Whether you are shooting indoor or outdoor sports, portraits, nature, or landscapes, the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Lens is the telephoto zoom that's a great way to capture the images before you. This is the Tamron Anniversary lens and is the first Tamron optic that incorporates an Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) for fast, quiet and precision autofocusing.
This Vibration Compensation (VC) lens will allow you shoot up to four stops slower than would be possible with a non-VC lens, so you can shoot hand-held at all focal lengths without blurring whether shooting fast moving sports from football and car racing as well as events under low lighting conditions.
The SP 70-300mm is constructed with one LD (Low Dispersion) and one XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens which prevent chromatic aberration, resulting in clear, high contrast and color-accurate digital image captures.
This lens is also digitally integrated (Di) which means that it has been optimized for digital imaging, providing outstanding performance for DSLRS with full-frame and APS-C format sensors as well as with 35mm film cameras.
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Focal Length | 70 - 300 mm |
| Aperture |
Maximum: f/4 - 5.6 Minimum: f/32 - 45 |
| Camera Mount Type | Nikon F |
| Format Compatibility |
Nikon FX/35mm Film Nikon DX |
| Angle of View | 34° - 8° |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 4.92' (1.5 m) |
| Magnification | 0.25x |
| Maximum Reproduction Ratio | 1:4 |
| Groups/Elements | 12/17 |
| Diaphragm Blades | 9 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Image Stabilization | No |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Tripod Collar | No |
| Physical | |
|---|---|
| Filter Thread | 62 mm |
| Dimensions (DxL) | Approx. 3.21 x 5.9" (8.15 x 14.99 cm) |
| Weight | 1.68 lb (765 g) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
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Most Liked Positive Review
The new "Beercan"
I use this lens professionally to shoot cars and portraits. I have a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX lens too, but this new Tamron is quite a gem. It offers excellent sharpness even from...Read complete review
I use this lens professionally to shoot cars and portraits. I have a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX lens too, but this new Tamron is quite a gem. It offers excellent sharpness even from wide open apertures, up to 200mm, with just a little softness creeping in between 200 and 300 mm. The construction (for a plastic lens) appears to be robust, and it does balance well on my D300 body. The "VC" is magical indoors, shooting objects or people. With two SB-600s working as remote bounce flashes I could shoot a birthday party at f6.3 and ISO 400 and captured remarkably sharp images of my 2-yr old toddler (kids that young are never easy subjects due to erratic movement). For stuff like this, or slow panning, it's fantastic. But... there are some issues. There is no "high speed panning mode" as some have suggested. If you pan with cars and trucks, expect to get blurry photos. The VC module "jumps" in the direction of the panning repeatedly. It does not lock into a center horizontal point and stay there, while still floating for vertical movements. If you like to pan below 1/200th of a second, turn off the VC with the switch. I can repeatedly prove how VC is messing car-speed panned shots. Tack-sharpness returns when the VC is off. Go figure.It is VERY difficult to screw up a shot with camera shake with this lens, in virtually every other situation. I can, and have, shot very sharp photos at 135mm at 1/20th of a second (still subjects). I have no other lens in my arsenal which is as easy as this one to shoot hand-held!Second flaw is the AF speed. No matter what Tamron calls it, it ain't exactly fast. A Konica-Minolta or Sony camera with an in-body motor can focus as fast or faster than this lens. Will it affect your posed photos. No, because, if you have a camera with AF Fine Tune from Nikon, you can adjust for any inconsistencies with the location of the AF point. My D300 requires +9 to be spot-on at all focal lengths. Clarity, color, and contrast are all remarkable, and outweigh the limitations of the AF speed and VC system though. My Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 with Sigma's USM AF drive does focus a LOT faster, and tracks moving objects better (some of that is due to looking through f2.8 glass though) but the Tamron is sharper, has more contrast (so it resolves extra-fine details MUCH better, even wide open), is lighter and a little smaller, and costs less than half of the price of the comparable new Sigma f2.8 portrait lens with OS. Obviously Tamron saved a little money here and there, but they spent it on the glass, which is the whole point of a lens in the first place.The last thing that I must mention as a HUGE plus is the bokeh. It's fantastic! I'm not certain why, technically, but even at higher f-stops like f8, there's still an excellent creamy quality to the bokeh behind subjects. Shooting at f5 (at 185mmm) creates dreamy non-distracting haze behind your subject, which makes the excellent sharpness look remarkably three dimensional. The aperture looks to be very round-edged through more than half of its travel. It doesn't do star-points well at all, but that's probably one of the secrets to getting that lovely bokeh. So, in summary; Sharp, Excellent Bokeh, useful at maximum apetures, great color and clarity, could use dedicated panning mode for VC and true "Ultrasonic" focusing motor. Verdict: a steal for [$] right now (after mail-in rebate).
