Tamron SP AF 70-300mm 4-5.6 Di USD A-mount lens review by Malina DZ
 Malina DZ#10960 date: Mar-3-2013 | |
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| sharpness: 4 color: 4 build: 4 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.2 | tested on:
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| ownership: | I own this lens |
| compared to: | Sony 70-400/4-5.6 G Sony 135/1.8 ZA Sony 85/1.4 ZA |
| price paid: | 350 USD (new) |
| positive: | Great general use tele-zoom lens; 6-year warranty; $350 after rebate; USD is on par with SSM; Excellent print quality up to 20"x30". |
| negative: | Decent AF accuracy prior to recalibration; No VC; If you are picky, some distortion can be noticeable on portrait (head) shots.; Heavy vigneting from F4 till F5.6 (Easy fix in post-production); Poor 300mm IQ at any F-stop. |
| comment: | The best bang for a buck for Alpha system among all tele-zooms available so far. Its price positions it among other easy-choice lenses with very high IQ. It's a Sony 70-300 G sibling without a focus limiter. AF speed and accuracy is good enough for slow moving subjects but for action shots I'd look for a lens with a focus distance limiter. My copy had a front focus issue and was sent to Tamron for recalibration. Since then no missed focus images for slow moving subjects. Exif reads "70-300mm F4.0-5.6 SSM"! The lens is worth way more than the price paid. I'm keeping it as a backup if I ever find an as worthy tele-zoom-bang-for-a-buck-lens. Tamron SP 70-300 USD AF Speed Test http://youtu.be/rXkNWkJ7nKo Its performance is not as solid at the long end but one can't complain about it for this ridiculously low price. Here you can see some samples in DNG at 300mm: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BzDJkyUbS4xgMU9QR1lCVUROUlU/edit?pli=1 Here you can find comparison shots between Tamron and Sony 70-400 G at the long end with a subject near the infinity mark in DNG: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0BzDJkyUbS4xgYW1EUmJoNEdXMzg/edit |
; 36MPrating summary
- total reviews: 55
- sharpness: 4.50
- color: 4.38
- build: 4.35
- distortion: 4.62
- flare control: 4.53
- overall: 4.47