2024 has been the year where Canon has finally, grudgingly, let a third party lens makers creep in to their RF mount, though with one huge caveat. There are still (absolutely!) no full frame lenses from third parties allowed, but Canon is opening up the RF/RF-S mount to APS-C lenses. Earlier this year I reviewed a few of the first Sigma lenses to come in an RF mount, and the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 RXD becomes the first Tamron lens to arrive on the platform. This is great, as it provides another high quality wide angle option for Canon shooters to consider. But is there enough here to bypass the equally interesting Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DN lens that is also now available on RF? Find out in either the video review below or the text review linked here…or just enjoy the photos in the gallery below.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a loaner 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 APS-C mode on my 45MP Canon EOS R5, which I reviewed here.
Tamron loves its initials in their lens names, so let’s sort out that alphabet soup. Di III is their designation for a mirrorless lens design, and, in this case, the addition of -A at the (Di III-A) refers to their development for APS-C mirrorless. RXD refers to the focus motor, and means Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive.
As with the Sigma lenses I’ve reviewed before, Canon is explicitly keeping you out of the full frame protocols. I don’t own a Canon APS-C camera, so I’m doing this review on the APS-C mode of my full frame Canon EOS R5. Typically I can evaluate full frame coverage on Sony or Nikon, but here all options but the 1.6x APS-C crop are greyed out. Canon is making SURE you don’t enter that sacred full frame space under any circumstance!
Canon is unique amongst other brands in that their APS-C crop is tighter than other brands. It is 1.6x rather than 1.5x, meaning that the effective focal length of the lens changes a bit in this application. Whereas it will be 16-30mm frame equivalent on 1.5x, it will be 17.6-32mm on Canon. That’s unfortunate with a wide angle lens, as typically your priority will be to have as wide of framing as possible.
The 11-20RF covers a very useful range nonetheless, giving you a variety of framing options at 11, 14, 16, 18, and 20mm (the marked positions on the zoom ring):
The 11-20RF is priced at $659 USD, which is identical to where the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DN is priced (my review here) and considerably more expensive than the roughly $300 budget Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens. It it worth the price premium over the Canon, and should it be considered instead of the Sigma? Check out my reviews if you have questions.
Keywords: Tamron, 11-20mm, Tamron 11-20mm Review, Tamron 11-20 RF, RXD, Tamron, 11-20, F2.8, f/2.8, Canon, Canon EOS R5, EOS, R, R5, Review, Canon EOS R6 MK II, Canon EOS R6 II, EOS R6 II Review, RF, mirrorless, Canon EOS R7 Review, Sports, Tracking, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Handling, Focus, Portraits, Resolution, High ISO, Image Quality, Sample Images, Photography, 45MP, 24MP, Canon, #letthelightin, #DA, #EOSR5, #Canon, #withmytamron
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
2024 has been the year where Canon has finally, grudgingly, let a third party lens makers creep in to their RF mount, though with one huge caveat. There are still (absolutely!) no full frame lenses from third parties allowed, but Canon is opening up the RF/RF-S mount to APS-C lenses. Earlier this year I reviewed a few of the first Sigma lenses to come in an RF mount, and the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 RXD becomes the first Tamron lens to arrive on the platform. This is great, as it provides another high quality wide angle option for Canon shooters to consider. But is there enough here to bypass the equally interesting Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DN lens that is also now available on RF? Find out in either my video review or in the text review below.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a loaner 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 APS-C mode on my 45MP Canon EOS R5, which I reviewed here.
Tamron loves its initials in their lens names, so let’s sort out that alphabet soup. Di III is their designation for a mirrorless lens design, and, in this case, the addition of -A at the (Di III-A) refers to their development for APS-C mirrorless. RXD refers to the focus motor, and means Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive.
As with the Sigma lenses I’ve reviewed before, Canon is explicitly keeping you out of the full frame protocols. I don’t own a Canon APS-C camera, so I’m doing this review on the APS-C mode of my full frame Canon EOS R5. Typically I can evaluate full frame coverage on Sony or Nikon, but here all options but the 1.6x APS-C crop are greyed out. Canon is making SURE you don’t enter that sacred full frame space under any circumstance!
Canon is unique amongst other brands in that their APS-C crop is tighter than other brands. It is 1.6x rather than 1.5x, meaning that the effective focal length of the lens changes a bit in this application. Whereas it will be 16-30mm frame equivalent on 1.5x, it will be 17.6-32mm on Canon. That’s unfortunate with a wide angle lens, as typically your priority will be to have as wide of framing as possible.
The 11-20RF covers a very useful range nonetheless, giving you a variety of framing options at 11, 14, 16, 18, and 20mm (the marked positions on the zoom ring):
The 11-20RF is priced at $659 USD, which is identical to where the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DN is priced (my review here) and considerably more expensive than the roughly $300 budget Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens. It it worth the price premium over the Canon, and should it be considered instead of the Sigma? While this is the third platform that I’ve reviewed this lens on (Sony E and Fuji X previously), so there will be some recycled material in this review. But I will try to specifically address those questions in the RF version of the review.
Build and Handling
The Tamron 11-20mm RXD certainly hits a sweet spot for size and weight for a wide angle zoom. It feels reasonably compact on my frame Canon EOS R5, but I’ve also reviewed it on smaller bodies on Sony, and it worked fine there.. It is 2.9″ (D) x 3.4″ (L), or 73 x 86.2 mm according to the specifications, as even though the Canon RF mount is wider in diameter than the Sony E or Fuji X mounts, this isn’t the widest part of the lens. Like most of Tamron’s mirrorless lenses it has a 67mm front filter thread which allows filters to be shared across almost all of Tamron’s other options for the platform (excluding the much larger 150-500mm, obviously!) The weight is 11.8 oz (335 g), making it the heaviest of the three wide angle zoom options on Canon RF-S. The Sigma is 270g, while the “slow” Canon lens is just 150g.
I call the Canon “slow” because it starts at a rather dim F4.5 at 10mm and quickly arrives at a maximum aperture of an even slower F6.3 later in the zoom range. That’s a huge disadvantage relative to the Tamron and Sigma lenses, that have a constant F2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range. F2.8 lets in twice as much light as F4, which means that at best the Canon will be 1 1/3 stops dimmer and at worst 2 1/3 stops. That means that the Tamron or Sigma lenses will be much, much more useful in low light situations. Canon tries to compensate by including IS (Image Stabilization) in their lens, but that won’t always help as it doesn’t stop movement of subjects, meaning that you would still have to jack up the ISO to freeze action. I would much rather have a faster lens like the Tamron.
While the depth of field is more equivalent to a full frame F4 lens, the F2.8 aperture will always have the light gathering capability of an F2.8 lens (regardless of whether attached to APS-C or Full Frame), meaning that the 11-20mm RXD has the advantage of being able to have more in focus at larger apertures but all the light gathering potential of an F2.8 lens – which can be a big help in low light conditions.
This is a new lens on Canon, but it has been out on Sony since 2021. That means that this lens comes from an older stage of Tamron’s development cycle and design language, but Tamron had made a key update to the RF version in that it has an AF | MF on upper left side of the lens. I appreciate having the AF | MF switch, and that alone makes this perhaps the best version of this lens.
Right now this only allow for firmware updates (no customization as with some lenses), but I like having future options.
The position of the two rings on the 11-20mm is reversed relative to the 17-70mm, which is unfortunate for those who will buy both lenses to use as a kit (I’m assuming the 17-70mm will soon be available on RF too). The closer (and wider) of the two is the zoom ring. The zoom ring has a rubberized, ribbed texture, is easy to find by touch, and moves smoothly through the zoom range without any sticking points. The inner barrel will extend about 2cm at the 11mm position:
The lens will be at its fully retracted position at 20mm.
While many would prefer an internally zooming lens, thus far all of these Tamron zooms have been externally zooming, though they must be doing a fairly good job of sealing the lenses, and I’ve heard little anecdotal reports from buyers about getting dust inside of them. The inner barrel extends smoothly and without any wobble.
The second ring (nearer the front of the lens) is the manual focus ring. This (like all mirrorless lenses) is focus-by-wire, meaning that focus input on the focus ring is routed through the focus motor to move the elements. Manual focus feel is fairly light and without a lot of tactile feedback. Typical manual focus aids are all available, as Tamron lenses on Canon RF function largely like native lenses.
Tamron has included a shallow, petal-shaped lens hood with deep ribs inside that disrupt stray light bouncing around. It’s plastic and lightweight, but the quality of the plastics is apparent by feel. It doesn’t feel as cheap as some hoods that I see. It feels like it could take a few bumps without cracking. Due to the wide-angle nature of the lens, the lens hood is fairly wide, so it doesn’t reverse completely flush along the sides of the lens for storage.
The lens’ housing is a nice grade of engineered plastics with a satin finish. There’s a platinum-colored accept ring right near the lens mount. Nothing fancy on the outside, but the lens “look” is clean and it looks nice mounted on the camera.
As noted, however, the good stuff is inside. There’s a rubber gasket at the lens mount that is the outer evidence of the weather sealing inside, and this is diagram from Tamron shows that there are a total of seven seal points in the lens. This is capped off by a nice fluorine coating on the front element, which not only helps protect it from scratches but also makes it water and fingerprint resistant and thus easier to clean.
Tamron’s recent trends regarding MFD (minimum focus distance) hold true here, as the lens sports two different MFDs for wide (0.15m/5.9″) and telephoto (0.24m/9.4″). Both are pretty close, frankly, with the 11mm position requiring you to be nearly on top of your subject (the length from the sensor to the end of the lens WITHOUT the hood is 12cm, leaving you only 3cm of working room to your subject. If you leave the hood on, that length grows to 14.5cmm, leaving you a few mm of working room. It will be almost impossible to avoid shading your subject with the lens attached, so remove the hood to give you a bit more working room. Even so, I found it almost impossible to properly light my test chart even moving my lights right in, as this is what MFD looks like:
Should you be able to get that close, you get as high as a 0.25x (1:4) magnification figure, which looks like this.
