The Tamron is easily as well constructed as the Nikkor 70-300 VR. In fact, the Tamron has noticeably less inner barrel movement when fully extended than the Nikkor although this is comparing a 5 year old lens to a brand new lens.
The Tamron weighs approximately .9 oz (26g) more than the Nikon and you'll notice the Tamron has a much deeper hood. The Tamron lens sans hood is just a smidgen longer than the Nikkor. The Tamron hood is deep enough that I can operate the center pinch cap only by inserting my fingers in at one particular angle. A couple of small pieces of traction tape on the cap grips will be of great benefit.
I don't think the Tamron's autofocus speed is quite as fast as the Nikon but its very close and I'm really splitting hairs here. This lens' AF speed is in no way reminiscent of or should be compared to Tamron's previous BIM optics with their terribly slow operation. I think Tamron has done a very good job with this lens and I'm a huge fan and long time user of the Nikkor.
Great. Thanks for the pics. They look plenty sharp to me for 300 5.6. I had a Tamron 28-75 that was plenty sharp. Now that Tamron has their USD and VC, I'm excited about the 70-300.
This definitely has my attention. USD versions of their 17-50 and 28-75 lenses would literally fly off the shelves... I hope they're on top of that and don't jack up their prices.
Thanks for posting those pics Gaylon. They do indeed appear to be fairly comparable lenses in most respects. If I didn't own the Nikon already, I'd probably give the Tamron a shot. I enjoy using my 28-75 (non-BIM) and 70-200 Tamron lenses, great IQ and easy on the wallet.
If they update the 70-200 with USD and VC and keep it under $1100 it would fly off the shelves.
I tried it out in store today on a D90. Seemed very nice. Sample shots seemed very sharp and crisp (though I only looked at the zoomed LCD versions). Store guy said his Nikon rep told him that it basically was the exact same lens as the Nikon but rebranded. Not sure about that, but I will be buying one when it comes out in Canon mount.
Completely agree about the 70-200. I've been tempted to get one several times, then I remember how badly the thing focuses...
GC5 wrote:
....Store guy said his Nikon rep told him that it basically was the exact same lens as the Nikon but rebranded. Not sure about that, but I will be buying one when it comes out in Canon mount.....
Store is guy sadly misinformed or speaks with forked tongue The lenses are very similar but the Tamron is certainly not a re-branded Nikkor.
That said, I do recommend the Tamron wholeheartedly, its a very good lens.
I joined you today Gaylon. Went into the store to buy something totally unrelated and saw this on the shelf. Decided to give it a try. Put it on my D700 and shot at 1/15 and got extremely sharp shots 100% of the time. Wide open sharpness is excellent, very shocked at this lens. Motor was extremely quiet. I did like the Nikon 70-300 VR, but this looks much better from my first day of use.
Gaylon or Ryan, any chances of some side-by-side comparisons? I convinced my wife to sell our 18-200 VR, and will look to buy one of these after it sells...
I own the Nikon 70-300 VR and am quite happy with it. I am also not particularly a Tamron fan. Having said that, Tamron just had an important anniversary, and released a couple of very special lenses for the occasion, possibly loss-leaders. This is one of them. I have not tried it, but would not be surprised if it was excellent.
luminosity wrote:
Tamron has been making some of Nikon's lenses, so it may well be identical or very close to the Nikon 70-300 VR.
I didn't know that. Which lens(es)? It certainly looks and feels very similar to the Nikon but I can say that performance on the long end is superior on the Tamron. The motor and VC are also unique to Tamron and appear to be much better on the Tamron with my little use so far.
This lens is a long ways away from the crappy motor that is in the Tamron 70-200 and others
JR Magat wrote:
Gaylon or Ryan, any chances of some side-by-side comparisons? I convinced my wife to sell our 18-200 VR, and will look to buy one of these after it sells...
I'll put together a comparison over the next few days using a stuffed animal subject. If you have specific requests just put 'em out there.
luminosity wrote:
Tamron has been making some of Nikon's lenses, so it may well be identical or very close to the Nikon 70-300 VR.
Interesting. The two lenses have the same number of groups/elements but the Tamron uses a 62mm filter compared to the Nikkor's 67mm. Looking in through the lens one can see different mechanics to achieve zoom extension. The stabilisation systems are radically different. Perhaps Tamron makes the elements themselves.
rsolti13 wrote:
I joined you today Gaylon. Went into the store to buy something totally unrelated and saw this on the shelf. Decided to give it a try. Put it on my D700 and shot at 1/15 and got extremely sharp shots 100% of the time. Wide open sharpness is excellent, very shocked at this lens. Motor was extremely quiet. I did like the Nikon 70-300 VR, but this looks much better from my first day of use.
Cool. Seems to be a very nice lens. I hadn't planned on keeping it as I have the Nikkor version but I'm growing fond of the Tamron given its nicer OOF rendition and its excellent stabilisation.
Alright, who wants to see the first samples Initial impression - IMPRESSED! Very sharp. VC works better than the VR in the Nikon 70-300. Sharp the entire range, though sharper on the short end. That is not to say the long end isn't sharp. f/8 seems to be the sweet spot. Bokeh is very nice. The new built in motor is significantly improved over the old motor in speed, accuracy and noise. The lens did have trouble focusing on one shot, the third to last one with the statue. It was extremely dark though, can't really fault it there.
I'm not sure which lenses Tamron makes for Nikon, but I'm sure it's their less expensive ones (comparatively speaking). I can't remember if it was a Nikon rep I heard it from or just a well informed person, but I know it made sense at the time and it didn't seem outlandish. At any rate, the lens looks good .
The lenses are very similar but the Tamron is certainly not a re-branded Nikkor.
