Tamron 70mm-180mm f/2.8: The Photography Review

[CB]

As you may have been able to guess, I'm a bad amateur photographer, and as such I've been upgrading my kit steadily over the last year. I shoot with a Sony A7ii, and since the hobby isn't making me money, I'm trying to stick with the “bargain” lenses. Native Sony lenses are cost-prohibitive to the budget-minded photographer, which is why I've been shooting Tamron.

For some history, Tamron is a Japanese photographic component manufacturer, mainly focusing on camera lenses. The 70 year old company manufactures lenses for Pentax, Canon, Nikon, and Sony, and generally positions their lenses as less expensive options compared to a mount's native brand. Generally that means the same lens is available with multiple mounts, but from what I can tell, the Sony E-mount compatible lenses aren't available with Nikon or Canon mounts. Seems weird, but whatever, I bet the mulimillion dollar valued business is better at product design than I am.

Regardless, Tamron manufactures a 70mm-180mm f/2.8 zoom lens. Yeah, I get it's a weird range and it would've made more sense to go to 200mm, but once again, I'm not a business person. It usually costs the same or a bit less than Sony's 70mm-200mm f/4, and is frequently half the price of Sony's 70mm-200mm f/2.8. With that it mind, it brings up the question of if you should save money with this, or if you should just keep saving for the Sony stuff.

The lens is quite bulky in comparison to my A7ii, but isn't cumbersome. It definitely pulls on your neck after a few hours of hiking with it, though, so I'd recommend having a good strap or a bag to put it in when you're not shooting. The lens also has a barrel lock to stop it from slowly sliding out when you're not using it. Thankfully, it's not a whole lot larger than the 28mm-75mm f/2.8 that Tamron also manufactures. The build is a mix of metal and plastic, and the barrel of the lens extends when using a higher focal length. For some, that may be an issue if dealing with adverse weather often, as it could allow for dust or water into the lens.

Shooting with it is great though. The constant f/2.8 is just wonderful, and the amount of detail that the lens picks up is fantastic. The autofocus is fairly quick, though like with all lenses, it has a few issues when it's snowing. And while the 70mm minimum focal length takes a bit of adjusting when I've been shooting 28-75 or 50mm for the previous year, it's still fun and sometimes requires some creative thinking about how to position myself when shooting. I've attached a number of my photos in the review so you can get an idea of what the lens is capable of. I'm thoroughly impressed with how it does.

Another nice thing is that the filter size is the same as Tamron's other Sony offerings. So I can easily swap my polarized filter and, especially now with winter, my ND filter back and forth between my two Tamrons. It's incredibly convenient and a nice move by the manufacturer. And speaking of sizes matching, it fits all Sony E-mount cameras, though with the APS-C cameras there is a crop factor applied.

Really, my main gripe with the lens is no in-lens stabilization. It becomes quite noticeable at 180mm at slower shutter speeds, with a lot of some dark interior shots coming out quite blurry. It poses a bit of a problem as, since it's a “less expensive” lens, I imagine it'd be paired with a less expensive body, which would likely have not as good in-body stabilization. You can see how this can be a problem for those wanting the best image quality for their buck.

But it all comes back to the price. Normally this lens is around $1800 CAD, but it's frequently $100-$200 CAD off. I think I paid around $1650 CAD for it, and right now at the local camera place it's $1570 CAD. Now compare that to the Sony 70mm-200mm f/4, which is also $1800 CAD regularly, which has in-lens stabilization but is also slower. Sony's f/2.8 offering is $3300 CAD, so it's pretty clear how Tamron is trying to position itself for those shooting on the (relative) cheap. I'd love to do a comparison between the three for daily functionality, but y'know, money.

In sum, the Tamron 70mm-180mm f/2.8 is a solid choice for rounding out their kit with a longer zoom lens. The images and details it can reproduce are awesome. The only shortcoming is image stablization, which could be rectified by having a newer body, or by sacrificing some speed by going with Sony's f/4 option.

Any questions, shoot away!

[spacekraken]

Fantastic photos as usual @CB ! The squirrel is great haha.

Interesting about no stabilizer, kind of figured it had one. The general rule I've heard is sensor IS = better for wide lenses, in-lens IS = better for teles. But any IS = better than none, after all. And it probably lets Tamron build a smaller, more consistently good lens for the size and price. If you haven't seen the Lensrentals teardowns of various lenses, they are a super fun read and commentary on lens design, and adding a stabilizer definitely tempts more complexity.

I hadn't heard about autofocus getting caught in the snow, but my SLR uses a focus array straight out of the 90s with only 11 manually selected focus points so that makes sense, LOL.

