Tamron Telephoto SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Nikon AF

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

My wife has the Nikon D3100 w/ two (2) zooms. She wanted a macro for butterfly photography. Compare to the Nikon, this was a nicer lens.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

This is my third macro, complementing Nikkor 105mm and 60mm macros. The ability to be further from the subject makes this lens very useful to me. The quality of the lens is outstanding and it has a solid feel. Others have complained about slow AF, but I do not use AF on macro subjects, so it doesn't matter to me. I would recommend this lens to any macro enthusiast.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I bought this lens primarily for butterfly photography. I am very satisfied with the lens. The pictures are very sharp. Since I haven't used other Macro lenses, I can comment on that. The auto focus of the lens is slow so I mostly end up shooting in manual mode. Sometimes, I turn the ring till I see the subject of the photo and then switch it to auto focus. This way it focuses faster.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

This is my first macro lens and I am very satisfied. I have only purchased Nikkor lenses in the past for my D7000, so this is also my first Tamron lens. After experiencing the "bang for the buck" of the Tamron I may not ever be able to justify the purchase of another Nikkor lens. Color reproduction is outstanding, bokeh is good and the things you can see with this lens are incredible. The 180mm length also allows for great detail shots at distances from your subject that won't spook insects or other small creatures. Have only tried to auto-focus once just for grins and yes it is a bit slow. But, whose going to auto-focus with a macro lens?! All-in-all very satisfied.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I just cant understand how this lens has flown under the radar for so long. I have used the Nikon 60mm, 105mm and the 70-180mm micros, a Sigma 105 HSM, and a Tamron 90mm macro lens and now this Tamron 180mm macro lens. I can honestly say the two Tarmons are razor sharp. Have better bokeh than all the Nikons and have proven to be very reliable. Many folks here seem to complain about focus speed and hunting. Let me explain that macro work and AF just dont mix. All true macro lens have very poor AF performance. Its quite simple. These lenses have a very long throw (helicoil) focus mechanism and it just takes time to turn all the internal gears from infinity back to its closest focus point. Nearly every accomplished macro photographer uses manual focus. Its the only way to truely pick the plane of focus that you want. AF is just guessing.
This lenses produces extremely sharp photos. Contrast is great. Color rendition is super. While it may not have the ultimate build quality of a Nikon or Canon its optics are superb. My only slight complaint would be the collar. It uses a funny quarter turn screw to tighten down.
I would have prefered a fine thread screw. But the collar works as desinged and is very secure.
Nikon, Canon, Pentex, Oly, etc didnt corner all the best optical engineers. Tamron has a very talented engineering team as well and this Tamron reflects that easily.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

used mainly for macro work

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

Very SHARP! good contrast good color

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I purchased the lens specifically for macro photography of butterflies. It produces very sharp images with a creamy background that is highly effective in making the butterfly stand out sharply from the background. I also purchased it because it easily fits into a carry-on bag and because it is competitively priced.

Negative issues: This is an incredibly slow autofocus lens, even when used with the Nikon D3. It easily loses it's focus when trying to stay on moving butterflies and must go through the entire focus ranges -- sometimes several times -- before it locks into place. By then the butterfly or birds has vanished. It does have a quick auto/manual shift that is helpful, but it should have been sold with a focus locking device that should have eliminated the search from infinity to a few inches.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

The build quality of the Tamron is very good.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

The lens is really sharp. I will be using it for small insect ahd flower work. I just wish it had VR.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I looked long and hard at the Micro Nikkor 200mm, but in the end decided that $1429.00(import price) was too much to pay for an older lens in need of an update. The Nikkor has outstanding optics, and it's built like a tank, but it could use AF-S and VR to make it more of an all-purpose lens. While the Tamron also lacks a high speed focusing motor and some form of image stabilization, its optics are equally fine. It's sharp, offers plenty of contrast and a lovely bokeh, and keeps CAs well under control. It may not have the build quality of the Nikkor, but it's solid nonetheless, and should hold up quite well in normal use. Most importantly, the Tamron is less than half the price of the Nikkor. One switches between auto and manual focus on the Tamron by pushing/pulling the focusing ring. Some people like this feature, others do not. Personally, I do. It also has an interesting and useful feature that allows one to adjust a polarizing filter with the lens hood attached. All in all, a great lens and an excellent bargain.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

This lens takes great pictures but is slow to focus and searches for its subject. For the money I think it is worth it.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

This is a great macro lens. It's as sharp as Sigma 150 f2.8 or Canon 100 macro with better boken and blurry background, which is the reason I chose it.

It's my macro lens of choice when I use a tripod for close-ups with manual focus and live view. Its AF is as slow as any macro lenses. Although I wish it can be faster, it's really not that important to me.

Tamron lenses are famous for cheap build (at least you feel so.) However, they do last. I have used my copy for 3 years now and it still works like new. So the build is reliable and its lighter weight become a pro to me.

I'd highly recommend this lens for macro and close-up.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I like use this lens to take photo for flowers.

It's very shape. also It is not very expense.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I already own the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens and am very satisfied, but wanted a lens with a longer focal length to give me better working distance. The 180mm f/3.5 Macro is a very good lens that gives me excellent sharp results shooting macros and also a soft bokeh. The auto focus is somewhat noisy, slow and hunts at times, so I prefer using this lens with manual focus. With very narrow depth of field this is not an easy lens to use, but I am very satisfied with the results, the colors are great and there is no distortion I can perceive. Despite the plastic build, it is well made.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I really enjoy this lens--it allows me to get shots from a distance but with great detail and sharpness. The only issue I would address is the "searching" when focusing. It sometimes goes all the way out then back in resulting in a loss of catching a subject (i.e., butterfly, humming bird, bee, and any fast moving insect). I have lost quite a few shots waiting for the focus to settle down. I have tried manual focusing and it doesn't work for me--I chase my macro subjects all around and using a tripod/monopod isn't the answer. Now, having said all that, the pictures I do capture are some of the best I have taken to date. I really like this lens and eventually will figure out how to overcome the "searching." Thank you for the opportunity to provide this review.

Comments about Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Macro Autofocus Lens:

I use this lens to shoot flowers, insects etc. I really enjoy the shooting with it. I will say it is very worthy the price.

Advantage:
1. Good Price
2. Sharp
3. Color is fantastic
4. Easy to switch between AF and MF
5. The lens looks STRONG with the lens hood!!

Disadvantage:
1. AF is a little bit slow.
2. No Full/Limit switch, which SP 90 macro has.