There are a few things to really like about this lens, which Ill get to in a moment. Lets get the other stuff out of the way. When I first got it, it seemed very light (weight-wise) and plastic-y. Doesnt feel like a $500 piece of glass. Construction is more Kia than Caddy. Yes, it hunts around at times and not the fastest when it comes to focusing. Its also locked up on me a couple of times (not auto-focusing, sounding like its binding) and I had to go into manual and twist the focusing ring around to free it up. I have a long warranty and will try it more times before I panic, though. I bought it reconditioned and used some gift cards plus other discounts to bring the price down as much as I could. As a $200 piece, no argument. $500? Not sure. Image-wise, some very nice shots on my limited usage. Buy when the price is right and warranty is in place. Bokeh for portraits is very nice and astoundingly selective. You may need to stop down to get more of the frame in focus. Check the picture of the close-up of the mouth and flute: the focal point is very narrow. Macro is also as good as any other lens Ive ever owned. When I bought my D750 I didnt yet have a macro or decent portrait lens, so this is it. (Update: I have a few others now.) I need macro because (good idea coming up) I photograph my business card and then lock the image so if the camera or memory card get away from me I have a fighting chance of getting them back.
Robert G. Weiniger
4
Id first like to thank the other reviewers here for their precise and comprehensive analyses of this lens, with special thanks to "Capt RB". Your comments were very instrumental in my deciding to purchase this lens, and Im VERY glad I did! My experience with this superb optic has been identical to most of yours; likewise my opinion of this product, as well. So much so that in place of a lengthy and verbose review of my own (and I fully intended to write one, too!), Ill simply say "Ditto!" , but with just a few added comments: 1. This lens is not only sharper than the Nikon 105 2.8 micro, but its MUCH sharper! 2. Overall IQ, in my opinion, is superior to the 105 2.8 Nikkor in every way that matters to me...color, contrast, raw resolution and fine detail, brightness and color saturation, a complete absence of any and all linear distortions, freedom from purple fringing and insignificant levels of secondary chromatic aberations. And need I even mention its substantially better rendering of out of focus elements, or bokeh as its often called. Bottom line: I havent seen image quality like this since I last held a Leica in my hands! 3. Build quality (which cost Tamron that highly coveted "5th star") is just barely adequate; reminiscent more of Nikons 55-200mm budget tele-zoom lens rather than their micro-nikkors. But Im more than willing to live with its flimsy construction in exchange for its absolutly stellar image quality. Im just going to have to be very, very careful how I handle, transport, and store it. Consider her, if you will, as one might a fine Patek Phillipe timepiece...too fragile to take on safari, but of utterly stunning, world class performance. This one shortcoming notwithstanding, I would opt for this lens every time! <UPDATE!> After using this lens quite extensively for the past few weeks, Id like to point out a few important things that werent immediately apparent when first using it. My copy of this outstanding lens features Tamrons most recent improvement to its already classic design, namely the addition of the built-in autofocus drive motor. It is noteworthy that the few negative criticisms to be found in other reviews of this lens, specifically regarding slow or noisy AF, all appear to apply only to those models that use the camera bodys AF drive motor and not to this newest version. I do have one such lens, the Nikon 70-300mm G, and if its any example of screw-drive autofocus performance, then such criticisms are most likely well deserved. As for auto-focus speed with the built in AF motor, let me tell you that when restricted to its non macro range (1.5 - Inf.) this puppy is not just fast, but REALLY fast! Outdoors with my Nikon D90, in any reasonable level of daytime lighting, autofocus is achieved in a blink of an eye, and with utterly no hunting. It focuses faster than my AFS 16-85mm VR Nikkor, and even a little quicker than the 50mm 1.8 AF-D, and much quieter. Incidently, focus accuracy at ANY distance is dead on accurate! And unlike quite a number of macro optics, its also critically sharp at any distance, too. Between the fast, quiet, and accurate focusing, this lens is actually quite useful when action stopping shutter speeds are necessary. While certainly more than adequate for capturing a visit to the dog park or kids at play, I dont know that Id reccommend it for shooting nighttime jai-lai matches by available light but then, this lens wasnt designed for that purpose. In more typical Macro applications, autofocus while neither as fast or quiet as previously mentioned, is quite respectable and most of all, resolute and precise. Over these last few weeks with this lens, Ive also come to re-evaluate its build quality. I put it somewhat above the Nikkor kit lenses, but still a little below my 16-85mm VR Nikkor zoom, the 18-200 VR Nikkor, or the AFS 70-300 VR Nikkor. Considering that this Tamron 90mm 2.8 Macro lens costs about half what those others do, Id now be more inclined to say that while not "Press Corp" rugged, its build quality and construction are certainly adequate for such purposes as it was made. And, yes...Id reccommend it again and again! So, okay...lets give her another 1/4 star!
