The Tamron 70-300mm ƒ4-5.6 LD
Di AF Tele Macro 1:2
O
ur cover photo for this issue You would be wrong, and this is one
was taken with a Tamron The Tamron is of the unique aspects of the lens.
70-300mm zoom costing less much larger The Tamron holds its maximum
than £120 from most larger retailers than the classic ƒ4 all the way from 70mm to
or internet shops. The reputation of 100-300mm Apo, 135mm, making it a full stop faster
the lens meant we had to take a look and fatter in in this range than, for example, the
at it, because the current choice in barrel than the 16-105mm SAL. It takes the same
the Sony range is limited to one ‘kit’ SAL 75-300mm. filter size and despite extending to
75-300mm costing £179, and the new The wider aperture 300mm, uses a single barrel tube
70-300mm G SSM lens costing £600. given by the 62mm and weighs only 435g. The aperture
The Minolta 100-300mm front thread glass drops to ƒ4.5 between 135mm and
ƒ4.5-5.6 APO (D) was one of the adds to more light 210mm. Even this is impressive;
well-respected lenses not continued all round and less it’s as fast as the CZ 16-80mm at
into the Sony line, possibly because vignetting. Below: 80mm, all the way to 210mm.
it is thought to be a model designed the barrel fully Finally, at 210mm it does get cut
for Minolta by Tokina just as the extended, the metal to ƒ5 and it only becomes ƒ5.6 in the
100-400mm was. Sony part-owns rear mount with 8 last 20mm of focal length, between
Tamron, and Tokina is part of Hoya contacts, and the 280mm and 300mm. The SAL
which now owns Pentax. Though all macro switch in 75-300mm becomes ƒ5 at 90mm and
the lens makers source components operation. ƒ5.6 at just 125mm – the penalty for
and special types of glass from each squeezing into a 55mm filter thread.
other, the facilities which built the
100-300mm may not have been
Minimum focus
available when Sony took over.
The big question is why Sony did The Tamron 70-300mm manages a
not opt for the 70-300mm ƒ4-5.6 repro ratio of 1:2 – half life size on
Tamron Di lens instead of continu- the sensor. That means a subject just
ing the lower aperture 75-300mm. 2"/50mm wide fills the entire frame
It would presumably have sold for (3"/75mm wide for full frame or
about the same price in Sony guise. film cameras). In Sony’s terminol-
The Tamron is a fairly unique ogy, that is a 0.50X magnification at
design. It has a separate macro range, closest focus and 300mm setting. If
accessed by pushing a switch when you shoot macro on film right now,
you are between 180mm and 300mm buying a digital body and this lens
zoom, and at minimum focus. You would give you the equivalent of your
can not engage the macro range until 1:1.5 mark on your macro lens.
you have these conditions met. Once No Sony or recent Minolta/
you are in macro mode, the zoom is KM zoom whether standard, tele
limited from 180-300mm, but the or superzoom range offers better
entire focus range is enabled from than 0.29X. It also stops down to a
0.95m to infinity with autofocus. rather staggering ƒ45 at 300mm,
It is a slow focusing lens and like not advised as sharpness suffers but
other Tamrons with low gearing potentially useful for macro work.
to drive the AF, appears to be very
accurate on all the Dynax bodies.
A comparison
This lens is of course suitable
for film bodies, and unlike the new We found the 70-300mm to be a
70-300mm G SSM, it will work on fair match for our discontinued
models like the Dynax 9 unmodi- 100-300mm APO (D) overall. wider
fied, Dynax 800si, 7xi, 7000 and so in aperture, and much better for
on. Many owners have functioning small subjects. The 100-300mm’s
film bodies of an older date and repro ratio is just 0.25X, at 1.5m. It
the move to SSM locks these out is ƒ4.5 as early as 120mm and ƒ5.6
of AF functionality with all bod- imaging, and it only takes a little stop-
Zoom and apertures
from 150mm to 300mm. Both lenses
ies prior to the 1999 Dynax 7. ping down to tidy up the results. Our have solid metal mounts; both have
The lens uses LD (Low Dispersion) Bengal tiger cub (one of triplets born You may have been reading the last eight contacts for full D specification;
elements, but it is not apochromatic in the crocodile animal rescue park article about kit zooms and note the the 100-300mm doesn’t go down to
and at full aperture displays some near Ingenio, Gran Canaria) was graph showing that with cheaper 70mm, and it weighs 50g more.
visible aberrations especially caught in movement, at full aperture, lenses the aperture is likely to be The Tamron can be recommended
surrounding sharply focused light and despite the overlay of softness you cut early on in the zoom range. You as a bargain performer all round.
details. The image ‘core’ remains very can pick out eyelash-level detail on might assume that £120-worth of – David Kilpatrick
crisp behind this veil of secondary the 14.2 megapixel Alpha 350 image. Tamron would prove no different. Á
27 photoworld
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