In September of 2022 I had a chance to review the Sony E-mount version of Tamron’s very intriguing 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 VC VXD lens, a lens that expanded the traditional formula of a 100-400mm zoom by adding an additional 50mm of range on the wide end.  That may not seem like a big deal initially, but it opens up all kinds of additional photography subjects and changes the zoom ratio from 4x to 8x!  There are, of course, many lenses with an even larger zoom ratio, but those superzoom lenses are almost always compromised optically.  I called that lens a “game changer”, and now it is coming to Nikon Z mount and adds a very compelling option for Nikon shooters. I have found that these Tamron zooms are better on Nikon than any other current platform, and I’ll detail why in both the text review and the video review linked below.

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Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review copy of this lens.   As always, this is a completely independent review.  All opinions and conclusions are my own. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the 45MP Nikon Z8, which I reviewed here.

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The Tamron 50-400Z has an extremely impressive 8x zoom range, and goes from this at 50mm:

to this at 400mm:

That gives you a tremendous amount of versatility in framing your subject, and will make this lens a great option for landscape photography along with the more typical telephoto subjects.

Tamron likes complicated lens names, so let’s take a moment to unscramble what all those letters mean.  Di-III refers to a lens that is purpose designed for mirrorless mounts, which, at the moment, is uniquely in the Sony full frame E-mount.  It can also be used on APS-C E-mount cameras where the 1.5x crop factor gives a full frame equivalent focal range of 75-600mm.  VC refers to Vibration Compensation, which is Tamron’s optical stabilization system, important in telephoto lenses to help deal with camera shake.  Finally, VXD refers to the focus system, which is Tamron’s premium Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive, a high end linear focus motor system, which will allow you to capture fast moving action.

As we’ll see, the 50-400Z (as we’ll call it in this review to distinguish it from the E-mount version) follows in the trend of the 35-150mm by having a more premium build and feature set, but also comes at a higher price point than Tamron’s previous era 100-400mm lens, though fortunately the price for the Z-mount version is $1299, identical to the E-mount version. Some of Tamron’s lenses that have come to Z-mount have done so with a $100 price premium, but that’s not the case here. Enjoy the photos of the Z-mount lens along with a gallery of photos taken with it.

Photos of the Tamron 50-400mm VC VXD

Photos taken with the Tamron 50-400mm VC VXD

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GEAR USED:

Purchase the Tamron 50-400mm VXD at B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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Purchase the Nikon Z8 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany

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