I got the Tamron 70-300mm DI lens - do i keep this???

cruiserlan2000 · 03-14-2007, 11:34 AM

hi all,

just got the tamron 70-300mm DI lens from B&H (paid $189 though). i was excited to open the box but when i saw the lens - it's really big compare to pentax 50-200mm. and what disappoints me was that the lens was assembled in china. i guess it's hard to find made in japan lens nowadays. i thought that tamron lens are made in japan. haven't tried this yet but i am not so sure if i am going to like it due to it's big size. any thoughts? is this a keeper? actually what i want to have is a lens that i can use for portraits and some zoom and macro capability. maybe a one in all but not really i hope.

thanks,
cruiserlan2000

barks21 · 03-14-2007, 01:53 PM

There have been many very good reviews of this lens, here and on other sites. If you are looking for a reasonable price telephoto zoom this lens is at the top of most peoples list along with the sigma. If you are looking for a portrait lens this is not the best choice, a bit long. I am not sure what your main intentions with the lens are, but give it a try and see if you like the range and the images it produces. As for the size, relatively speaking, it is not a huge lens-it is long but the weight is reasonable. All in all for $189 I think the lens is quite a bargain. Good luck.

*Alvin* · 03-14-2007, 01:55 PM

Hey Cruiser,

The 70-300 Tamron and Sigma have roughly the same dimentions with a slight advantage to the Tamron - 3" diameter barrel, 4.6" (Tamron) or 4.8" (Sigma) length. Weight advantage also goes to the Tamron - 15.3 oz vs. 19.4 oz.

The Pentax 75-300 FA J which does not have macro is 2.7" diameter and 4.6" in length. 13.6 oz

The Pentax 50-200, which also does not have a macro feature, is 2.6" diameter, and 3.1" length. 9.0 oz

For the price you paid, there are not too many lenses at the size of the Tamron that can provide a macro feature with those focal lengths.

If you go used, you might be lucky. My buddy has a fixed 135mm Gemini with a 1:5 macro feature that he mounts on his old K1000 film body. Great little lens and it works with my K100D. I'm not too sure of its dimensions, but it's smaller than the kit lens, diameter wise and length. It's heavier too because of the all metal construction. The other downer - you'll be stuck using it in M or Av mode.

cruiserlan2000 · 03-14-2007, 02:06 PM

thanks guys. since it's been sunny in california now (finally) i think i will hit the road and try this one out and see how i will like it. honestly i was searching the web and from some advices it seems that people that are in portrait photography used telephoto lens, too. i know i can get a better picture out of the 43 or 77 or maybe 16-45 but i want portrait picture with clear lines and not some sort of distorted or stretched. maybe in time i will be able to splurge on the limited lens. also when i see all these press people lined up taking pictures of a speaker or something - you can tell that they all have telephoto lens. my intent actually is mostly portrait and some tele pictures with macro. hope this will serve me well. will keep you gusy posted.....

appreciate it,
cruiserlan2000

ps. alvin, my co-workers went to barrio fiesta and i had to skip it as i am working @ home. darn - i will miss crispy pata and kare-kare....later....

*Alvin* · 03-14-2007, 02:20 PM

alvin, my co-workers went to barrio fiesta and i had to skip it as i am working @ home. darn - i will miss crispy pata and kare-kare....later....

MMMMMM!! *stomach grumbles* It's not even quitting time yet and you've got me hungry! Jon, Trailseeker and I should go over there and visit.

To those who don't know and are reading this:

crispy pata = deep fried pork leg
Crispy Pata

kare-kare = ox stew
Kare-kare

GLThorne · 03-15-2007, 09:26 AM

I'm willing to try anything......once!

I owned the Tamron 70-300 LD Di for a week but returned it to Porter's. Nothing wrong with it - I only had my eye on the Sigma 100-300 F/4. While I had it, it's not a bad lens for the green. It does search in auto focus a bit more than my Tamron 18-200 XR Di II, but then it cost half as much as it did as well. I took a few macro shots with it and posted them here. Some purple fringing, but not that bad again for a lense in this price range. Not that heavy as well making it a good day trip lens. Nothing compared to the Sigma in weight, but that's what I wanted and now I couldn't be happier. Well, mabe if I could score a FA* 600..........(Alvin - don't tell the wife I just said that!!!

)

FotoPete · 03-15-2007, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by cruiserlan2000

hi all,

just got the tamron 70-300mm DI lens from B&H (paid $189 though). i was excited to open the box but when i saw the lens - it's really big compare to pentax 50-200mm. and what disappoints me was that the lens was assembled in china. i guess it's hard to find made in japan lens nowadays. i thought that tamron lens are made in japan. haven't tried this yet but i am not so sure if i am going to like it due to it's big size. any thoughts? is this a keeper? actually what i want to have is a lens that i can use for portraits and some zoom and macro capability. maybe a one in all but not really i hope.

thanks,
cruiserlan2000

Haha well, pentax/samsung dslrs are assembled in the Philippines..and the DA lenses are made in Vietnam. Whats your point. :P. I'm sure Tamron has some degree of quality control on their manufacturing facilities in China.