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Most Liked Negative Review
Did't work for me!
I returned mine since AF and/or VC was noisy for me. It may be acceptable for others.
Few photos that I took using D300S were mostly sharp except some softning at 300mm.
I returned mine since AF and/or VC was noisy for me. It may be acceptable for others.
Few photos that I took using D300S were mostly sharp except some softning at 300mm.
Reviewed by 67 customers
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I needed a 70-300mm lens for pictures of wildlife and horse shows. I read lots of reviews and comments. I couldn't believe the Tamron was rated as good as, or better than its Nikon equivalent. The big difference in the price persuaded me to give it a try. I thought the VC would be a problem, but it only took a little practice to figure out how to get the action shots that I wanted. I'm glad I took the chance. The pictures are sharp and the colors are warm and rich,; just the way I like them. I have only had it a week, but I'm really pleased.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
Exellent immage quality. Fast and quiet auto focus. VC works great. Best bang for the buck. The only con is VC a bit noisy. But not hard to get use to.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
For the money, this lens cannot be beat. I used this at an airshow for my first shoot with this lens and the pictures were great. I was able to get right into the action and the lens was fast enough to keep images clear.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
This is my first Tamron lens. I purchased it to replace a Nikkor 55-200mm cheapie lens I got in 2005.
I have been impressed since it arrived. The build quality is good, the lens is easy to handle and operate, the auto-focus works smoothly in most situations, and the Vibration Compensation is simply fantastic! I have been able to get reasonably sharp images at 300mm down to 1/30th of a second, HAND-HELD! -- however, I need a disclaimer here; it is always best to use a longer focal length lens with a tripod.
A word about the VC; it makes noise when it locks on; kind of a muted whirring sound for lack of a better term. It does not bother me and it's not a negative against the lens. However, those unaware of it might think it's a defect, but it's not.
This lens will not compete with the higher end Nikkor or Canon lenses (which are much higher in price), but it's not supposed to. It's made to deliver very good images for a very reasonable price. With that in mind, Tamron hit this one out of the park. Plus, it totally out-performs the cheapie Nikkor 55-200mm. Actually, the Tamron just destroys it.
At the time of this review, Tamron is offering a rebate on this. That makes this lens a total steal.
If you search youtube, you can watch a review of this lens from "That Nikon Guy"...he compares it to a higher price (F/2.8) Tamron. It's worth viewing.
Providing the web site here allows it, I'll post 2 images taken with this lens, and a Nikon D5000 (both images were re-sized to 1024 x 768). Both shots were taken hand-held.
If you are a photo enthusiast as I am, and you want to begin taking images in longer focal lengths, put this Tamron lens in your bag!
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
They will have to pry it from my cold dead fingers... VC works really well for me (Im shaking holding that thing sometimes) - Feels like I am Mr Sulu locking on phasers... IQ seems VERY good to me too. I have three other Nikon lenses with my D90. I was I not sure about going with this Tamron 70-300 (with Cnote rebate and 6 year warranty) or a refurbished Nikon 70-300 (90 day warranty and almost Cnote more total) - So far Im glad I pulled the trigger on the Tamron. Thanks B+H
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I purchased the lens after watching a review by that nikon guy on youtube. He was blown away by the vc and picture quality. I echo his review. I have truly enjoyed the lens and am totally satisfied with photo quality.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I've used this lens for about 2 weeks now, trying it out on birds at my backyard feeder and some closeup city scenes. I'm impressed with how sharp this lens is for the modest price. The VC really snaps the image in sharply, and I've had good success at 300mm handheld down to about 1/50 sec. This lens replaces my antique 200mm f/4 Nikkor from 1968 which I had trouble hand-holding at speeds slower than 1/400. I'm using it on a Nikon D5000, so I have no way of assessing it's edge sharpness on a full-frame camera, but it is really good on the APS-C format. The build quality seems pretty good so far, except that the zoom is a little stiff between about 200mm to 300mm; not really a big problem. At least there's no evidence of lens creep. The focus ring is very smooth, which is more important. As others have written, it is kind of heavy, as one should expect for a zoom that goes out to 300mm. It's a nice complement to my 16-85mm Nikkor.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I can hear noise sometimes, but overall is very good. I can get very nice sharp picture, clear and details with this lens.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I bought this lens for wildlife photography while hiking and kayaking, as it is more compact than my long lens + 2X extender. I am impressed! It feels good in my hand while being supported and has a nice, solid feel to it. It is completely quiet when focusing and fast. The VC works great. It is not so good in low light, but that is to be expected... just bump up your ISO and you're good to go! My images are sharp with true color. Really, you can't beat this lens for quality and a fantastic price... highly recommended!
