Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(102)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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 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).

When my old Sigma 70-300mm lens died this summer, I wondered if I'd be able to replace it with anything I liked as well. I'd used it with my Minolta SLR camera for years, and then for a couple of months with my new Sony DSLR, and it had performed beautifully. But this Tamron lens far exceeded my expectations. It is relatively lightweight, yet feels sturdy enough to stand up to hard use. The focus is sharp and quick, and it works very well with Sony's Super Steady Shot feature (essential for me since I don't use a tripod). Pictures shot in macro mode are gorgeous, once I got used to the minimum focal distance. And the price of the Tamron lens is a real bargain when compared to other lenses that work with Sony DSLRs. I'm a pretty good amateur photographer, and I'm picky about the quality of my equipment, but I don't want to spend more than I need to. This lens is just what I needed.

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.

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.

If you're buying this for one of the new Sony Alpha series, this might be your best bet. The Tamron will include a 6-year USA warranty. It also includes the lens hood. The Sony 75-300 is repackaging of the older Konica-Minolta 75-300 lens, a lens that hit the market before any KM digital SLRs.

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.

This lens is great. Don't let the price fool you, it's a great performer with quality components. Unlike some other lenses making claimes of quality, Tamron continues to deliver. Japanese parts, glass, electronics. Unlike the other guys, Tamron actually licenses the Minolta/Sony software so they can program good compatible and reliable code that works perfectly with Konica/Minolta/Sony (also Cannon and Olympus) cameras. The other top sellers reverse engineer their code, so who knows what you are getting. The other reviewer gives a good description of the DI and 'close-up' mode, which works extremely well. Check out his review.

Important, this lens does come with a good solid metal mount to attach it to the camera body.

This lens is great, it's worth much more than $200. Sony isn't selling the new Zeiss 70-300mm lens yet and the current lens is just a repackaged Minolta Maxim lens which is still a great lens, but I don't like it as well as this one.

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 current Pentax lineup, this is a real winner. The Tamron includes a lens hood, and has a much longer warranty (6 years vs. 1). The Pentax design is also older, and may not meet the critical demands of the new digital chips.

This camera has pros and cons that other people have listed. however, for all the beginning and just starting DSLR fans out there, realize that the cons are insignificant to the quality of the shots you can get with a little practice.

a few points:

first, autofocus is a luxury, not a necessity, and on this lens, it is painfully slow at times. Turn off the autofocus as soon as you take it out of the box, and never switch it back again - and please, for goodness sake, use the manual mode. Those two things will make you a better photographer. Ansel Adams didn't have autofocus or a full automatic setting - pray you can be 1/4 as good as him.

second - if you think you are going to zoom to 300mm and hold the camera in your hand and shoot in any condition other than high noon with a cloudless sky, you are mistaken. the images will probably be blurred. buy a travel tripod/monopod and get used to using it - you can get tack sharp poster quality prints with a little know-how.

if you have the slightest inkling of a desire to become a professional photographer - don't buy this lens. go to the bank and get a small business loan for $5,000 - $10,000 and go for broke and buy all the top of the line Canon stuff. but if you are like me and photography is a hobby, a passion, and a joy and you have bills to pay - this is your lens.

The lens is a little slow on AF when light is low but other than that, I've got no real problems with it. Has great, sharp focus at all ranges. I work at a bird preserve and I'm always taking bird pictures, especially birds in flight. It can be slow in the initial focus but after that, it holds true and you can count the individual feathers on the bird. For the money paid, I have no regrets in buying it. Great value for the cost.