Being able to pull off shots that close in the real world are rarely going to happen, so I consider that 0.25x figure to mostly be marketing. You can still get a reasonable magnification by backing up a bit, though. My preference is just to use the 20mm position or somewhere in between. The telephoto end gives you a better working distance and better results in terms of sharpness, but unfortunately the magnification figure drops to a much more pedestrian 0.13x, though even that figure is better than the Fuji 8-16mm (0.10x) and only slightly lower than the Fuji 10-24mm (0.16x). The magnification at 20mm looks like this:
You’ll note that the 20mm position gives a much flatter focus plane. The telephoto magnification figure is a bit lower, but achieving the result will be much simpler in the field and probably much more satisfying in the process. I find a nice compromise is to shoot somewhere around 16mm, as you can get closer than 20mm, achieve a higher magnification level, but without being right on top of the subject like at 11mm.
As is common with wide angle lenses, Tamron has reduced the number of blades from nine to 7 rounded blades. A lens like this is less about bokeh and more about being able to produce nice sunstars, and the seven bladed aperture produces a cleaner looking sunstar.
Tamron touts the flare resistance of this lens, but it isn’t perfect, as you can see. We’ll dive into that more in the image quality section.
The Tamron 11-20mm RXD is a simple lens in terms of design and features, but at the same time I’ve had no long term issues with Tamron lenses just like this one. They’ve held up fine and get the job done, though I do miss some of missing features.
Stills Autofocus
As noted, the 11-20RF is equipped with Tamron’s Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive (RXD), and this will be the first time that I’ve used a native Tamron lens on Canon RF. I wasn’t surprised to find that autofocus worked great, however, delivering fast and accurate results.
Canon’s focus systems are pretty great, and the Tamron works just like a better native lens, with quick, silent focus that is nearly instantaneous in making focus changes.
Eye Detect works fine (as it does almost universally now), though with a wide angle lens like this you have to be pretty close for the eye to occupy a large enough part of the frame to show active tracking. If you are close enough, however, the “stickiness” of the box on the eye is fairly good and will follow the subject around.
Bottom line is that the Tamron 11-20RF works a treat on Canon. All good.
Video Autofocus
That goodness extends to video AF as well. Focus pulls were fantastic, with smooth confidence and no visible steps. Focus breathing is low, making this a very nice lens for pulling focus with.
My “hand test” where I alternately block the view of my face with my hand and then remove went fine overall, though it’s a little hard to block the camera’s view when the angle of view is so wide!
More subtle focus transitions during video capture were generally smooth, and while occasionally focus will stick on a subject when you want it to move, I felt in general that focus worked well. This would be a nice vlogging lens, too. Here’s a still from one of my video clips:
This pairing gives me a lot of hope for Tamron lenses on Canon RF. Focus seems extremely natural and smooth.
Image Quality Breakdown
I’ve reviewed the optics of this lens twice previously, and nothing has changed. This is an optical formula of 12 elements in 10 groups, with 5 of those being exotic elements (molded glass aspherical, hybrid aspherical, and Low Dispersion). Here’s a look at the optical design and MTFs:
If you understand MTF diagrams, you will note that these are very good looking MTFs for a wide angle zoom lens. Tamron does its MTFs wide open, and the surprising thing about the 11mm result is that there is actually a bit of dip in resolution near the mid-frame position with the corner resolving better than the mid-frame area (though contrast is must lower in the corner relative to the mid-frame). The 20mm result shows a more typical slide towards the edge of the frame.
I didn’t find it hard to get results that were sharp across the frame.
Results at 20mm, F2.8 also looked very crisp and detailed.
My vignette and distortion tests showed largely expected results. Here’s a look at 11mm:
Distortion is a constant on all three platforms, with a mildly complex barrel distortion that corrects fairly well with a +9. The standard correction profile will do a slightly better job. Vignette falls in between my results on Sony and Fuji at a +71. Fuji was the worst at a +78, with Sony far better at +46. In my experience lenses tend to perform best in this metric on the platform they were first designed for (Sony, in this case). In both of these metrics, the Tamron easily outperforms the Sigma 10-18mm on RF, as I had to dial in a +23 to correct the barrel distortion and had to max out the vignette slider.
Here’s what things look like at 20mm:
There is a mild amount of pincushion distortion that required a -5 to correct and a bit less vignette, requiring a +54 to correct.
I saw good results with longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCA), with very crisp results, good results, and strong contrast even at F2.8:
There is a mild amount of lateral style fringing near the edges of the frame that you can only see at high levels of magnification.
Colors were rich and images looked nice, in my opinion.
Here’s another sample on Canon:
I’ve already tested this lens on the most challenging platform for APS-C, which is Fuji’s 40MP sensor. Canon’s current highest APS-C resolution is the 32.5MP sensor found in several models. Unfortunately I don’t have access to one of those models, so I’m testing on the APS-C mode of my Canon EOS R5. That’s a very undemanding 17MP, so I’ll focus new information in this section on the vignette performance, which will be unique to Canon. Canon results will fall in between my Sony tests (24MP) and more extreme Fuji tests (40MP). If you have a lower resolution camera (24MP), then look at the results in the Sony test here. If you have the higher resolution sensor, you might want to check out the Fuji findings here, though with the understanding that you’ll see better apparent sharpness results on Canon because the pixel density is lower and because it is much easier to sharpen Canon files.
I noted that I would dive into flare resistance a bit more. I felt like flare resistance at larger apertures was actually pretty good. This shot at 20mm, F2.8, doesn’t show any negative impact from shooting right into the bright directional sun.
This F2.8 wide shot shows a bit of ghosting in the trees to the right of sun in the frame, but nothing too bad.
Stopping the lens down introduces a few more prismatic spots, though nothing too destructive.
The performance actually feels better than what I found on Sony. Perhaps coatings have improved a bit. I feel like contrast holds up really well with the sun in the frame.
Coma performance is quite, with night sky images looking clean other than a bit of “star-stretching” in the corners.
I really liked the Sigma 10-18mm on platforms like Sony and Fuji, but I was frankly a little underwhelmed by the lens on Canon, for some reason. I like the Tamron better here, and a lot of that came down to how the colors of the optical glass meshed with Canon’s color science. The Tamron seems like a better fit.
The Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD is a welcome addition to the Canon RF platform, as it gives another legitimate wide angle zoom option. It’s an important lens, in that while it isn’t new (on other platforms), it is the first Tamron lens to come to Canon’s RF platform. Here’s the hope that this is the first of many, including (eventually) some full frame options.
Like the Sigma 10-18mm F2.8, the Tamron isn’t cheap, costing twice as much as Canon’s own slower and plasticky RF-S 10-18mm. But it is also the superior optical instrument in build, function, and aperture speed.
Not everyone will want to spend over $600 for this lens, but those that do will find a lens that they will invariably enjoy, providing fast autofocus, good handling, and a very good (and consistent) optical performance. I’d say that it would currently be my choice, and that’s about as good a recommendation as I can give.
Pros:
Finally a Tamron on Canon RF!
Great wide angle zoom range
Maintains F2.8 aperture
Relatively compact and lightweight
Good build with weather sealing
Fast, quiet, and accurate autofocus
Shares a 67mm filter thread with other Tamron lenses on Sony
Exceptional optical performance
Good coma control
Strong aberration control
Cons:
No aperture ring
Corners lag behind the center a fair bit
Relatively expensive compared to the Canon RF-S 10-18mm
Keywords: Tamron, 11-20mm, Tamron 11-20mm Review, Tamron 11-20 RF, RXD, Tamron, 11-20, F2.8, f/2.8, Canon, Canon EOS R5, EOS, R, R5, Review, Canon EOS R6 MK II, Canon EOS R6 II, EOS R6 II Review, RF, mirrorless, Canon EOS R7 Review, Sports, Tracking, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Handling, Focus, Portraits, Resolution, High ISO, Image Quality, Sample Images, Photography, 45MP, 24MP, Canon, #letthelightin, #DA, #EOSR5, #Canon, #withmytamron
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
In the course of any given year, I review a LOT of gear. In 2024 I did 108 total reviews, including 7 cameras and many dozens of lenses at all price points. At this stage of my career, I have reviewed hundreds of lenses and many dozens of cameras. We are, I believe, in a golden age of photography. 2024 saw a slight shift in the overall movement towards using phones for photography with more people considering a “real camera” instead. But what gear stood out from the crowd in my reviews? Find out by watching the 2024 DA Awards below! There’s also a summary of the awards in this article.
If you just want a summary of what I covered in the video, you can can see the list of contestants in each category below along with the slide of the winner and a photo taken with each winner. Just to clarify: these are my top picks among the lenses I personally reviewed. I review Canon, Sony, and Fujifilm (APS-C and medium format), and Nikon, so there won’t be any M43 or Leica gear here…even though I’m sure there are several deserving products from those brands.
For the second year in a row, Sony wins with the top zoom lens. The Sony 28-70mm F2 GM was a winner to both me and my audience. Here’s one favorite photo from it.
DA Awards 2024 – Top Budget APS-C Prime Lens (Under $600)
List of contenders:
Viltrox Pro AF 27mm F1.2 (Sony)
Viltrox AF 56mm F1.7
TTArtisan AF 56mm F1.8
7Artisans AF 27mm F2.8
Yongnuo AF 11mm F1.8
Sirui Sniper 16mm F1.2
Sirui Sniper 75mm F1.2
Yongnuo 50mm F1.8 DA DSM Pro
Yongnuo 33mm F1.4 Pro
Viltrox AF 35mm F1.7
AstrHori 25mm 2-5x Macro
Viltrox takes home a win in this category for the second year in a row. The 35mm F1.7 AIR isn’t as high end as last year’s winner, but it (along with the 56mm F1.7 AIR) are big winners for providing very good optical instruments at budget prices.