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I'm very pleased with this lens so far. I bought it for an upcoming cruise, and have used it for taking Cherry Blossom pictures. Very sharp images. Some of the reviews indicated a softness at the high zoom, but I didn't see it. Also, the noise from the autofocas that some poeple complained about was a complete non-issue.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
So far, tested on backyard photos of birds, squirrels etc. Will also be used for landscapes, candid photos.
I can see this becoming my most-used lens after the 18-105mm Nikon.
Autofocus is quick and accurate even at the long end. Optical stabilisation is very effective.
Max apertures of f4-5.6 mean it's limited to well-lit subjects. Or to higher ISO settings.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
Sharp, well made, very versatile lens. The price is right as well. Works perfectly with my D90. I'm very pleased!
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
The first copy I received had a problem with the autofocus. There must have been something demanded inside the lens causing the problem. I realize that when purchasing third party lens that this is sometimes expected. The second copy I received works great. The autofocus is quite quick and silent for a lens in this price range. The noise produced by the VC is noticeable but I dont think it is terrible. The pictures this lens produces are sharp. I have used the Nikon 55-200mm VR before and this lens is a lot better. On my D5100 this lens is quite heavy and throws off the balance but then again this isn't a walk around lens like I would normally use a prime lens for. Overall I am satisfied with the performance and quality of this lens.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I tried out this lens, hand held, on some water fowl at a pond in Tampa, at the Tampa Zoo, and on a boat ride through the Belize jungle. I was very impressed with the image sharpness and focus, especially considering it was hand held. On my DX camera the lens is equivalent to ~105-450mm which I found to work well for my needs. The price is reasonable. Supplied lens cap did not work with a filter on the lens.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
purchased this lense lat month to use with my nikon d7000 and have only used it for a couple of days. the lense performed as expected you just have to be carfull not to be touching the focus ring when on auto focus. yes it is an outdoor lense not so great indoors. but i knew that already. i couldn't have asked for more. build is solid, mount is metal and price is great when rebate is factored in
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
The nikkor 16-85mm vr is my walk around lens and purchased this Tamron sp 70-300mm vc/usd to cover the longer range on the D90. Balances nicely on the camera. Decided to go with the Tamron instead of the Nikkor 70-300mm vr/swm since the overall performance and features were comparable and with favorable reviews. The Tamron is approx $200 cheaper (with the savings, you can buy another pro-summer Nikon prime, such as the 35mm f1.8 DX or the 50mm f1.8 g for approx $200).
When the vc is on, this Tamron lens is more audible than i would like although i expected it. When vc is off it focuses very quietly. It focuses accurately whether the vc is on or not.
Focus speed and optic/image (sharp) quality of this lens is what you would expect at this price range (you get what you pay for in photography). The images came out fine with a few test shots of flowers in the backyard and group purchase over the holidays.
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
Let me tell you im a nikon guy and before this lens i always was buying a nikon lenses . this tamron change my mind. at first i had a problem of stucking filter on the lens so i decided to change it to another one, second one didnt autofocus in liveview so i changed again, finally the 3d copy was perfect . wow im impressed by sharpness and beautiful colors this lens output. VC works as a magic hard to believe that its only [$] after mail in rebate . badaway i pared it with nikon d7000, other bodies may vary in terms of performance ...highly recommended .... get it while it last..
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
I returned mine since AF and/or VC was noisy for me. It may be acceptable for others.
Few photos that I took using D300S were mostly sharp except some softning at 300mm.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
Clear shots....easy to operate love working with it...Was seeking a lens that gave me distance, clarity, and focus...I found it...versatile too...have been using it both indoors and out..So glad I purchased it and am thankful to the B&H saleman who guided me to this purchase when we discussed my needs...
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Comments about Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLRs & 35mm Film Cameras:
Very good lens..Tamron lives upto its brand in true sense.
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