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| sent on 25 Dicembre 2015
Pros: Usability, as a telephoto zoom package; image quality; effective vibration control; Price; Build/cost ratio; decent lenshood
Cons: Focus isn't the quickest;
Opinion: Update: I've replaced the old model with a brand new exact same one (apparently, the buyer of the old lens had it repaired and a loose wire inside was responsible for the hit and miss VC fault, so not necessarily a fault with the design) and upgraded the D7000 to the 24mp no alias filter D7100 and the images are now even sharper! Review: My 5 year old model has produced over 25,000 images and it still is THE zoom I use for most telephoto applications. The VC function has now become hit and miss, now, the only sign of wear it shows and if I were to replace it (not worth cost of repair), it would be with the exact same model. Being a Nikon user, I cannot use the Canon L, which I understand is the only lens of the same spec that competes with this Tamron. And why not the Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR, that would surely be my target? Well, I had one of those and it broke quite quickly. The Nikon did display excellent contrast and sharpness at lower focal lengths and in the centre of the frame and its VR is quicker to activate and quieter in operation. This makes the Nikon better than this Tamron for action and wildlife, where central image is more important. The Tamron SP however, is the better all round lens for travel, architecture and landscapes. The VC, once activated (takes a short time) literally holds its subject like glue. The distortion is much less than the Nikon (the Nikon had such pincushion at 300mm, you could see it in the viewfinder!) and the plentiful sharpness is more even and across the frame. Even the so difficult 300mm at f5.6 produces a very acceptable image - I'd be happy to shoot at this to isolate my subject - and often do. It won't be as sharp as a fixed focal, of course, the contrast a little less too, I find f9 to be the sweet aperture here, f8 at lower focal lengths. but in the everyday practicality, the Tamron is good to use and one can have confidence in it. Of good solid weight, it can be handheld with confidence, though if I have a criticism, the rather front weighted bulk on camera means it can be difficult to use on a tripod, especially in the vertical position. It's not especially easy to use in manual focus but SO much easier than the Nikon, which had an awfully thin and awkwardly placed focus ring. And if you think that such lenses are only used with AF, the true landscaper will often find very low light and low contrast subjects, such as after sunset. With the D7000, AF can find and lock onto subjects to a surprising degree but when it loses it, it annoyingly goes through the entire focus path and you have to interrupt the shot, and reset the focus manually and your subject is gone. But then, that can happen with almost all lenses, after all. Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could use my Sigma EX 1.4x APO teleconverter with it! And with pretty fair results, giving a 560mm equivalent foccal length on DX, even if I do choose to use f9 or smaller and best of all, the VC works then too, reigning in all that huge potential for severe camera shake. Has to be as near to 10/10 in practical terms, especially when the modest price is concerned. If nothing else, this lens has been the 5th most used optic by Juza users for as long as I've been on the site myself - we can't all be wrong! |
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