DA Awards 2024 – Top Budget Full Frame Prime Lens (Under $600)
Here’s the list of contenders:
7Artisans AF 50mm F1.8
7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8
Nikkor 40mm F2
Viltrox AF 40mm F2.5
Nikkor 50mm F1.4
TTArtisan AF 75mm F2
Viltrox AF 28mm F4.5
TTArtisan 75mm F1.5 Swirl
Pergear 100mm F2.8 2x Macro
Thypoch Simera 28mm F1.4
Thypoch Simera 35mm F1.4
Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4
The Nikkor Z 50mm F1.4 is a very solid lens at a shockingly affordable price of $499. In my review I concluded that it was “enough” in basically every category for most all photographers. Here’s a photo favorite from it.
DA Awards 2024 – Premium Full Frame Prime Lens
List of contenders:
Laowa AF 10mm F2.8
Sigma 500mm F5.6 Sport
Sigma 15mm F1.4 Fisheye
Sigma 50mm F1.2 ART
Voigtlander Nokton 75mm F1.5
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm F1.9
Sony 85mm F1.4 GM II
Fujinon GF 500mm F5.6
Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro
Viltrox LAB 135mm F1.8
Laowa 55mm F2.8 T/S
I’ve been very eagerly awaiting Viltrox’s LAB series ever since it was announced, and the LAB 135mm F1.8 did not disappoint. It is feature rich, optically amazing, and sported a whole new autofocus system (Hyper-VCM) that allows it to have quick, accurate autofocus. It’s a treat.
DA Awards 2024 – Which Company Had the Best Year?
Sigma released a ton of interesting lenses this year, from intriguing zooms (24-70mm F2.8 II, 28-45mm F1.8, 28-105mm F2.8) to interesting primes (50mm 1.2, 15mm F1.4, 500mm F5.6), to being the first to move into the Canon RF (APS-C) space with both primes and zooms.
DA Awards 2024 – Which Lens Surprised Me the Most?
There’s nothing surprising about a 50mm F1.4 lens. But what is surprising is that a first party brand like Nikon would release a very good 50mm F1.4 for just $500. My conclusion was that this lens was “enough” for most people, and for Nikon to take the risk of undercutting more expensive options took a lot of bravery.
DA Awards 2024 – Most Disappoint Lens?
The sad thing about the Canon RF 35mm F1.4L VCM is that in many ways it is a very good lens, with great autofocus and amazing sharpness, but it also has a number of qualities that I consider inexecusable in a $1500 lens, like massive distortion and vignette along with some really questionable design choices. I wanted to love this lens, but ended up very disappointed by it…even though you can make some lovely images with it.
DA Awards 2024 – Reader’s Choice Awards
I polled my audience on YouTube over a series of weeks in three categories, and got around 1000 votes in each category. Here are the winners:
Keywords: DA Awards, 2024, Best, Worst, Reader’s choice, Viltrox, Viltrox AF, LAB, Viltrox LAB, #LAB, #LAB135, Nikon Z8, Sony a7CR, Sony 28-70mm F2 GM, Sigma, Nikkor, 7Artisans, TTArtisan, Yongnuo, Tamron, Laowa, Voigtlander, Sony a7IV, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sony E-mount has had perhaps more lens development than any other mount in history. Want an autofocus 35mm lens? You easily have 20+ options to choose from in that focal length alone. I review nearly 100 lenses per year, and many of them are for E-mount. But I realized about two years ago how few autofocusing macro lenses I have reviewed on E-mount. The last autofocusing macro lens that I reviewed on Sony was the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DN Macro…in 2020! Before that was the Sony 90mm F2.8 G Macro lens. That means for four years we have hundreds of other lenses but no AF macro lenses. I finally asked Tamron last year when they were going to make one, as back when I was exclusively reviewing on Canon EF, Tamron was perhaps the main third party player in the macro space. My Tamron contacts didn’t have an answer for me at that point, but, about a year later, I got an email from them stating that (finally!) the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Di III VXD 1:1 Macro was on the way. It’s now here, and I think it is the macro lens a lot of people have been waiting for. It’s cheap ($699 USD), has fantastic autofocus, and is just brilliantly sharp. I want one! Find out why in my video review shared below or read about it in my text review. You can also just enjoy the photos below.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.
I’m doing this review on Sony E-mount, as mentioned, but Tamron is also releasing (for the first time) simultaneously on Nikon Z-mount, where it will also be extremely welcome.
Here’s a look at the overall selling features of the new 90mm Macro, or what Tamron codes the F072:
Full-Frame | f/2.8 to f/16
Short Telephoto Prime
VXD Autofocus System
1:1 Magnification
9.1″ Min. Focus
Focus Limit Switch, Focus Set Button
BBAR-G2 & Fluorine Coating
Moisture Resistant Construction
That’s pretty standard stuff, but it is the execution here that is fantastic. This is a lens that just works, and I love the images that it produces.
And, a 90mm lens is useful for all kinds of things, including making for a fantastic portrait lens.
It also made for a gorgeous landscape lens, delivering beautiful color and contrast.
A good short telephoto macro lens is so much more than just a macro lens, and there’s a reason why I have recommended such lenses to those who were debating about a macro lens or a portrait lens; a good macro lens does all of those extremely well. Enjoy the photos!
Keywords: #withmytamron, Tamron, 90mm, Tamron 90mm Review, Tamron 90mm Macro, Macro, Tamron 90mm Sony, Di III, 1:1, VXD, Travel, Tamron 28-200mm, Full Frame, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Sony E-mount has had perhaps more lens development than any other mount in history. Want an autofocus 35mm lens? You easily have 20+ options to choose from in that focal length alone. I review nearly 100 lenses per year, and many of them are for E-mount. But I realized about two years ago how few autofocusing macro lenses I have reviewed on E-mount. The last autofocusing macro lens that I reviewed on Sony was the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DN Macro…in 2020! Before that was the Sony 90mm F2.8 G Macro lens. That means for four years we have hundreds of other lenses but no AF macro lenses. I finally asked Tamron last year when they were going to make one, as back when I was exclusively reviewing on Canon EF, Tamron was perhaps the main third party player in the macro space. My Tamron contacts didn’t have an answer for me at that point, but, about a year later, I got an email from them stating that (finally!) the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Di III VXD 1:1 Macro was on the way. It’s now here, and I think it is the macro lens a lot of people have been waiting for. It’s cheap ($699 USD), has fantastic autofocus, and is just brilliantly sharp. I want one! Find out why in my video review shared below or read on in the text review.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.
I’m doing this review on Sony E-mount, as mentioned, but Tamron is also releasing (for the first time) simultaneously on Nikon Z-mount, where it will also be extremely welcome.
Here’s a look at the overall selling features of the new 90mm Macro, or what Tamron codes the F072:
Full-Frame | f/2.8 to f/16
Short Telephoto Prime
VXD Autofocus System
1:1 Magnification
9.1″ Min. Focus
Focus Limit Switch, Focus Set Button
BBAR-G2 & Fluorine Coating
Moisture Resistant Construction
That’s pretty standard stuff, but it is the execution here that is fantastic. This is a lens that just works, and I love the images that it produces.
And, a 90mm lens is useful for all kinds of things, including making for a fantastic portrait lens.
It also made for a gorgeous landscape lens, delivering beautiful color and contrast.
A good short telephoto macro lens is so much more than just a macro lens, and there’s a reason why I have recommended such lenses to those who were debating about a macro lens or a portrait lens; a good macro lens does all of those extremely well. Let’s dive into why that is…
Tamron 90mm Macro VXD Build and Handling
Let’s parse out the “Tamron speak” in the 90mm F2.8 Di III Macro VXD lens.
Di III = Designed for Mirrorless
VXD = Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (the Linear autofocus motor)
Macro = a true 1:1 macro lens
I think the Di-III designation is becoming increasingly meaningless for the simple reason that essentially all current lens design is on mirrorless, with DSLRs seeming to be done at this point.
The new Tamron 90mm Macro is a moderately sized lens that is slightly smaller and lighter than its two chief competitors – the Sony 90mm F2.8 G Macro and the Sigma 105mm F2.8 DN Macro. It measures 79.2mm (3.1″) in diameter and is 126.5mm (5″) in length. Macro lenses like this tend to be a little longer because they are internally focusing.
By comparison, the Sigma lens is 135.6mm in length (+9mm) and the Sony is 130.5mm (+4mm). The Tamron employs a 67mm front filter thread that is a match for the vast majority of its lenses over the past five years. They have very intentionally tried to standardize filter size where at all possible to allow filters to be shared across their lenses.
The weight is 630g (22.2oz), which undercuts the Sigma by 80g but is slightly heavier than the Sony (+28g).
The design language is similar to a number of recent Tamron lenses, though you can tell that this isn’t one of their premium lenses in that the materials don’t feel quite as plush. The lens shell is primarily engineered plastics with a rubberized focus ring. The lens has a satin finish with some sculpting here and there along with a raised bank for the switches and buttons.
The raised control bank has two elements: a function button whose value can be assigned either through the camera or via Tamron’s Lens Utility software (more on that in a moment). There is also a three position focus limiter, allowing you to choose the full range, eliminate the macro range (0.7m to infinity), or to select just the macro range (0.7m and closer).
There are a variety of functions that can be set in the software itself, everything from a preset focus position to switching between AF/MF to even establishing a proper Astro/infinity focus point. The nice thing about being able to use the Lens Utility function to assign this value is that you can program a function specific to this particular lens rather than using the default value from the camera. This lens has no AF/MF switch, for example, and that happens to be one of the choices that I could set the button to accomplish.
Very importantly for a macro lens, you have a lot of specific control over how the manual focus ring functions. You can choose which direction it moves, whether it is linear or non-linear, how long you want the focus throw/rotation to be, etc…
You can also do direct firmware updates through the software, ensuring that your lens stays future proof. That degree of customization is great, and I would definitely call this an advantage for the Tamron lens.
