Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Pro Reviews

The Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 SP Di VC USD is a very welcome new option in the tele zoom lens class. The lens is capable of delivering a very good to excellent center quality combined with good to very good borders/corners. Lateral CAs are low and not objectionable from a field perspective. A nice aspect is the image contrast which is very high throughout the range including the critical 300mm setting. Based on what we've seen in the field the lens is also comparatively resistant against flare. The light falloff at max. aperture is visible but not higher than on competing lenses. The image distortions are slight (70mm) to moderate (200-300mm). The quality of the bokeh can be rough in critical situations specifically regarding the highlight rendering. This may be somewhat unfortunate but the truth is that this aspect is generally a problem in this lens class.

Tamron has seemed to pay attention to what other manufacturers are offering and has created a new design for this lens. Instead of a lens which offered dual roles as a telephoto zoom lens and a capable macro lens, Tamron has chosen to emphasize the former at the expense of the latter, and has created an solid performer in this category as a result.

All in all, I made over 3000 exposures with the Tamron SP AF70-300mm VC. And the impression I came away with is that this lens is definitely a keeper. When you factor in performance, overall design, and price, it all amounts to a very engaging lens that begs to be used again and again.

Tamron seems to have created a worthy competitor in the 70-300mm zoom category, with excellent build quality, good optics, and several other handy features to help you capture better handheld photos; like the USM AF motor and VC stabilization.

This new telephoto optic from Tamron has proven itself to be very capable indeed. It is capable of producing images with very good resolution across the image area at all focal lengths and optical aberrations such as colour fringing and distortions are kept well within acceptable thresholds. The Ultrasonic Drive makes the focusing speed more sprightly than can be found on other Tamron lenses and the vibration correction system was effective during testing. Overall, I found this lens to be a very good performer representing good value when compared like-for-like with manufacturers' lenses, due to the slightly cheaper price. However, even though it costs less, Tamron haven't compromised on quality, which is commendable.