Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro Lens

Fast and near-silent USD autofocus, with full-time manual override ; Very effective 4-sto Vibration Correction ; Shar at all but the longest zoom setting

Lacks sharness at 300mm zoom setting with widest f ; 5.6 aerture ; 50 more exensive than Sigma's 70-300mm OS lens

The only disappointment with the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD is a lack of sharpness at the longest telephoto zoom setting, at anything outside an aperture range of f/8-16.

Fast and near-silent USD autofocus, with full-time manual override ; Very effective 4-stop Vibration Correction ; Sharp at all but the longest zoom setting

Lacks sharpness at 300mm zoom setting with widest f/5.6 aperture ; 50 more expensive than Sigma's 70-300mm OS lens

The only disappointment with the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD is a lack of sharpness at the longest telephoto zoom setting, at anything outside an aperture range of f/8-16.

Excellent optical quality ; Very good macro capability ; Relatively lightweight for its class, but still generally solid build ; Low price

Slow and noisy autofocus motor ; Somewhat clunky manual focus switchover mechanism ; Tendency towards slight misfocusing (at least in Canon mount)

The SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro is certainly a very creditable effort by Tamron to produce a high quality, yet affordable fast telephoto zoom. Indeed if we look solely at the studio optical tests, it is a resounding success, as the technical...

With the SP AF70-200mm Di LD (IF) MACRO (Model A001) selling for just over $1000 in Australia and the average selling price of the new lens around $1500, you might wonder whether the advantages of the VC stabilisation and USM focusing motor are worth...

Very good optical performance; Good build quality; Ultrasonic drive; Effective vibration compensation system

Focusing a little slower than other silent focusing systems I've used