The focus ring is raised from the lens barrel a bit in a section of the lens that flares out, making it more ergonomic and visually pleasing. Manual focus emulation is quite good, and the quality damping gives the impression of being a real manual focus experience. It is pretty typical to employ manual focus at macro distances, as depth of field is incredibly tiny and manual focus is really the best way to put focus where you want.
Tamron has included a fairly deep lens hood with the 90mm Macro. It is more than half the length of the lens itself.
You’ll note that Tamron has equipped the hood with a filter window, which is rare for them. The purpose of this is to allow circular polarizing filters (often used to reduce reflections in macro photography) to be easily accessed and rotated. They probably felt this to be necessary because of how deep the hood is.
Tamron has really been nailing weather sealing, and that’s definitely the case here. There’s a rubber gasket at the lens mount that suggests at the weather sealing inside, and Tamron also shows a total of 6 other internal seal points along with a fluorine coating on the front element to give further protection. A fluorine coating not only helps protect the front element from scratches but also makes it water and fingerprint resistant and thus easier to clean. This is a professional grade lens ready for professional use.
Tamron has elected to not include their VC (Vibration Compensation) in the 90mm Macro. That’s a departure from their last 90mm Macro (released in 2016). They are clearly banking on most Sony and Nikon shooters having a camera equipped with camera-based stabilization. I didn’t really have any issues with either my Sony a7RV or Alpha 1, and, if I had the Nikon version, I like the stabilization in my Z8 even better. The Sigma 105mm also doesn’t have stabilization, leaving the Sony 90G as the only option in the trio equipped with lens-based stabilization (though it also comes at a $400 premium over the Tamron).
Somewhat unusual for the 90mm Macro is that the aperture iris has 12 rounded blades. The intent here is for the lens to maintain a very circular shape when stopped down. Here’s a look at specular highlights with the lens stopped down to F5.6:
Minimum focus distance is 23cm, or 9.1″. That puts you fairly close to your subject, but not right on top of it. Maximum magnification is of course 1:1, or 1.0x.
Good macro lenses don’t just provide high magnification, but are corrected in order to give a very flat plane of focus. You can see from this shot that detail is good all across the frame.
Depth of field is incredibly small at this level of magnification. Even stopped down to F5.6 you can see that just the tips of these screws are in focus.
Using an even blade count like this will produce a 12 bladed sunstar.
All in all, this is a very nice package. I would have liked a dedicated AF/MF switch, but this is a lens that provides nice value for money at the MSRP of $699 USD.
Autofocus and Video
Tamron has the 90mm macro their premium focus system, which they callthe Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (VXD). Macro lenses tend to focus slower than normal lenses of similar focal lengths due to have so many more focus possibilities in the macro range. That can be helped via using a focus limiter, but fortunately here that really isn’t necessary, as the Tamron 90mm Macro VXD lens stands out for having extremely fast autofocus for a macro lens.
I was consistently impressed by the speed and confidence of the autofocus motor. I only noticed a slowdown if I was shooting into a strongly backlit subject and with a smaller maximum aperture (pretty typical). While it is true that I will still often switch over to manual focus when shooting at macro distances, the inclusion of fast autofocus makes this a much more versatile lens for general purpose or portrait use. I was even able to snap up and catch a bird in flight.
I recognize that the image above isn’t overly inspiring, as 90mm was far from sufficient reach for that shot. But what matters is that I was able to swing up the camera in a quick reaction and immediately acquire (accurate) focus. Lenses with slower focus motors will often struggle to acquire a subject like this.
I used the lens a bit as a part of a portrait session, and saw perfect focus results with quick acquisition of the eye and accurately focused end results.
I was also able to effectively focus at close/macro distances. Using continuous AF allowed me to maneuver around to the composition I wanted and then quickly snap the shot. This is a great technique for getting handheld macro where manual focus proves much more difficult.
Focus is not only fast, but also very quiet and confident. It moved quickly and smoothly from one subject to another in my formal tests, and when testing for Eye AF, focus stayed locked solidly on the eye as I moved throughout the frame.
Video AF is likewise excellent. When I tested focus pulls, they were snappy and confident. No settling or pulsing. Focus breathing exists but not strongly.
My “hand test” where I alternately block the camera’s view with my hand and then remove the obstruction of my hand also went well. The camera moved easily from my face to my hand and vice versa.
The bottom line is that AF was pretty effortless. Tamron’s VXD is a very good focus motor, and this is one of the best focusing macro lenses that I’ve used.
Image Quality Breakdown
Tamron has been making 90mm macro lenses since 1979, so it is safe to say that they know what they’re doing at this point. The optical design is fairly complex for a prime lens with 15 elements in 12 groups, including 4 low dispersion elements. The MTF looks very good as well, with excellent center and mid-frame performance and then a natural fade into the corners.
Macro lenses tend to be very sharp lenses, and the Tamron 90mm Macro VXD is no exception. It delivers very good detail and contrast and also has excellent control of the fringing that can easily affect macro lenses.
We’ll dive into the technical side of things first with a look at vignette and distortion at 90mm F2.8:
Somewhat surprisingly, there is a bit of barrel distortion present here. Not a significant amount (+4 to manually correct on the right), but not zero. I would have expected that the distortion would be more of the pincushion variety at this focal length, too. Not a huge deal, but it will need correcting if you need perfectly straight lines. Tamron gets good profile support, fortunately. There is also a bit of vignette, though this is relatively insignificant at a +37 to correct. That’s a little over a stop, so not significant most of the time.
LoCA (Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations) present as a color fringing before and after the plane of focus. This can really impact macro lenses because they are capable of truly tiny depth of field and are often used to shoot shiny objects, like the edge of this silver dollar.
I see very minimal fringing there, which allows contrast and detail to be all the better.
I looked for lateral chromatic aberrations (LaCA) near the edges of the frame, where it exhibits as fringing on either side of dark lines, but see absolutely nothing. This is perfectly corrected.
Other than a bit of distortion, this is a pretty flawless performance.
Here’s my test chart that the crops will be taken from. Tests are done on a 61MP Sony a7RV and crops and comparisons are shown at 200% magnification.
Here’s a look at F2.8 crops from the center, mid-frame, and bottom right corner:
That’s a very strong performance across the frame, and the corners look a bit better than I expected. That’s great detail in the corners for being examined at 200% on a 61MP camera. In real world shooting results are very crisp even at macro distances (and using F2.8).
One thing important to understand about macro lenses is that physics dictate that the effective aperture will be smaller at macro distances, so even if you’ve got the aperture opened to F2.8, it will be behave more like F5.6 at very close focus distances, which is why you need a good amount of light for macro work.
At standard distances you’ll find that you have plenty of sharpness even when shooting landscapes at F2.8:
Stopping down to F4 provides an improvement to contrast and detail, though primarily in the outer mid-frame and corners, as the center is already pretty close to perfect.
There’s a slightly more noticeable uptick at F5.6 in overall contrast that is again most noticeable in the corners due to the vignette disappearing. F8 is about the same as F5.6, which is to say excellent!
As per usual you can expect a significant dropoff in sharpness after F11 due to diffraction. Minimum aperture is F16 here, and it is considerably softer than larger apertures.
Macro images show good detail and contrast even when shooting at F2.8:
I typically like to stop down a bit more when shooting macros, as you can see here that even at F5.6 depth of field is particularly small.
Bokeh is a strength for the 90mm Macro VXD lens as well. You can see that the geometry is very good here at F2.8, with circular specular highlights across the frame.
Bokeh at slightly further distances was also nice.
Colors were also very nice, with good levels of saturation.
Colors on this blossom also looks nice.
I did get a chance to shoot the stars with the lens, and coma is extremely well controlled all across the frame.
The lens hood is really deep, so I wondered if flare resistance were perhaps a problem, but I don’t see any particular issues. There is a bit of veiling and a tiny bit of ghosting, but nothing significant.
Bottom line is that this is a really lovely optical instrument that worked well for all the different types of photography that I used it for.
I had a very positive feeling about the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro VXD lens. I think it will do very, very well for Tamron. Check out the image gallery link here for more photos.
Conclusion
The Tamron 90mm F2.8 Di III Macro VXD is a lens whose only surprise (to me) is that it took so long to arrive. This lens makes perfect sense, delivering faster autofocus and better image quality than any macro lens we’ve seen on Sony E mount so far. Tamron has been making macro lenses for a very long time and they are obviously very good at it. I liked pretty much everything about the 90mm Macro.
I regularly use a Laowa 90mm F2.8 Macro for my product photography on this channel, and while I like the lens, it is limited in its versatility by being manual focus only. The Tamron 90mm would be a great short telephoto lens even if didn’t have macro capabilities, but fortunately it is also an excellent macro lens.
There’s no question that it is great value at the price tag of $699 USD. There are cheaper options out there, but not that offer the combo of autofocus, optics, and build (including weather sealing) for this price. I suspect that Tamron will sell plenty of these on both Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount.
Pros:
Slightly smaller and lighter than competing lenses
Keywords: #withmytamron, Tamron, 90mm, Tamron 90mm Review, Tamron 90mm Macro, Macro, Tamron 90mm Sony, Di III, 1:1, VXD, Travel, Tamron 28-200mm, Full Frame, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tamron has long been a company invested in designing all-in-one/superzoom lenses. My very first Tamron lens was their 18-270mm PZD lens, which I owned and used for a few years starting in 2010. That was an APS-C lens, but Tamron later branched into full frame all-in-one lenses like the 28-300mm PZD lens that I reviewed in 2014. These types of lenses tend to be commercially successful because there is a good percentage of people who want the improved image quality of a “professional” camera but don’t want to be constantly changing lenses or carrying multiple lenses. The idea of one lens that does everything is very appealing to them, a sort of “kit lens on steroids” with a much more robust zoom range on the telephoto end. The secondary market for a lens like this are those who want a single lens solution for travel. I own the Tamron 28-200mm RXD lens for that latter reason, and I’ve both given it a positive review (in 2020) and more recently explored if it could handle the 61MP resolution of the Sony a7RV while traveling here. I really like the 28-200mm, but there will always be those who want more reach, and that’s why the Tamron 28-300mm F4-7.1 Di III VC VXD now exists. Is a bigger zoom better? Find out in my video review shared below, read my text review, or just enjoy the photos below.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.
