Inexpensive, great for wildlife

needs to be sunny, not as good hand-held

I'm really enjoying this lens. The f stop prevents me from really using it too much in dark sitations, but it's a great sunny day lens. I find you need to make sure the apature is at around f8 to ensure sharp enough details in your shot. Also, it's quite heavy and should be used with a tripod. I've taken a few hand-held shots with it and had okay results though. You can see samples of shots taken with this lens at the following address: http://www.pbase.com/ccraft/tamron_af_200400mm_56_ld_if_

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Sigma 70-300mm Nikkor 80-200mm

Color Nice range 200-400

Images a little soft, not crisp.

This is the longest lens I have bought. Expected much more from it than it was able to produce. I mainly used Provia slide film. Was able to get good color, but on the ducks and geese in water I shot, could not get the crisp images I was looking for at 400mm. 200mm was better. I decided to sell and am now looking for possibly a Sigma 135-400mm. Would like to go with the Canon L series but $$. I use a Canon Elan 7 body.

Customer Service

not used

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Tamron 70-300mm

price and shapness

brand name is sound not very popular for the one who think that it's too cheap

good picture make a good photographer! I use this with nikon D100 ! the djgital picture have to be improve the color with software anyway, thus no problem about color, the shapness of the picture is unbelieveable!!! it beat nikor 80-400VR away! compare by super ZOOM in photoshop at 400%

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nikkor 80-400 VR

Inexpensive, light weight, nice tripod colar

Focus is soft even w/ tripod, lens does not feel solid, slow f/stop, lens zoom position can change due to gravity.

Nice compact lens but image quality is only fair at 400mm. I'm still looking for a solid, lightweight zoom that I can hike with that does not weigh alot and has excellent image quality.

Customer Service

Never needed any

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300mm f/2.8S Nikon, Tokina and Nikon 80-200 f/2.8.

PRICE!! Great sharp photos, truly compatible with EOS systems, unlike other independent manufactures.

Weight(if your climbing MT.Everest)Hood is a bit cumbersome, use manual focus for critical low light situations.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY!...Is it worth $1,000-$5,000 for one, two, or three stops of light? How many of you photographers out there have ever taken a shot using full wide open lens? Use a very good tripod, try to keep your shutter speed the same as the focal length but don't be afraid to go slower with the right equipment, and bracket for insurance. This lens, for me anyway, has performed flawless and I have produced outstanding photographs with it. Not by my standards only, but from the clients I have sold some photos to. You can pick this lens up now, on ebay for less than $350.00. It has IF (interanl focus), LD, fast AF although it will hunt in real low light, but manual focus is a breeze. Strong, and YES it is on the heavy side, but well balanced. I highly recommend this lens if your looking for a long zoom and can't justify the thousands of dollars for OEM lenses. Remember also, it's not the equipment that makes a great photograph but the person behind the camera. Expose properly, use a good tripod and this lens will cover all but the most demanding long range shots. What else do you want?

Customer Service

I own three Tamron lenses and have never needed their service.

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Canon EF 300 2.8L IS- Rented only Canon EF 600 4L IS USM - Rented only Tamron AF 500 4 IF LD - Borrowed

Good zoom range makes wildlife photography much easier. Good sharp pictures. If you want a good 400mm but not a second mortgage, this is the one.

It''s slow. Use a good tripod and fast(er) film and it will do you well. Autofocus is a bit slow, but a faster body will compensate nicely making speed pretty good (I use the Maxxum 7 body). I would not recomend this lense with a slow body, that may be to painfull.

This is not a point-and-shoot lense. No 400mm lense is point-and-shoot. If you use a tripod this lense will give you great sharp pictures. Sure, there are better lenses out there (APO), but unless you win the lottery that is not an option.

Cheap and reliable. I shoot photos every day and sometimes in my sleep. hehehehehe

Heavy like a brick, sometimes I''d love to throw it at people but the cost factor makes that impossible.

At 5.6 this lens has done nearly impossible shots for me. Concerts with no lighting (Janet Jackson) (Luther Vandross) (Backstreet Boys) and many more. It is a heavy lens which takes some time to get used to. I personally hate using a monopod unless there is nothing left but do hook it up. Using it handheld has not been too much of a problem at 200, higher zooms with low light make tripod or monopod come out of my bag real quick. Check out my stuff at http://www.clevelandtour.com

Customer Service

Tamron always has friendly service and quick return from rebates.

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I still don''t own the Minolta 200 APO lens because everyone on eBay gets crazy when good glass is up for bid.

-Sharp optical quality at all f/stops and distances when used with solid tripod system and appropriate film -Very reasonable price for a 400mm zoom -Very compact and lightweight -Doesn''t "freeze-up" in cold temperatures -Solid construction -Multi-element glass has proven to be extremely scratch-resistant -Is compatible with all metering systems (matrix, spot, etc.)

-A little slow with autofocus -Focusing ring can seem a little awkward to use on manual at 400mm

A lot of people on this webpage are going to give this lens an average review. Let me tell you why: they are not using a solid tripod system! When used with a sturdy, solid tripod this lens takes very sharp photos even at f/5.6! I have had some incredible wildlife shots with this lens and they are all sharp, comparable to the nikon 80-400mm f/5.6 VR. That Nikon makes very sharp photos, so that should be an indicator for you. Should you go and shoot a slow speed film like velvia with it? No, ANY lens from ANY manufacturer will not produce sharp images with a f/5.6 paired with slow film. I''m telling you, for the money this is a great deal, it is just a little slow at times, but with a good ballhead and decent camera body it isn''t that big of a deal. I recommend shooting with a 100 to 400 speed film in daylight. I highly recommend Provia 400 Professional, it always works well with this lens to give sharp, professional quality wildlife shots (even at 400mm)!

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Nikon 80-400mm VR

Affordable and a very sharp lens for outdoor photography, 400 mm is good enough for most applications.

This is a very large lens, especially with the lens hood attached it measures 16" with hood. The push pull seems a little stiff

This is a very good lens for the money, let's face it most of us aren't professionals or millionaires and a comparable lens made by Nikon would cost three times as much, I paid $350.00 brand new with rebate. This lens will do a good job for you under most conditions. The 5.6 aperture isn't bad at all, and this lens needs to be mounted on a tripod anyway, especially at full zoom. I have read in this review that the focus is slow on the N90s, I don't think it is any slower than most of my other lenses, It is much faster than manually focusing any lens that I own :) Aside from the push pull zoom being a little stiff this is a good value for the money.

Customer Service

Not yet

Similar Products Used:

Nikor 80-200 2.8, Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Nikkor 24mm 2.8, Nikkor 105mm 2.8 Micro, Tamron 28-200mm,

Light weight (Hand-Holdable ) Very Sharp
Close focusing Very good
value for the price

I do not like the gray
finish

Great Value

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