Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

With lenses, the rule of thumb is, more often than not, "you get what you pay for" - having said that, this lens is an exception. This is a great price for a lens in this focal range. While I'm sure there are better quality lenses out there (if you want to spend a lot more money), for an under $200 lens, this one's great! Construction is solid and the lens feels sturdy and not at all cheap. Auto focus is reasonably fast and manual focusing feels quite comfortable. The level of sharpness and overall image quality from this lens has been just fantastic. I have no complaints at all and am very happy with this lens. I'd reccommend it to anyone looking for an inexpensive lens in this range.

many people have commented on the pros of this lens:
-reasonably fast AF
-good color balance
-sharp images
-great feel (sturdy, smooth focusing ring, nice look, very light)

But there are also several cons:
-When Chromatic Aberration shows up, there IS a lot of it
-zoom ring could be smoother
-AF is loud and annoying (grating and harsh; I can only stand to use the manual focus)

Overall, despite the negative qualities, this is a wonderful lens and a joy to use. My biggest surprise with this lens though was that is is great for photographing dragonflies and butterflies (what i use it for, but not what i bought it for).
For beginning DSLR users, it is well worth the price, and I consider it an amazing bargain. It is built well, it works well, and it delivers good pictures (though you will probably need a tripod, and you will probably be focusing this lens manually a lot)
Even if your'e not sure if you need a telephoto lens, get this one anyway, because you will never find a deal like this one!

I use this lense a lot for capturing wild life and the first time I used it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The autofocus mode is quick for those split second opportunity shots. It also does well as a macro lense so it serves a dual purpose. Did I also mention that I am just an amateur photographer? This lense is really easy to use too!

I got this lens for my Canon XSI. I am sure you can get a better 75-300mm lens if you spend a lot more money of course. I was a little concerned about not having IS on this lens but I figured for $100 I could deal with this by taking multiple shots and hoping half weren't blurred and half were decent enough to select from and use. Well I was pleasantly surprised by the clarity of the images even at full 300mm. When the lens arrived today I took it outside and took a few photos of a flower in my front yard, just to test it out. It was windy so the flower was swaying back and forth and I wasn't making a concerted effort to hold the camera still in my hands, and the image came out very clear and much better than I expected. I then took a few pictures of my cat at the full 300mm inside my house while he was eating. Again I got really nice pictures, although I had to have the flash on inside (tried without the flash and came out blurry) I figure with this lens I am going to be using it mostly for outdoors, and if I do use it inside I will likely use a tripod if I can't use the flash. But for outdoor use based on what I took today I don't think I will need the tripod, so again I am pleasantly surprised.

The build quality is better than I expected for this lens. Although it is plastic (frankly I don't understand why people complain about a plastic lens, unless you abuse your lenses I think a plastic exterior is just fine, unless of course you want to spend hundreds for more not having plastic) the build quality is very good. The auto focus was also very quick and although some users note the noisy auto focus as a con, I don't think it is noisy at all. Overall this lens far exceeds my expectations in every category. If you're an amateur or novice to somewhat serious photographer I don't think you need a telephoto lens that costs more than this one. I am really glad I bought this lens.

We bought this lens for my wife's Canon Rebel XTi DSLR. The 35mm film equivalent of this 75-300mm lens is 112-450mm.

This lens is outstanding in every way. It has great build quality and a nice ergonomic feel. The focusing is pretty fast and it is able to autofocus accurately even at low light situations. It produces sharp pictures at all focal lengths with excellent detail and color balance. The lens hood is an added bonus.

At this low price for a lens I looked for flaws, but could not find any. I have to agree with the other reviewers that the axiom "you get what you pay for" does NOT apply to this lens.

This is an excellent lens at an unbeatable price. Every image I've taken is crisp and sharp. Autofocus functions exactly the same on my Rebel XT body as the factory lens. Same speed, no added noise. This lens does not have image stabilization, but neither does the factory lens from the XT. For that matter, Ansel Adams didn't have IS on his camera either. At higher zooms you must keep the camera steady. Thats not a fault in this lens, just the nature of the beast. You will capture movement if you move the camera. So for higher zooms you will most likely have to use a tripod. But over all, I find no fault in any function of this lens. Great materials, well made, great quality. And just look at the price!!!!

This is one instance you can forget the axiom about "getting what you pay for." Despite what may be a relatively low price, it's an absolutely superb lens: fast, responsive, with a nice "feel" to the barrel. It usually quickly finds the focus point, and I've yet to experience (in one month of use) the so-called focus "searching" that others allude to. Buy this lens; you absolutely cannot go wrong.

The auto focus is faster then I expected based on other reviews. The lens is pretty darn slow. Don't expect any decent shutter speeds for anything but very bright conditions.

Easily worth the $120 I paid.

UPDATE:
I have upgraded this review to 3 stars based on a discovery. While looking at similar lenses from other makers I checked to see if my current Opteka HD UV filter would fit. Then I thought to take the filter off and check the lens AF performance. Sooo much better. It actually focuses now without the lens filter. It is still not very fast compared to other lenses I have used. I will give it a try this weekend at my sons soccer match. If I have problems I will let you know.

Again, the focus is still slow, but way better without the UV filter.


Original review,
I bought this lens a while back, influenced by the good reviews and low price compared to Canon's. The AF does not work well with my Canon Rebel XT. I find the lens works fine using Manual Focus. I have lost many moments of my kids playing sports and other activities due this lack of focus.I have found this to be true indoors and outdoors in various lighting conditions.

Sometimes it takes three or more attempts to AF before it gets it right. I have also found it is sometimes helpful to first focus and then zoom in on my subject. This doesn't work so well for action shots though (miss the shot). I have other lenses from other manufacturers that work fine in AF mode with my camera (Canon and Sigma), so I'm sure it is not an issue with my camera.


cheers,
Shannon

Excelent lens rounds up my new Canon Rebel XSI Digital SLR Camera. Super price, very reasonable shipping cost and quick shipping.
I can say that I am very satisfied with my purchase.