Here’s a look at the overall selling features of the new 28-300mm VXD, or what Tamron codes the A074:
Full-Frame | f/4-7.1 to f/22-40
VXD Linear Motor Focus Mechanism
VC Camera Shake Reduction System
Focus Set Button, Zoom Lock Switch
Minimum Focusing Distance: 7.5″
20 Elements in 13 Groups
9-Bladed Diaphragm
Moisture-Sealed Design, Fluorine Coating
Tamron Lens Utility Connector Port
But probably the biggest feature here is the incredible zoom range that is a full 10.7x, going from this framing at 28mm:
…all the way to this framing at 300mm:
That’s obviously going to be both incredibly useful and incredibly appealing, particularly if the image quality doesn’t suffer too much. All superzoom lenses are a serious of compromises, as the engineers have to try to solve the problems of wide angle focal lengths while also having to cope with the inherent problems of telephoto focal lengths. Part of what has made the Tamron 28-200mm so popular is how good the image quality is despite having a fairly big zoom ratio.
One of the main limitations of the new 28-300mm VXD relative to the popular 28-200mm RXD lens is the fact that this lens is very SLOW when it comes to its aperture. It is a variable aperture lens that runs from F4 on the wide end to F7.1 on the telephoto end, but it’s worse than that. It actually closes down very quickly. Here’s a look at the aperture values relative to the focal lengths:
F4 (28-31mm)
F4.5 (32-43mm)
F5 (44-53mm)
F5.6 (54-77mm)
F6.3 (78-169mm)
F7.1 (170-300mm)
Ouch! That means of the 272mm of zoom range represented here, 223mm of it is at F6.3 or slower, and only 49mm are at F5.6 or faster. By contrast, here is the breakdown on the 28-200mm:
F2.8 (28-49mm)
F3.5 (50-99mm)
F4.5 (100-149mm)
F5.6 (150-200mm)
The 28-200mm is a radically brighter lens by comparison all throughout the zoom range, and frankly this was this issue with the 28-300mm VXD that I found most frustrating during my review period. This is a lens that vastly prefers being used in good light, but if you can get that good light, you can also get good images.
So is that incredible zoom range worth the tradeoffs to light gathering? You can find my thoughts on that in the reviews!
Keywords: #withmytamron, Tamron, 28-300mm, Tamron 28-300mm Review, Tamron 28-300 Sony, Di III, VC, VXD, Travel, Tamron 28-200mm, Full Frame, All-in-One, F4-7.1, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Tamron has long been a company invested in designing all-in-one/superzoom lenses. My very first Tamron lens was their 18-270mm PZD lens, which I owned and used for a few years starting in 2010. That was an APS-C lens, but Tamron later branched into full frame all-in-one lenses like the 28-300mm PZD lens that I reviewed in 2014. These types of lenses tend to be commercially successful because there is a good percentage of people who want the improved image quality of a “professional” camera but don’t want to be constantly changing lenses or carrying multiple lenses. The idea of one lens that does everything is very appealing to them, a sort of “kit lens on steroids” with a much more robust zoom range on the telephoto end. The secondary market for a lens like this are those who want a single lens solution for travel. I own the Tamron 28-200mm RXD lens for that latter reason, and I’ve both given it a positive review (in 2020) and more recently explored if it could handle the 61MP resolution of the Sony a7RV while traveling here. I really like the 28-200mm, but there will always be those who want more reach, and that’s why the Tamron 28-300mm F4-7.1 Di III VC VXD now exists. Is a bigger zoom better? Find out in my video review shared below or read on in the text review today.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.
Here’s a look at the overall selling features of the new 28-300mm VXD, or what Tamron codes the A074:
Full-Frame | f/4-7.1 to f/22-40
VXD Linear Motor Focus Mechanism
VC Camera Shake Reduction System
Focus Set Button, Zoom Lock Switch
Minimum Focusing Distance: 7.5″
20 Elements in 13 Groups
9-Bladed Diaphragm
Moisture-Sealed Design, Fluorine Coating
Tamron Lens Utility Connector Port
But probably the biggest feature here is the incredible zoom range that is a full 10.7x, going from this framing at 28mm:
…all the way to this framing at 300mm:
That’s obviously going to be both incredibly useful and incredibly appealing, particularly if the image quality doesn’t suffer too much. All superzoom lenses are a serious of compromises, as the engineers have to try to solve the problems of wide angle focal lengths while also having to cope with the inherent problems of telephoto focal lengths. Part of what has made the Tamron 28-200mm so popular is how good the image quality is despite having a fairly big zoom ratio.
One of the main limitations of the new 28-300mm VXD relative to the popular 28-200mm RXD lens is the fact that this lens is very SLOW when it comes to its aperture. It is a variable aperture lens that runs from F4 on the wide end to F7.1 on the telephoto end, but it’s worse than that. It actually closes down very quickly. Here’s a look at the aperture values relative to the focal lengths:
F4 (28-31mm)
F4.5 (32-43mm)
F5 (44-53mm)
F5.6 (54-77mm)
F6.3 (78-169mm)
F7.1 (170-300mm)
Ouch! That means of the 272mm of zoom range represented here, 223mm of it is at F6.3 or slower, and only 49mm are at F5.6 or faster. By contrast, here is the breakdown on the 28-200mm:
F2.8 (28-49mm)
F3.5 (50-99mm)
F4.5 (100-149mm)
F5.6 (150-200mm)
The 28-200mm is a radically brighter lens by comparison all throughout the zoom range, and frankly this was this issue with the 28-300mm VXD that I found most frustrating during my review period. This is a lens that vastly prefers being used in good light, but if you can get that good light, you can also get good images.
So is that incredible zoom range worth the tradeoffs to light gathering? Let’s dig a little deeper and find out.
Tamron 28-300mm VXD Build and Handling
Tamron tends towards overly descriptive names for their lenses. In this case we have the Tamron 28-300mm F4-7.1 Di III VC VXD, which I suspect you’ll agree is a bit of a mouthful. We’ve talked about zoom and aperture range already, so here’s what the rest means.
Di III = Designed for Mirrorless
VC = Vibration Compensation, or Tamron’s lens based image stabilization
VXD = Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (the Linear autofocus motor)
I think the Di-III designation is becoming increasingly meaningless for the simple reason that essentially all current lens design is on mirrorless, with DSLRs seeming to be done at this point.
One of the selling features of the 28-300mm VXD is that it has such a moderate size for such a big zoom range. It is larger and heavier than the 28-200mm, but, as you can see, it’s not by much.
The 28-200mm is 74 x 116.8 mm and weighs 576g, while the 28-300mm VXD is 77mm in diameter (3″) x 126 mm (5″) in length and weighs 610g (1.3lb). That’s just 34g heavier. This is one of the big reasons for the slower maximum aperture, as not only does it make the lens a little easier to engineer but also allowed those same engineers to keep the size down.
This is still a lens that will fit fair easily into most bags standing upright.
You may have also noticed that the new lens is much more attractive than the old lens. In 2020, Tamron was still sailing with the philosophy of producing simple lenses with few features but rather a focus on performance instead. It was more about what was inside the lens rather than what showed up on the outside. While Tamron has continued to develop even better optics and autofocus motors, they have changed their philosophy to modernize and improve their lens design. The newer designs (like the 28-300mm VXD) are more sculpted, have a nicer finish, and are more feature rich. The 28-200mm didn’t have any switches or buttons, but just a zoom lock button on the side to prevent zoom creep. The 28-300mm VXD includes a zoom lock but adds several other features as well.
There are a variety of functions that can be set in the software itself, everything from a preset focus position to switching between AF/MF to even establishing a proper Astro/infinity focus point. The nice thing about being able to use the Lens Utility function to assign this value is that you can program a function specific to this particular lens rather than using the default value from the camera. This lens has no AF/MF switch, for example, and that happens to be one of the choices that I could set the button to accomplish.
You also have a little more control over how you interact with the button. You can choose for it to respond at just a tap or for it have to be held down for a second before activating. That could prevent inadvertent bumps (if that proves to be an issue for you). You access the Lens Utility software on a computer or Android device by connect the computer/mobile device to the weathersealed USB-C port on the lens barrel.
In the program you can also control the behavior of the focus ring and do firmware updates.
I wouldn’t call the lens “feature rich” by modern standards, but there is certainly far more customization and control than what was found on the 28-200mm lens.
Also present on the barrel is two rings. The closer narrower of the two is the focus ring. It is raised from the lens barrel a bit (rather than flush like the 28-200mm’s ring), making it more ergonomic and visually pleasing. Manual focus emulation is quite good, and the quality damping gives the impression of being a real manual focus experience. The addition of the USB-C port means that that you also have more control over the behavior of the focus ring. This includes being able to control the rotation of the ring and to choose whether the focus action is linear or non-linear (speed sensitive) in behavior. This adds to the value of the ring.
The second ring is the zoom ring and it is near the front of the lens. It is very wide and has defined ribs on it. That portion of the barrel scallops out a bit, which helps the hand to fall more naturally to it. Focus action is fairly smooth, though I do find that there is just a little more force required in the middle of the zoom range.
There is a double extension of the inner barrel during zoom action, as the inner barrel extends about 77mm during zoom. That fairly dramatically increases the length of the lens and also widens the length difference between it and the 28-200mm.
Tamron has included a nicely made, fairly shallow lens hood. The front filter size is the extremely common 67mm standard that is shared across the vast majority of Tamron’s mirrorless lenses.
Tamron has really been nailing weather sealing, and that’s definitely the case here. There’s a rubber gasket at the lens mount that suggests at the weather sealing inside, and Tamron also shows a total of 11 other internal seal points along with a fluorine coating on the front element to give further protection. A fluorine coating not only helps protect the front element from scratches but also makes it water and fingerprint resistant and thus easier to clean. This is a professional grade lens ready for professional use.