[DaveyD]

Great shots @CB ! What else is in your kit lens wise? I'm looking for a wide lens for my A7r3

[ttyymmnn]

@cb While I don't have that particular lens, I do have the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 and I absolutely love it. The only complaint I have about it is that the rubber grip on the zoom ring is coming loose, and that's a bit of a drag. I can get it fixed, just haven't gotten around to it. I haven't ever used the Canon L that this is competing with, but I have read numerous reviews on pro camera sites that says it compares very favorably and at a lower price. I also have the Tamron 17-50.

I don't know much about the camera body you are using, but mine is a Canon APS-C sensor, which means that it is smaller than full frame and thus has a crop factor that turns the 70-200 into operationally a 112-320. That makes it great for aviation stuff, but a bit more difficult to use as close up or as a portrait lens. But if you have the room to back off, it makes a dynamite portrait lens too. A used FF camera is on my wish list.

[CB]

@golfr-guy I also use the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 (which I'll review later) and a Sony 50mm f/1.8. I think I'll do an ode to the nifty fifty for that one.

[CB]

@ttyymmnn Damn those are some good shots.

[CB]

@spacekraken I got a lot of squirrel shots when I went to the cabin. They were some of the only wildlife not skittish enough to run when I showed up (that blue jay taunted me for an hour as I tried to shoot it).

[DaveyD]

@CB I have the 50mm 1.8 as well. It's been nice to have so far. I also have the 70-200 2.8 sony, but haven't shot much with that yet. 50mm shots:

[ttyymmnn]

@cb Thank you! More of my work here. Sadly, I haven't been out to squeeze a shutter at the airport in more than a year and a half. I'm hoping to get out there soon. Great light this time of year early in the morning. Sadly, though, not that much activity. I'm going to do a couple of posts in the next week or so on aviation photography and my editing process.

[spacekraken]

@CB Squirrels know no fear.

@ttyymmnn Great shots! The 7D is still utterly magical. Definitely miss mine from time to time-sure the sensor quality is pretty meh, but everything about the way it functions is spot on.

[ttyymmnn]

@spacekraken said in Tamron 70mm-180mm f/2.8: The Photography Review:

@ttyymmnn Great shots! The 7D is still utterly magical. Definitely miss mine from time to time-sure the sensor quality is pretty meh, but everything about the way it functions is spot on.

A friend let me borrow his FF 6D, and I'm not really a fan. I did not like the ergonomics, and there are features that I don't want or need. ISO performance is pretty awesome, though. I think that I will be looking for a used 5D Mk II. Probably will still use the 7D for aviation since I benefit from the crop factor. But then I'll need a smaller zoom for FF, and then I'll need.....

It's like crack.

[AkioOhtori]

Nice! Still a hell of a lot of dosh for a lens, but having a 180mm at f2.8 would be nice. My "daily driver" lens is the Nikkor 18-200mm but at 200mm it is at f5.6, which is a bummer.

Only somewhat related: I just picked up a new lens that is mighty weird. It is a 2:1 Macro (most Macros are 1:1 or less) which means crazy magnification. Here is a sage leaf

[CB]

@akioohtori whoa, what lens is that?

[AkioOhtori]

@cb It is a Oshiro 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Ultra Macro. Honestly mostly a novelty lens, but for $180 I feel like it was money well spent.

[S65]

Looks like a good lens, I was looking at their 70-210 F/4 Di VC USD. I'm still not sure if having a stop more light or stabilization matters more for teles.

[CB]

@s65 I know some places do lens rentals, but the whole pandemic thing probably put a damper on that.

[S65]

@cb Yeah, I mean it's not pressing seeing as I don't much leave the house anyway.

I posted a little write up on my EOS M5 for r/Canon, I might post that here. Just so we get a lil more photography stuff.

[ttyymmnn]

@s65 said in Tamron 70mm-180mm f/2.8: The Photography Review:

Looks like a good lens, I was looking at their 70-210 F/4 Di VC USD. I'm still not sure if having a stop more light or stabilization matters more for teles.

I will always opt for speed over reach. If only because you might want to use your tele in a poorly lit space. I used to take pictures for the PTA at my son's elementary school, and having 2.8 made all the difference in the world.

[S65]

@ttyymmnn True, I was thinking of getting a modern 85mm though. That would help a lot in those situations. I have an old 1969 Jupiter 9 85mm F/2 ,and I really like the FOV that has but MF focusing that old focus shifting Sonnar is kind of a pain.

Tamron has an 85mm 1.8 with IS that looks pretty interesting.

[jayvincent]

I find the lens reviews here pretty good for an amateur like me, trying to decide what to buy next: https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/reviews.htm

Also try this for comparing lenses: http://lensvslens.com/

My latest is a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ultrawide and I too am a fan of the F2.8 versatility!