Tamron SP AF 180mm F3.5 Di LD IF A-mount lens review by Shearwater

Shearwater#8945 date: Apr-18-2011
sharpness: 5 color: 5 build: 3 distortion: 5 flare control: 4 overall: 4.4	tested on: film camera: APS-C: 6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP; 16MP; 20MP; 24MP full frame: 12MP; 24MP; 36MP; 42MP; 61MP
ownership:	I own this lens
compared to:	Sigma 70 mm macro
price paid:	700 USD
positive:	Sharp, seems well built, a very good macro with a few faults Excellent reach
negative:	No focus limiter Hunts in AF MF is touchy
comment:	I use this almost exclusively on a tripod with manual focusing. Like most macros it is close to perfect optically. Functionally it has a couple of problems. 1. The manual focus ring is geared too high - very small movements make fairly large changes in focus. In addition, the ring doesn't move smoothly. 2. To switch from AF to MF on a Sony body requires two steps. The camera body first has to be switched to MF and then a ring on the lens has to be pushed out to release a clutch. I believe the lens was designed for Canikon cameras where only the clutch release needs to be changed to switch from AF to MF.