The 28-300mm VXD does differentiate from the 28-200mm by including Tamron’s VC, or Vibration Compensation. There was a time when I found Tamron’s VC to be the best image stabilization out there, but it’s been some time since I’ve been thoroughly impressed by VC on any new lens. It’s as if they can’t really find a way to design VC that is fully compatible with the on-board IBIS in Sony’s camera. You don’t have any way to turn either individual system off, so it is always both VC and IBIS on or off. I’m sure the VC helps, but I don’t find the lens to feel any more stable than, say, the non-stabilized 70-300mm RXD lens from Tamron. I find it telling that Tamron gives no CIPA rating for the VC, as I suspect that means that it wouldn’t be that high. I definitely got some shaky results at shutter speeds (1/80th of a second), which surprised me. I had to work pretty hard to get steady results even at 1/15th of a second, getting only fully steady results in about one out of six shots.
Tamron’s recent trends regarding MFD (minimum focus distance) hold true here, as the lens sports two different MFDs for wide (0.19m/7.5″) and telephoto (0.95m/39″). You can get to nearly 0.36x magnification on the wide end (1:2.8) and 0.26x (1:3.8) on the telephoto end. Those figures are both useful, though I will note that you have to get extremely close to your subject on the wide end, making it much harder to pull off without shading your subject.
I find the telephoto end a little easier to use because of having more working room.
Tamron has nine rounded blades in the aperture iris, and they claim that the aperture iris will stay circular for at least two stops down from maximum aperture. That seems accurate to me. Wide open you’ll definitely see a lot of geometric deformation towards the edge of the frame.
Stopped down the lens will produce an okay but not particularly distinct sunstar.
Tamron’s more recent lenses have had a more upscale build and feature list, but, to Tamron’s credit, they’ve also managed to keep pricing under control. The price for the now four year old 28-200mm RXD? $799 USD. The price for the new, more feature rich lens with the bigger zoom range? $899 USD. The Sony 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS lens (with fewer features and worse performance) costs $1048 USD, so I think that Tamron has found a way to keep this lens appealing and a relative value.
Autofocus and Video
Tamron has given the 28-300mm VXD their premium focus system, the Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (VXD), which is a high end linear focus motor.
The big knock on many all-in-one zooms (including some of Tamron’s own in the past), is that focus speed really slows down when you get to the telephoto end. The only way to solve that problem is by introducing a high powered autofocus system into the equation. I found that focus was fast enough to capture birds in flight without much issue.
In my standard focus tests I found that speed was very quick whether shooting at the wide or telephoto end of the zoom range. I was able to get a few decent BIF (bee in flight, of course!) shots where focus was quick enough to snap onto the fast moving bees.
The nature of this lens and its slow maximum apertures means that you will be shooting in a lot of “dim” lighting conditions. Autofocus often won’t have a lot of light to work with. That creates other problems, but fortunately the speed and accuracy of the autofocus system does at least help that aspect to not be a problem. I took this lens as a sole lens to an event, and while I hated shooting at the slow aperture values (and being stuck at ISO 6400 and 12,800), the 28-300mm VXD had no problem focusing in that setting.
Eye detect worked fine in my tests, both formal and practical. I got effective focus on human, animal, and insect subjects.
Here’s another:
The bottom line is that AF for stills was pretty effortless. Tamron’s VXD is a very good focus motor, and it definitely helps AF prove a strength for the 28-300mm.
Video AF is likewise excellent. When I tested focus pulls, they were snappy and confident. No settling or pulsing. Focus breathing is going to vary according to focal length, but I found it pretty good even at telephoto focal lengths.
My “hand test” where I alternately block the camera’s view with my hand and then remove the obstruction of my hand also went well. The camera moved easily from my face to my hand and vice versa. The focus change isn’t incredibly obvious due to the smaller maximum aperture, thus depth of field doesn’t change a lot.
I zoomed in and out during video capture, and didn’t see any warping and only minimal refocusing. d.
Overall the Tamron 28-300mm VXD is a very good focusing lens. I would say that focus quality is pretty much first party level; I’d definitely take it over the Sony 24-240mm.
Image Quality Breakdown
Big zoom ratios like this tend towards complex optical designs, as engineers have to try to keep a reasonable level of performance across a big zoom range. That complexity ramps up even more when you’re talking about a full frame design. So, as expected, the optical design for the 28-300mm VXD is very complex, with 20 elements in 13 groups. The MTF chart at 28mm shows good center and midframe performance, but with a marked decline into the corners. At 300mm the center is actually considerably sharper, with a similar performance in the midframe and slightly better corner performance. Not bad, really, for such a huge zoom ratio.
And, at its best, the 28-300mm VXD can produce nicely detailed images.
There are always some compromises in these types of designs, but hopefully Tamron has managed to mitigate those.
We’ll dive into the technical side of things first with a look at vignette and distortion at 28mm F4:
Predictably we have fair amount of barrel distortion (a +10 to correct) and a moderately heavy amount of vignette (a +62 to correct). That’s slightly over 2 stops of vignette. Both figures are significant but not bad. Both are easily correctable, and while the distortion isn’t 100% linear, it really doesn’t have much of a mustache pattern for this type of lens. This is actually pretty good for the wide end of a lens like this.
As you progress through the zoom range the distortion pattern changes (predictably) to a pincushion style distortion (test done at 275mm for the sake of space in my test area).
Again, however, its not severe. I was able to correct the distortion with a -8 and get a very clean result. Vignette was lighter here at a +44 (about 1.5 stops).
I don’t see a lot to complain about here. I have seen much, much worse results from many lenses with much lower zoom ratios.
LoCA (Longitudinal Chromatic Aberrations) present as a color fringing before and after the plane of focus. I saw good results at lower focal lengths but saw more pronounced fringing at 300mm. Real world LoCA wasn’t bad in most situations, however.
I looked for lateral chromatic aberrations (LaCA) near the edges of the frame, where it exhibits as fringing on either side of dark lines. I can see some mild LoCA at wide focal lengths, but nothing extreme.
Nothing much to complain about here. Tamron’s engineers have done a good job of mitigating some of the typical optical weaknesses of lenses like this.
Here’s my test chart that the crops will be taken from. Tests are done on a 61MP Sony a7RV and crops and comparisons are shown at 200% magnification.
Here’s a look at 28mm, F4 crops from the center, mid-frame, and bottom right corner:
Pretty much what the MTF chart suggested. Very good center and mid-frame results from wide open, but the corners fade very fast and look pretty mushy. That’s not just a “close distance” aberration due to the testing distances for test charts. Here’s the original image and crops from the middle and edge of the image shot at 28mm, F4 on my 50MP Alpha 1.
There’s great detail in the middle, but not so much in the corners. So does that improve if we stop the lens down?
The short answer is “not really”. Even stopped down to F8, the corners are still pretty soft.
This is a variable aperture zoom, as noted, and that affects both the maximum and minimum aperture. At 28mm, maximum aperture is F4 and minimum aperture is F22, but by 300mm the maximum aperture is F7.1 and the minimum aperture is F40. Regardless of which end of the spectrum you’re on, you can expect image quality to soften due to diffraction after F11.
By 50mm the center is very slightly less sharp, but the midframe is a tiny bit sharper and the corners look considerably better.
Stopping down a bit at 50mm will allow you to achieve pretty good sharpness all across the frame.
100mm is a little weaker, with a slighter softer image everywhere but the corners. Stopping down from F6.3 (maximum aperture) to F8 does make an obvious improvement to contrast.
The same trend is true at 200mm, where the lens isn’t particularly sharp at any point in the frame but is quite consistent overall. Stopping down to F8 does give a mild bump in contrast.
300mm is ever so slightly sharper than 200mm, though I doubt one could detect it outside of a side by side comparison at high magnification like what I did.
I’ve learned to temper my expectations on how sharp a lens like this can be, so I found that my expectations were reasonably met. An image like this at 300mm looks good at a normal viewing level:
…but less impressive when viewed at a pixel level.
As the MTF suggests, one axis (meridional) is a lot weaker than the other, so contrast isn’t amazing.
Part of what I’ve loved about the 28-200mm is that it routinely impresses me for being sharper than I expect lenses like this to me. The 28-300mm VXD, with its larger zoom range, is more in line with expectations. Image quality is fairly good, but not really great in any way.
That’s also true of the bokeh, which at times looks quite good.
This tends to be when using a long focal length fairly close, where compression can blur the background despite the aperture not being large.
That advantage gets lost at either shorter focal lengths or less advantageous distances, and that can result in a much busier background.
The reason for this is pretty simple; the Tamron 28-300mm VXD suffers from some rather pronounced outlining of the specular highlights.
You can see it in this shot, where the background looks a little busier because the outlining of defocus objects.
You can particularly see it in this series of screen shots from a video clip I have of the sun dancing off waves at the beach. I purposely defocused the image, and you can see that the specular highlights tend to look a bit harsh.
At the same time, I don’t want to oversell this, as what I’m demonstrating here is completely typical for this type of lens. Use the lens to its strengths, and it will reward you with pretty nice looking images!
Flare resistance isn’t perfect, but not bad for this type of lens. I saw some minor ghosting artifacts, but nothing significant.
The truth of the matter is numbers sell. Tamron already had an excellent 28-200mm RXD lens, which is, in fact, optically superior to this new lens. But I fully anticipate that many people will choose the new Tamron 28-300mm F4-7.1 VC VXD over the older lens. On paper it is the superior lens, with a bigger zoom range, the inclusion of VC and other features, and a better looking design, and the fact that you get an extra 100mm for only 100 extra bucks doesn’t hurt.
And that’s okay.
Different people have different needs, and some value (and understand) things like aperture more than others. The 28-300mm VXD happens to be a much better than average superzoom lens, but you need to be aware that you aren’t going to get G Master performance all throughout that big zoom range.
