Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD for Sony Full Frame/APS-C E-Mount, Black

After a lifetime of shooting with Canon cameras, I recently switched to the Sony mirrorless system with a Sony a9. With a Sigma lens adapter, I can still use my amazing Canon lenses, but being that they are non-native lenses to the Sony, they work for stationary and slow to medium moving subjects. The Canon lenses can't keep up with the fast action that the Sony a9 camera body is so famous for. So I knew that a few new lenses need to be added. I've spent enough time behind a camera to know pretty quickly whether a lens is working for me or not. After testing several Sony lenses that were lack-luster and were returned, I decided to give this one a try. I have the equivalent of this lens from Canon. And it is the finest lens that I own. To my shock and amazement, this little gem of Tamron's is exceeding my expectations. It's about half the weight, half the size and a fraction of the price of my equivalent Canon lens. Why did I need this if I already have the Canon 2.8 lens you ask? Because I have no interest in hiking, walking and exploring long distances with a lens the size and weight of a sewer pipe hanging around my neck. This little Tamron is the perfect hiking companion. It is much more of a "walk-about" lens than my Canon one is. For me there are two things that I look for in any camera lens. A: Sharpness B: Consistency of performance. This lens aces both. I will pay more for these qualities, but in this case, you don't have to. The fixed 2.8 aperture is such an amazing thing to have in a lens and this lens syncs up with my Sony a9 perfectly. There is a slight "clunking" sound when the lens focuses, but with the reading that I've done, this is normal, so it's fine. I've found that I can get to within about 14" of my subject while zoomed all the way in, which gives this lens a bit of a "macro" feature...not a true macro, but very nice for a mid-range zoom. Tamron used a lot of plastic on this lens to keep the weight down. It feels very solid to me. I'm not hard on my camera gear, so I don't see that as a problem. Also, there is no image stabilization within the lens. I shot in all kinds of light and I admit that I've got a fairly steady hand, so that is not going to be an issue for me at all. And my camera body has some stabilization built in to it. For the money, you just can't beat this lens for your Sony E mount cameras. There is a reason that most photographers are giving this thing five stars. I'll let my images speak for themselves.