ARA
4
I purchased this used at about 50% of the new price. I am an amateur photographer mainly focusing on macro photography, more specifically insects. Prior to purchasing this lens, I was using macro tubes. The tubes were ok for the interim until I could get a dedicated macro lens, but I found that in order to get good pictures I had to be really close to the subject, and while picture quality was good, was far from great. This lens allows me to focus on anything from almost any distance while taking stunning photographs. Pros: Colors are great, and images are super sharp when able to focus properly. Not only for macro, but this is hands down the best portrait lens I own. I love the focusing range on this too, as like I said earlier, you can bring just about anything into focus with this lens at almost any distance from the lens. True 1:1 magnification is also superb to have in my arsenal of lenses. Its also a lot of fun to use, and the 90mm focal length really forces you to get creative. Cons: My biggest gripe about this lens is how shallow the depth-of-focus gets at 1:1. At anything below f16 it is impossible to get the entire subject into focus. I believe this is inherent in almost all macro lenses, but I didnt have such a big issue with the macro tubes. If you are looking to take great macro pics using a wider aperature, you might want to look into focus stacking if you are unfamiliar because the area in focus that this lens allows at its largest f-stop when at 1:1 is a sliver of the whole picture you are trying to take. Build quality is also somewhat questionable as well, but seems good enough. The other gripe is that this is labeled as f2.8, but unless you have it focused to infinity, you wont get f2.8, as it drops off rather quickly as soon as you bring focus in any closer--for any real focusing expect f3-5. Also doesnt auto-focus on the nikon d3200 despite what reviewers say, and I tried hooking up my macro tubes to this lens just for fun and it wouldnt recognize the lens with them on. Still, overall I am super happy with this lens and I take it everywhere. Picture quality and versatility alone make this one worth holding on to.
Heather
3
This lens takes extremely sharp images and does what it is made to do. However the build quality of the lens is substandard compared to a consumer grade Nikon lens. The warranty process for their 6 year warranty is ridiculous. Even after filling out the online form and providing all of your information, serial number etc. you still have to print out that information along with the sales receipt and mail the documentation to them otherwise you cannot complete the warranty process. I purchased this lens from Amazon and it is the USA version for 100$ more than the grey market version but the hoops they want you to jump through to receive warranty support are just unnecessary. To sum it up, be ginger with this lens because they are not well made, and while glass is good this purchase has left a bad taste in my mouth. I feel Im being generous with a 3 star rating because of its sharpness, but I wont be buying another Tamron anytime in the near future. Kudos to Amazon for quickly replacing the first one I received that was defective. And no I did not expect pro build quality from a 500$ lens, but I expected more than that.
L. Meyer
4
The image quality of this lens is great. For me, the only negative point is the autofocus, whuch is slow and hunts a lot. Thats common with macro lenses, so Im just being picky. But if youve ever tried the much more expensive Canon 100mm L-series macro...it has a way of spoiling you and making you pickier. I returned mine based on my preference, but I cant say it was truly the fault of the lens. As long as you know what to expect, its a good purchase.
Daniel Rozmiarek
5
Im using this lens on my Sony a99 II. I have at least 8 lenses in my regular rotation. This one immediately became my favorite. I paid $228 for this used lens, but I dont see any sign of it having been used. One of my favorite features is how well the auto-focus responds on my Sony a-99 II. The photo quality is excellent--as good as from my Zeiss and Sony-G lenses. I chose a macro lens of this size for the bokeh effect in portraits, and this lens delivers much better results than I had hoped for. I used this lens to photograph a school basketball game and the auto-focus was fast and accurate enough to capture some stunning action images. However, this lens does not have the speed and accuracy of a lens designed for fast-action sports. Its not designed for that--but its nice to have that option.