But I don’t want to discount what you do get, which includes an extremely useful focal range, an excellent build that includes thorough weather sealing and some useful features, and great autofocus. It is very rare in history that any superzoom lens could claim all of those features, which makes the Tamron 28-300mm F4-7.1 VC VXD a great value lens at just $899 USD.
Pros:
Big, useful zoom range is the largest zoom ratio on Sony FF
Beautiful build
Useful features
Thorough weather sealing
Extremely fast autofocus
Good focus accuracy
Video AF works well
Fairly well controlled distortion and vignette for superzoom
Keywords: #withmytamron, Tamron, 28-300mm, Tamron 28-300mm Review, Tamron 28-300 Sony, Di III, VC, VXD, Travel, Tamron 28-200mm, Full Frame, All-in-One, F4-7.1, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA
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Tamron has been working through their early zoom lenses for Sony E-mount with new G2 versions. These typically involve more features, beautiful build quality, and often a focus motor upgrade (from the earlier RXD focal motors to the higher powered VXD motors). Tamron’s newest lens doesn’t carry a G2 designation, because, while all of those previous things are true of it, they’ve also expanded the zoom range to make an entirely new zoom lens. I reviewed the predecessor of this lens (the Tamron 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 RXD) back in 2020, and concluded that it focused well and had great image quality, but it lacked any features (including a zoom lock) and could use lens based stabilization. Tamron must have agreed, as the new Tamron 50-300mm F4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD is more feature rich, has a nicer build, has a zoom lock, and has image stabilization as well. It has a ton of other upgrades as well, making this a very attractive and slightly upmarket alternative to the previous lens. It’s also priced a little higher $799 USD, but still offers a very strong value relative to competing lenses. So is it worth buying? Find out in my video review below or by reading on here.
Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me a review loaner of this lens. As always, this is a completely independent review. *The tests and most of the photos that I share as a part of my review cycle have been done with the Sony a7RV along with the Sony Alpha 1 that serve as my benchmark cameras for Sony lenses.
Tamron’s lens names tend to be long and descriptive…but not necessarily clear to the uninitiated. Here’s what all of those letters mean:
Di III = Designed for mirrorless (in this case, Sony E-mount, though expect a Nikon Z and perhaps even a Fuji X-mount version in the future).
VC = Vibration Compensation, Tamron’s in lens stabilization system
VXD = Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (a linear focus motor)
Here are the standout features of the new lens:
Expanded zoom range (6x zoom ratio)
Vibration Compensation
Custom/function button
Weather sealed USB-C port for firmware updates and customization through Tamron’s Lens Utility software
Zoom lock
1:2 macro performance at 70mm (0.50x) | also achieves 0.32x magnification at 300mm
Weather resistance
High powered VXD focus motor
Improved image quality
There’s a lot of serious improvements to this design, and while the price tag has grown by $250 over the previous lens, this is a much more premium lens with a lot of serious upgrades. It’s worth noting that Sony’s own 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS lens retails at $1273 (nearly $500 more), so Tamron is still bringing a lot of value to the table.
And this lens is a treat to use. It is relatively compact, handles well, and has gorgeous image quality. That extra 20mm on the wide end makes the lens even more versatile. You can stand in the same spot and frame like this at 50mm:
…or this at 300mm:
That’s the kind of focal range we can all find useful. Let’s take a deeper dive into the performance together.
Build and Handling
Before I dive into the all of the goodness here, there is one area where there is a bit of regression. This is a lens that only grew 2mm in length while adding a number of features and a bigger zoom range. Something has to give, and what gave was a bit of light gathering. As before, this is a variable aperture zoom, going from F4.5 on the wide end to F6.3 on the telephoto end. As you zoom out, the maximum aperture reduces, but in this case it does so at a faster rate than the Tamron 70-300. Here’s the relationship of focal length with aperture with the 70-300’s range in brackets.
50-70mm – F4.5 (70-112mm)
71-101mm – F5 (113-154mm)
102-181mm – F5.6 (155-241mm)
182-300mm – F6.3 (242-300mm)
From 71mm on, the 50-300 VC will be less bright than the previous lens. You arrive at the smallest maximum aperture of F6.3 a full 60mm earlier than with the 70-300mm. If there is any consolation, the inclusion of VC should help to offset the slight loss of light gathering.
The overall length of the lens when retracted is 150mm (5.9″), which is nice and compact. As mentioned, the previous lens was 148mm, so we’ve gained very little length for all of the additions here.
This is an externally zooming lens, however, so the length will grow by about 57mm when fully zoomed to the 300mm position.
The diameter of the lens is 78mm (3.1″), though they’ve managed to retain the 67mm front filter size that is shared by the majority of Tamron’s Di III (mirrorless) lenses.
The lens has gained some weight, however, and now weighs 665g (23.5 oz), which is 120g heavier than the 70-300mm from Tamron but weighs nearly 200g less than the Sony 70-300, which means that Tamron has done a good job of adding the weight of the VC (and extended zoom range) while keeping the weight moderate. Like other lenses in this class there is neither an included tripod collar or even an optional one available. I had no problem balancing this lens on my tripod, though.
This is much more sculpted design than the previous generation lens. I happened to have the Nikon Z-mount of the 70-300mm on hand, and while the mounts are different (that changes the look near the mount), you can see that the new lens has much more style to it. It has a nicer finish and has some flow in and out on the lens barrel that serves both a stylistic and ergonomic purpose.
On the stylistic side of things, this is a more premium looking design. It’s not just a pop-can shape like before, but looks slimmer despite technically being 1mm wider.
But more important are the ergonomic improvements. That scalloped section in the middle gives a very natural place for the hand to go while supporting the lens, and both the function button and the zoom lock fall perfectly to hand. I could use both of these features one handed and without moving from the shooting position. That’s good ergonomic design.
The zoom lock only works at 50mm, and its purpose is to prevent zoom creep while hiking or moving with the lens. It does the job.
The two rings on the lens also benefit from that scalloped section. The closer of the two rings is the focus ring, and the new design allows it to be both wider and no longer just flush with the lens barrel. It is much easier to find by feel and the overall feel of the ring is markedly better than the older lens. This is a huge improvement.
The zoom ring also benefits, as while it is a little less wide than the previous lens (which was unnecessarily wide), it also is raised, falls more easily to hand, and zooms much smoother. The older lens had somewhat of a “pump” feel to it that made you hope the weather seals were doing their job, but the 50-300 VC zooms smoother and doesn’t ever feel like it is sucking air. It’s a definite improvement to both rings. This new design not only looks better; it works better.
Custom/function buttons have become fairly ubiquitous on the better lenses, but Tamron has a bit of their own twist to them. You can always set the function of the button from within the camera, but Tamron will also allow you to set function via their Lens Utility Software. You can access the lens via the weather sealed USB-C port on the side of the lens.
Those with an Android mobile device can connect here as well, though at the moment iOS users are out in the cold. Once connected you can use the software to tweak the performance of the lens in several ways, or you can apply firmware updates directly via the (free) Lens Utility software.
Also included is a lens hood. This hood is a little shallower than the one on the 70-300, and is scalloped to allow it provide good protection but with less bulk. That’s obviously welcome.
This actually makes the 50-300 VC shorter than the older lens if you use the lens hoods.
The 50-300 VC has thorough weather sealing, including a gasket at the lens mount, internal seals, and a fluorine coating on the front element. This is a lens ready to head outdoors with you.
As noted, Tamron has included their VC (vibration compensation) on this lens. This is extremely welcome, as I found with the previous lens that while Sony’s IBIS (in camera stabilization) is effective at shorter focal lengths, it doesn’t offer as much stability as I would like when shooting at longer focal lengths. Tamron doesn’t make any claims on the ratings of the VC here, but it does help in two specific ways:
When handholding video. There is some AI assistance to help get even better results up to 100mm, but there’s also an improvement in handholding at 300mm.
A huge improvement when handholding photos at longer telephoto lengths.
Look at the difference between handheld shots with the VC turned off and then VC turned on (both shots 1/20th of a second at 300mm):
I know which one I prefer!
You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned an ON | OFF switch for the VC, as there isn’t one. If you have a camera equipped with IBIS, turning on the IBIS turns on the VC, and turning it off turns off the VC. You can’t independently control the two, so I also can’t tell you what if the VC works in harmony with the IBIS or in place of it. What I can tell you is that I noticed a lack of stability when shooting at 300mm back when I did my 70-300mm review (no VC), and that I have had no such problem with this new lens. That’s huge!
It’s also huge in accessing the new macro feature here. The older lens could achieve a maximum magnification of right over 0.20x, but this new lens can achieve an incredible 0.50x magnification at 50mm. This makes it also a great alternative to the much more expensive (though awesome!) Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro G lens that I reviewed last year. Sony claims macro status for that lens, though it achieves the same maximum of 1:2 magnification that the Tamron does here. I handheld this macro shot:
That’s obviously very, very useful.
At 300mm the minimum focus distance is 90cm, and you can achieve a very useful 1:3.1 or 0.32x magnification level, which looks like this:
That’s great, but even more useful is the ability to focus down to just 22cm at 50mm, where you can achieve a 1:2 or 0.50x level of magnification, which looks like this:
Even better is the fact that the lens is optimized for contrast and detail at this close focus distance, so the results are genuinely useful. You can tell with a 2-dimensional chart like above that the plane of focus isn’t completely flat, but that doesn’t matter nearly as much for real world, 3-dimensional objects.
The magnification level at 300mm is pretty great, too, which means that you can get close up shots with a much longer working distance if that is preferable.
Clearly this is a vastly improved lens that checks pretty much all the boxes that I could have asked for…and more. This feels well worth the $250 upcharge to me.
One final note: it is rare for 70-300mm lenses to be compatible with teleconverters (Sony’s own 70-300 G is not), but, just in case you were wondering, this lens is not compatible with teleconverters.
