Di LD. I am consistently impressed by mine. I hope you continue to enjoy yours too. I have a gallery I put up when I first got the lens last year. I did a walk in the canyon and fell in love with this lens. I must say that it really does rival the Sigma 50-500 I own, although the Tamron doesn’t have the reach, it is sharp all the way to 300mm and performs well with a tamron 1.4 tc too.
Here is the link to my gallery of Tamron 70-300 images if you are interested.
http://LaRee.smugmug.com/gallery/3092531_VkMin/1/169818240_3M4gM
I’ve taken thousands of photos with this lens since I’ve owned it. I’d say it is my most used lens even though I have many very fine lenses to choose from.
Thanks for your comment on my review and for your thoughts on the lens. I am definitely going to check out your gallery of photos with the Tamron! I also have the Tamron 1.4 TC. I have not tried it yet with the Tamron 70-300 but after reading your comment I cant wait to give it a try.
Good review of a good lens.
Interesting that you get 90% success with PSP X2. I get around 50% success with the automatic one-button purple frining fix in PSP X. But a global color conversion of purple to dark grey, using the HSL/color saturation tool, consistently does the job.
I use the 70-300 pretty regularly with the Tamron 1.4x TC and get generally good results.
[...] was shooting photos around the house the other day and was zoomed way in on this flower with my new Tamron 70-300 lens when I saw a bee starting to buzz around it. I quickly aimed the camera to the flower he was [...]
I own the Tamron Di 70-300 as my “Don’t want to damage my good stuff” lens…Kind of my “Schlep” around lens. Very good from 70 to 180 mm. CA is pretty radical though. I once owned the Sigma of the same ilk, but it could never focus properly. The Tamron is excellent within the above focal range. If it weren’t for the CA I would give it 5 stars. None the less incredible value for the money.
Ben
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the great review on the Tamron 70-300 lens! I have always been a Nikon “snob,” but in the last few years, I’ve ventured out to try other brands of lenses. When I can afford the Nikon versions, I splurge. When I know it’s a lens I won’t use often enough to justify Nikon’s prices, I’ll search for a cheaper alternative. I loved the idea of having a zoom with macro capability (didn’t know they existed until I read about them last week). I was looking at Tamron’s newest lens, the 80-200 2.8 (love the idea of a faster lens), but it was $700 online. My thinking was that if you’re shooting macro and you wanted the greatest depth of field to begin with, you wouldn’t need that fast a lens! So back to looking at the 70-300. It was a slower lens but you cannot beat the price—less than $200! It was worth trying it out at that price. I played with it on a D300 (which is what I have) at my local camera store and was impressed with it on the spot. It’s now in my photographic arsenal! (See there? I can come down from my Nikon snobbery on occasion!
I searched for many reviews, but your review and photo examples sold me. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Cindy Dyer
http://www.cindydyer.wordpress.com
I am glad you gave the Tamron 70-300 a chance despite it not being a Nikon :). Thanks for the kind words about the review and photos and for stopping by!
Thanks from The Netherlands for your detailed review. Details I need as i am in the situation buying a Canon 450D with an optional Canon 55-250 F4-5.6 lens in a kit (euro 730) or this Tamron 55-300 (euro 700) The IS (Image Stabilisator) function of the Canon is said as being very good, but I like to know if the abberation etc. is comparable?
Again your review is very clear.