Jeanne
5
Im new to the DSLR world and have a Nikon D7000, Nikon 35mm 1.8 prime, a Sigma 17-50 2.8, and Tokina 11-16 2.8. I like to do garden and food photos and this was the lens I finally decided upon. I compared the Nikon 105 2.8 and the Sigma 150 as well as the Tamron 90mm. I just got it today, poped it on the camera and went to the local garden nursery for a trial spin. The focus isnt as noisy or as loud as I was afraid it would be and auto focus seemed to work fairly well (appx 70 percent of my shots were in focus). The lens does extend with focus, but the barrel does not turn so polarizing filters would work. It feels decent in the hand and the weight is pretty minimal. I pulled up the photos in Lightroom and was impressed with the quality and sharpness for my first time handheld shots. I think I am going to have some fun with this lens. Ill update my review with time. 5/4/13 Day two with this lens and I went to manual focusing which is much easier than I thought it would be, funny because everything is so automated these days, I forgot that my eyes work just fine. My photos from today are already tons better than yesterday. When Amazon fixes the customer photo share, Ill put some up. 6/18/13 Wow, I am really impressed with this lens. I used it as a telephoto at a local event on an aerialist at our local botanical garden and I LOVE the results.
Richard J.
5
I just received this lens today and after initially checking the lens for any focus problems with a Datacolor Lens Cal (fortunately there werent any) I made a short field trip to try this lens out. I was very happy with the results. In my title I mentioned some quirks that this lens has and if you decide to buy one pay close attention to instructions, especially if you buy this for a Pentax or Sony. First is the ridiculous way the lens has to be changed from AF to manual. To put it into manual the focus ring has to be pulled backwards then the camera has to be set to manual focus. I dont know why when the focus ring is pulled back the screw dive doesnt disengage but thats the way it is designed. If you dont put the camera in MF and you try to focus the lens and/or the camera can be damaged. This is mentioned in the instructions and this little fact should be high lighted much better. The limiter is very good though. For general photography set it to full. If you want 1:1 the distance scale has to set to .29 meters then set the limiter. This prevents hunting. The range here is from .29 to .4 meters, where at .29 its 1:1, at .35 the image size is 1:2. For normal photos the distance scale has to set at .45 then set the limiter. Be aware with this setting you cant do close up or macro but it will reduce hunting. On the very positive side this lens is incredibly sharp, even at 2.8 and as that nut case Kai on Digital Rev would say it is "bokehlicous". Especially for closeups good bokeh is essential this lens delivers. I couldnt get any high contrast pics because of cloud cover and haze so I cant comment on CAs but Photozone does give this lens very high marks. They did test it on a K-5. The contrast and color seem to be very good too but because current weather conditions Ill have to wait a few days to check again. Finally, I did buy this lens used and was rated "like new" and it is. Beautiful condition, nary a mark on it including the mount. That pleases me immensely as well as the excellent price.
Farelle Flores
4
This lens is a really great macro lens. Very sharp photos, and it produces a beautiful bokeh. I was surprised at how great a portrait lens it is too. I was impressed and excited about the possibilities. HOWEVER, I was shipped a gray market lens which meant I was not eligible for Tamrons awesome warranty (and supporting the gray market isnt something I am interested in doing). Be aware of this if you value your lens. I am shipping mine back, and I am extremely disappointed this happened to me. Amazon was great and totally understanding about the return. Always check with the fulfillment store before ordering. Nowhere on the description did it say I would be receiving a gray market lens, and the price was nearly the same as authorized dealers. Caveat emptor...
Rojaslaz
5
great GREAT lens. Tried last night with my 2 year old and here are some results. I love how sharp the focus areas are and how incredibly creamy and delightful the out of focus areas areas. The lens feels great in my hands and its a great compliment for my canon 7d. Looking forward to using this glass for portrait and DSLR film scanning
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