Autofocus and Video
Another key area of upgrade is to the autofocus system. Tamron’s early mirrorless lenses utilized their RXD focus motor, which were essentially the equivalent of a well executed STM motors. Their VXD focus motors are linear motors, with more thrust and focus speed while retaining the smooth, quiet performance of earlier RXD focus motors (which were actually usually quite good). I’ve been using the 70-300mm RXD a fair bit over the past five weeks with a loaner from Tamron to see how the lens performed in Z-mount on my new Nikon Z8, and I’ve been impressed with how well that combo does for shooting sports. Things are better still with the VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor.
Autofocus sound is essentially silent. I couldn’t really hear any focus sounds even if I pressed my ear up to the side of the lens. On a separate note, however, the lens does have some floating elements, so if the lens is powered off and detached from the camera, you may hear some rattling around if you gently shake the lens. That’s very common for many modern lenses with those floating elements, but it always freaks new buyers out that are unfamiliar with this. The easy way to tell if this is what is causing your rattle is to mount the lens and power on the camera. If the rattle goes away, then you know it is just the natural sound of the floating elements.
There’s enough thrust in this focus motor that I had essentially instant focus results even indoors in poorer light. With any telephoto there will be a few situations where there is no contrast edge to grab and you have a moment of defocus, but with clear targets focus was near instant. Moving outdoors into better light and autofocus truly was instant. There’s great confidence in the whole focus process.
Look at the precision in this shot of Ferrari as he moved through the tall grass. Focus locked perfectly on his eyes through the blades and delivered stunning looking results.
A chipmunk had a poor season of judgment, as even though I keep Nala on a leash attached to a clothesline when she’s out, the little chippy wandered into her territory. They had marvelous times together (or least it was for Nala), and I was able to keep up with the action as they darted around. (To my knowledge no chipmunks were actually harmed…)
The only limitation here on Sony that I always have to mention is that Sony has continued its policy of limiting the burst rate on their sports cameras to 15FPS with any third party lens. I shot the sequence above on the Alpha 1, which is capable of 30FPS, but I was limited to half that speed with this Tamron. It’s actually been quite a joy to shoot at full burst capabilities with the Tamron 70-300 on my new Z8, where no such limitation exists.
This limitation isn’t Tamron’s fault, however, and the 50-300 VC is a very capable performer. We tend to take for granted how good the AF systems are in modern lenses. Back in the DSLR days I would have considered autofocus like this to be pure magic. When I tested for eye tracking, for example, I could move all around the frame even to the corners and tracking stayed locked on the eye of my test statue. Amazing!
Moving over to video is also generally a joy. My autofocus pulls (even in fairly poor light due to a very dark, thunderstorm kind of day) were smooth and confident, moving easily from my subject to the background and back with smooth, controlled pulls without any visible steps or settling. I saw some focus breathing, but nothing severe.
Real world focus pulls were well damped as I played the lens from one subject to another. This is a nice lens to use for long distance video.
My hand test (where I alternately block the camera’s view of my face with my hand and then remove it) also went well, though my wife has a decoration on the mantle behind where I did the test that is “attention seeking” and the focus considered it a couple of times during the test, though it always got where it needed to.
All in all this is a beautifully focusing lens – well capable of whatever situation you use it in, though with a relatively “slow” aperture lens you’ll want decent amounts of light to be able to get the kinds of shutter speeds that effectively stop action. It doesn’t magically become an F2.8 zoom in low light!
Image Quality Breakdown
I found the 70-300mm to be quite a sharp lens with one exception – the corner performance at 70mm was somewhat weak. Tamron has worked to shore all of that up here, and even though they’ve expanded the zoom range, they’ve also managed to improve the image quality (at least on the wide end). Here’s a look at the old MTF chart for the 70-300mm.
You can see that the performance at 70mm was pretty weak in the corners. Now compare that to the 50-300 VC:
That’s looking a WHOLE lot better. This is in fact a whole new optical design, as the previous lens had 15 elements in 10 groups, while the 50-300 VC sports 19 elements in 14 groups. This includes two XLD and two LD elements along with having Tamron’s second generation BBAR-G2 coatings. What this MTF shows is remarkable consistency across the zoom range and nearly perfect performance at 50mm.
What I can safely tell you is that real world performance is pretty pristine at both 50mm (even up close):
…and at 300mm:
Let’s break it down in more detail.
First, vignette and distortion. At 50mm (and F4.5) there was no distortion to correct, and only a moderate amount of vignette.
I used a +50 to achieve this correction result for vignette.
By the middle of the zoom range there is a bit of pincushion distortion, though vignette is further reduced.
I used a -7 to correct for the pincushion distortion, and just a +39 to correct for the vignette. Both of these are negligible, and I was able to achieve a clean correction even manually.
By 300mm there is both less distortion and less vignette than the middle of the range.
I needed just a -5 to correct the bit of pincushion distortion and vignette was just a +28…not quite a full stop. Not bad at all!
I also found impressive levels of correction for longitudinal chromatic aberrations (fringing before and after the plane of focus). They were essentially perfectly neutral.
This showed up in real world shots, too, with no fringing to mar textures and transitions.
I also didn’t see issues with lateral chromatic aberrations near the edges of the frame.
All good thus far. So how about resolution?
I’ll be doing these tests on a 61MP Sony a7RV, with most results shots shown at or near 200% magnification to really highlight subtle performance variations. Here’s a look at my test chart:
And here are the F4.5 crops from across the frame:
The center and mid-frame look really impressive, though the corners are actually a little poorer than what I expected from the MTF. Not bad, but not brilliant.
There’s a bit more sharpness and contrast across the frame at F5.6, though the corners are still not pin sharp yet. Everywhere else is amazing, however.
By F8 the corners are looking good, but never as exceptional as the everywhere else.
The minimum aperture of this zoom is fairly small, so while diffraction isn’t bad on my high resolution camera by F11, the effects are clearly seen by the minimum aperture of F22-F32 (depending on the focal length). You can see how much softer the minimum aperture result is here:
Moving on to 100mm I find very slightly less sharpness in the center of the frame:
…but much stronger sharpness in the corners.
Real world images at 100mm look great!
If we move on through the zoom range to 200mm we find some give and take. Corners are better than 50mm, but not quite as good as 100mm. There’s slightly more contrast in the middle of the frame at 200mm, and which wins in the mid-frame (rule of thirds) zones really depends on where I look. In this area, for example, I favor the 200mm focal length.
There is some further improvement at F8, but it’s not significant. The challenge here is that the maximum aperture is already F6.3, so there isn’t a lot of headroom to stop the lens down before diffraction starts to set it. Fortunately we’ve got a fantastic wide open performance already. Shots in and around 200mm look great.
Moving on to arguably the most important focal length in a telephoto zoom lens (the telephoto end), I found a mild regression from 200mm in the center of the frame, but with it about as good everywhere else.
I was generally pleased with real world images whether isolating a subject:
…or capturing a long range landscape shot.
One of my favorite things to do at 300mm, in fact, is get fairly close and isolate a subject, as you can strongly blur out the background and produce some lovely bokeh.
In fact, look at how gorgeous the bokeh is here:
The bokeh from this lens is generally pretty nice, even in less extreme situations. In less extreme situations it won’t completely obliterate a background like above, but neither does it look bad.
Your biggest difference when compared to the expensive large aperture primes (like a 300mm F2.8) is that you have a much, much smaller depth of field with a lens like that, thus the backgrounds in more typical shots will be much more blurred out and the subject isolate more extreme. A slower zoom lens like this can’t match that.
It is rarer with a telephoto lens to point it right into the sun, as the sun occupies such a small portion of the frame. On the wider end, however, I di get a bit of sun into the frame, and found that the BBAR-G2 coatings are doing a great job. There’s not ghosting or loss of contrast here.
For the asking price of about $800, this is a really strong optical performance, particularly from a lens that also comes with a 6x zoom range. Pair this with a wider zoom like Tamron’s 20-40mm F4 (my review here), and you have a pretty killer travel kit that covers from 20-300mm with excellent image quality across the range and a combined weight of just over a kilo. That’s pretty great.
The Tamron 50-300mm F4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD is a great addition to the Sony E-mount catalog (and hopefully other mounts in the future. That extra 20mm of focal range really adds to the versatility of the lens, making it more likely that you could get away with carrying just this lens in a variety of situations.
Tamron has definitely scaled up the feature list, making the 50-300 VC a much more robust in its build and design. The lens feels and acts more premium than the previous generation lens, but has also managed to keep the size and weight down.
The upgraded close focus abilities are great, as they add a whole level of versatility to this lens. I think of this as being an alternative to the excellent Sony 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS lens, as while that lens has a fixed maximum aperture and a nicer build, the Tamron 50-300 VC counters with a much lower price, much larger zoom range, and a similar 1:2 macro capability.
There are a lot of lens options on Sony at this point, though I do think that Tamron has managed to find a fairly unique niche for this lens. At a price tag of $799 USD, it gives a pretty compelling argument for itself. There’s that great zoom range, excellent autofocus, the addition of image stabilization, and a very strong optical performance. It’s a great reminder that Tamron has very good instincts for producing well executed zoom packages that are more likely to suit ordinary photographer’s budgets. The Tamron 50-300mm F4.5-6.3 VC VXD will definitely become a favorite for many!
Pros:
Even more versatile zoom range
Considerable list of improved features
More premium build and design
Still compact and lightweight
Inclusion of VC
Excellent close focus/macro capabilities
Fast, accurate autofocus
Low distortion and vignette
Good fringing control
Excellent sharpness
Nice bokeh
Good flare resistance
Cons:
Corners at 50mm still the weak point optically
VC system isn’t as good as what is found on Sony lenses
Keywords: Tamron, Tamron 50-300mm, Tamron 50-300, F4.5-6.3, VC, VXD, Di III, A069, Full Frame, Review, Sony Alpha 1, Sony a7RV, Review, Hands On, Dustin Abbott, Real World, Comparison, Sharpness, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, Autofocus, Image Quality, Sample Images, Video, Photography, let the light in, weathersealing, #letthelightin, DA, #withmytamron
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