Description: This extended range zoom offers true telephoto capability ideal for a variety of applications including sports and wildlife shooting. The lens is extremely lightweight and compact for its range, offers an M.O.D. of 1.5m(4.5'), and provides added versatility with a 1:4 macro at the 300mm end.
Summary: Good buy for the price. Cheap lens, good for begginers, despite some bad things about it - the AF is noisy and slow (especially in 300mm range). I've used it with Minolta 505 SiSuper and was quite pleased with the results. Some samples of photos taken using with this lens are here: http://www.plfoto.com/uzytkownik.php?authorname=abgarman
If your budget is low, you might want to consider buying it. I just bought a Canon EOS 50e camera and no longer use the lens. I want a 75-300 IIIUSM zoom lens, which is much more silent.
Strengths: nice pictures - sharp when needed, soft when needed. Depends on the light. good price, seems to be quite well made - plastic is mostly covered with rubber, feels good in touch and to hold it. Comes with a dedicated big hood, which causes no side effects on the photos.
Weaknesses: noisy AF, having trouble to AF sometimes (lasts too long) at high focal lenghts.
Similar Products Used: Canon 80-200 II (no USM)
Customer Service: Not needed, quite a durable lens.
Strengths: Light and compact, good for scenic photo shooting. Cheap as compared with Canon original zoom lens.
Weaknesses: Not too sharp, AF is slow and noisy. The direction of zoom is the reverse of Canon lenses which bring some discomfort at the very beginning
Summary: For me, this lens was an affordable way to shoot birds outdoors (those little birds that won't ever let you approach them close enough), and it would have really served me well if not for two inevitable, but maddening drawbacks:
1) Rather slow, in fact, unforgettably slow for shooting indoors (forget about film speeds less than ISO400; in my typical shooting situations I just have to use a tripod, which is a bother when it comes to birds, see?)
2) Real slow AF, and LOTS of hunting at 300mm. Sometimes it just won't AF at all! So, when time is short, I prefer to focus manually, which is a bother again, for my eyesight is poor.
I also use it for portraits, and I am usually pleased with results. The lens softens colours and gives good skin tone. Besides, contrast and sharpness are not an issue in portraits.
I would generally not recommend this lens to beginners that are short of money and need their first long zoom. Think about Nikkor 70-300 ED instead, it's not a lot more expensive but it focuses faster and is generally more contrast. As to those "bird photographers" that want more, like myself - it's not all that hard to save enough for a used 80-200mm/2.8 zoom from Sigma. Or Nikon, if ~1500 bucks are not a big problem for you.
Strengths: Affordable
Light and small
Nice, wide zoom range
Does quite nice outdoors when fast & reliable AF isn't critical
Weaknesses: Slow
Slow AF, lots of hunting
Contrast and sharpness are strikingly poor when compared to any professional long zooms.
Similar Products Used: Tamron 80-200mm
Tokina 70-210mm
Nikkor AF-S 80-200mm ED IF
Summary: Great value for the money. You would have to pay double for a Nikon. Would it have given double the performance? I doubt it. I haven't been disappointed with its performance. A little slow apeture wise, a little slow autofocus wise, and a lot noisy, but for the cost, who cares. But I've tried the Nikon 70-300 and it tends to search for proper focus for awhile too. This lens has produced sharp pictures at all zoom levels for my purposes used with my Nikon F80. There are obviously better lends out there for you professionals, and super serious photogrpahers with a load of cash, but if you're an amateur, semi-serious photographer like me, this lens will keep you happy until you win the lottery!
Summary: I need a zoom but Canon zooms are pretty expensive, and the salesman showed me this Tamron. So far, i pretty happy with its performaces. All my maxed (300mm) zoom shots were pretty good. I bought this lens specifically for my trip to China, to get a good shot of the Great Wall, for the price I paid for it, the shots were great. The lens is pretty light. Less weight in my backpack when carried to cross the Junggar Pendi deser across Xinjian, China.
Strengths: Light weight, affordable, good shots.
Weaknesses: Noisy, the AF has a hard time searching in around 300mm (just switch to Manual). Slow in achieving focus...very slow.
Use a stand/mount to for zoom shots.
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