Pros - Great Build Quality - Relative light weight, well-balanced on the camera - Compact for it's focal length and brightness - Large, comfortable Zoom Ring - 1:2 Macro Capability in Manual Focus Mode - Sharp nearly through the zoom range and across the frame - Fun to shoot with! Cons - No lens stabilization - No autofocus switch or function button - Stops at 180mm instead of 200mm - Manual Ring close to the camera body versus on the end of the lens Long Review I had already owned the Sony FE 70-200 f/4 lens which I really liked but noticed that I wasn't using much. I tried using it for indoor photography with a Speedlite (flash), but the ISO levels were much higher than I felt comfortable with due to the f/4 limitation. It was also considerably bulkier than my 24-70 f/2.8; especially, with the tripod mount attached to the lens. Finally, the minimum focal distance was frankly terrible. I could get considerably closer to my subject with my 24-70 vs the 70-200, thus I shot the 24-70 almost all the time. After hearing rave reviews about the Tamron, and the ability to do Macro(ish) photography, I purchased the Tamron and placed the two head to head. Sharpness I didn't do much pixel peeping, but it seemed to me in the center of the frame, both the Sony and Tamron were sharp. The Sony fell apart in the corners pretty badly wide open. The Tamron definitely was sharper in the corners wide open (even at a full stop faster), but certainly not as sharp as the center of the frame. Brightness Aperture-wise the Tamron is a full stop faster than the Sony (f/2.8 vs f/4), but it actually seemed to pull in 1.25-1.5 stops of light. That is, in some situations where the Sony shot at ISO 800 at f/4, the Tamron seemed to be around ISO 300 at f/2.8 vs the expected ISO 400. I credit this to the due to the fact that light "transmission" of the lens is different than aperture. It just might be that the Sony has more lens elements and coatings that reduce light transmission versus the Tamron. To any effect, it was a nice little bonus. Minimum Focus Distance In autofocus mode, the Tamron can definitely get closer to a subject than the Sony, but reproduction ratio is still not as good as my Sony 24-70 f/2.8. Switching the Tamron to manual mode, and adjusting the Zoom ring to 70mm, you can get as close as 1:2 which is getting close to Macro territory. The center sharpness seems quite good at this setting, but it does get quite soft toward the edges of the frame. This is the only time that I missed having the manual focus ring on the end of the lens as I found it hard to hold the camera lens steady with my hand placed so close to the camera body. It's neat you get that bonus feature out of the lens, but those that want quality Macro images should still get a dedicated Macro lens. Low-Light Performance The Tamron seemed to get an additional 1-1.5 stops of light over my Sony depending on the focal length, but the Sony has lens Optical Image Stabilization built-in. With the Optical Image Stabilization turned ON, I was able to get (reliably) an additional 1-1.5 stops out of the shutter speed for still subjects. On the other hand, for moving subjects, the Tamron has the advantage as you can have faster shutter speeds with better Iso performance over the Sony. Indoor Photography with Speedlite Even with a Speedlite, I find larger apertures to be preferred. The larger the aperture, the brighter the background is which makes for more pleasing, natural looking photos. The Tamron created more pleasing images, at faster shutter speeds (or better ISO performance) than the Sony. Build Quality Reviewers lamented at Tamron's plastic housing calling it cheap and "kit lens" like. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the housing is plastic, not metal, but the zoom and manual focus rings have a nice, smooth feel to them. In addition, while not terribly heavy, there is some heft to the Tamron lens and it feels solid. Finally, there is a nice tactile feel of the (huge) rubber Zoom Ring and Manual Focus ring. I will say that the Sony feels like a tank with its metal housing and internal zoom, but the Tamron is no "kit lens", it feels substantial in the hand and I personally like the black finish to the Sony's white. To be honest, after testing both lenses, I was conflicted if I really wanted to get rid of my Sony. Tamron seemed to only slightly edge out the Sony in all of my tests. But the deal-breaker was when I used the Tamron out in the field. It takes up less space in my bag and feels so much better in the hand than my Sony ever did. The fast aperture meant that I could pump up my shutter speed to freeze action or eek out better ISO performance. Where as with the Sony, I would shoot a little bit and then switch back to my 24-70, the Tamron I just enjoyed shooting so much that I would keep it on for much of the day. Needless to say, I sold my Sony and kept the Tamron.

Easy way to fill out your Zoom-range Trinity (Wide, Standard, Telephoto). Sometimes, it does suck to not have the 180mm-200mm range most f2.8 Telephotos have, but the size and weight are great for those who want a lighter load (ish) or travel. Works great on my Sony A7 iv, though of course Sony puts a limiter for all non-Sony lenses to keep that in mind. Still, very minor complaints and can recommend for pro-casuals and starting out pros. (or those who need a lighter / smaller load).

I gave this lens 5/5 because i think it's really quite a stellar engineering achievement. That doesn't mean there aren't negatives to the lens. It just means that i understand that trade-offs had to be there to ensure that the lens is realizable. For example, you can't deride this lens's light plastics and telescoping zoom if you enjoy its compactness, lightness and cost. Nor can you say that it's missing image stabilization, as that too reduces the lens weight, size and cost. The only point of ****CAUTION**** i have about this lens, as well as all Tamron lenses purchased on Amazon. Even if you purchase it from Amazon Prime (ie NOT a 3rd party seller), you will NOT receive the Canadian warranty. WARNING! I emailed Tamron to confirm and they did indeed state that Amazon is not an authorized reseller of Tamron products.

El día que lo estrené lo llevé a un jardín botánico, y tomé muy buenas fotos de las plantas, con enfoque selectivo. También me gustaron las fotos de la familia desenfocado los distractores del fondo en una zona con muchas personas y coches

What a beast! Images are so crispy and clear. 180mm will fulfill almost all your zoom-in needs for an event videography unless you need a lense for wildlife or bird photography. 180mm is enough and the performance of this lense......just go for it!!

Diese Linse ist einfach super, schnell, scharf, eon Erlebnis zu benutzen!

アウトフォカスと画質が良いです 欠点のは画像安定化がないです