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mahonet
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Registered: Nov 30, 2008
Location: Finland
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 17, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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image quality really impressive.
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Cons:
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slow af. The "click-clack" -system in focusing ring does not feel always good.
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Excellent macro lens! Optically impressive and leaves just nothing to desire. Really sharp in all apertures, CA well in controll, colours are beautiful, no distortion, vignetting minimal. This is not an easy lens to handle, because Dof is very short in large apertures and because of the slow af the "click-clack" (af-to-mf) -system in focusing ring must be used a lot. But, all in all, after some practice the lens works fine and the most important, the results, are always good. I do not hesitate to recommend this lens. In my opinion belongs to the same league as Canon ef 135 f2.
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 Aug 17, 2009
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lamontsanders
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Registered: Apr 7, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 44
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Review Date: Jun 1, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Incredibly sharp, not too heavy, very very very high IQ, contrast and colors are beautiful and accurate, absolute bargain
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Cons:
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AF takes a while if you are not already in the ballpark. I usually AF and then fine tune my MF.
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I used EF-s Canon 60mm F/2.8 and needed more working distance. I did not want to sacrifice IQ or 1200 dollars for a specialized lens. After reviewing all sorts of samples, charts, internet forums, etc. I realized that the Canon is better built. It's sexier. It has the red ring. Optically, however, it is no better than the Tamron. The DOF is really small at 3.5, but even wide open the lens takes amazing shots. I can't recommend the lens highly enough; it feels very solid in hand. It is not as solid as my 70-200 F/4L, but it's in the ballpark; more solid than my Sigma 50/1.4. If you need working distance and you don't plan on spending 700 more dollars for the same performance (most tests indicate the Tamron is actually the superior lens optically), then do the right thing and buy this lens. You will love it.
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Jun 1, 2009
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svx94
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Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 591
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Review Date: Feb 1, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, good color, good AF speed for non-macro use, nice design of the filter turner, good build
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Cons:
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no manual focus override in AF.
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Like all Tamron lenses, the whole package is impressive. Very nice build, good and solid body, lens case is nice and useful. On my Canon 20D, the lens focus quite fast for non-macro use. Macro focus is a challenge as all macro lenses. The biggest problem is when you switch to AF, MF is totally disengaged, there is no manual override like Canon's new USM lenses.
IQ is very good, especially the color. I do notice the contrast is not as high as Nikon's 105mm/2.8 VR, which gets the hi-tech Nano coating. But Canon lenses are no match to Nikon's Nano coated lenses.
The lens filter section has a turning ring, so you can use c-PL filter with hood on. Very nice and useful.
It performs well as portrait lens too.
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Feb 1, 2009
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boraxx
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Registered: Oct 9, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 9, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $625.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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The working distance, about 2 feet, is perfect for insects or other creatures that would get scared and move away if you got any closer. Images sharp.
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Cons:
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Not really a negative, but the lens' build is not up to par with Canon L lenses.
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I haven't used other comparable lenses, but this lens was perfect in quality and usability. I really think the working distance, about 2 feet, is perfect for insects or other creatures that would get scared and move away if you got any closer. Here are some shots I took with this lens: http://obscuredclarity.blogspot.com/2008/10/tamron-af-180mm-f35-11-macro-lens.html
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Oct 9, 2008
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penghai
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Registered: May 21, 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 347
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Review Date: Feb 9, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $660.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp
Excellent and very sweet MF
Compact size
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Cons:
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Noisy AF
Build not in par with Canon 100 and Sigma 150.
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I have used Canon 100 f2.8 macro and Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro for Canon for a few years. I just switched to Nikon and did an extensive research for a new macro lens since I like to shoot close ups like flowers and butterflies. During the research, I found this lens was mentioned many times to have excellent optics, but seems often get ignored due to another excellent macro lens, the Sigma 150 f2.8 macro. And this lens doesn't seem very popular. Since I have used the Canon 100 f2.8 macro and Sigma 150 mm f2.8 for quite a few years, I decided to try something new for my new Nikon D300 camera.
I just got my new lens for a few days. All I can say is "Wow!" . It's incredibly sharp. I did a focus chart test and this lens is proably the best, in par with my Canon 300 f2.8 IS. The focus is dead-on. And the images from this lens are so sharp that it's simply sharper than both of my Sigma 150 for Canon and Canon's 100 f2.8 AF lenses. It's probably in par with my best lens, the Canon 300 f2.8 IS.
The AF on this lens is really noisy, like a typical Tamron lenses. But what make this lens stand out is the MF (manual focus). The MF is very fine, that is, you need to rotate the focus ring a lot to change focus from one point to another, kind like a very fine mechanical machine. The MF mechanism is so smooth that everytime I use it I just felt it's so SWEET. The adjustment is very fine that you can easily tell whether a part is in focus. And I can use my bare eye through the D300 view finder to do MF without the need of an angle finder (Canon term, don't know the corresponding part for Nikon yet.)
The boken and background from this lens is simply georgeous! This matches exactly what I found out duiring my research.
Many people say the 180 macro is big whe ncompared to the Sigma 150 and the 100's macrps. Not true with this lens. I found the size for this lens is comparable to the Sigma 150 f2.8. It's probably a little bit smaller but with a longer and bigger hood. From the B&H web sites, it shows the same weight as the Sigma 150.
The max aperature for this lens is f3.5. However, the lens at f3.5 is sharper than my Sigma 150 at f2.8, though which is usable too. I cetainly wish it has f2.8, but it only cost USD$600. I'm satisfied!
The only real issue I found with this lens is its built : purely plastic. So far it's good and I can only wish it will last. The tripod collar is solid, though not comparable to the Sigma 150, it's better than the add-on Canon tripod collars I bought for my Canon 200 f2.8 and Canon 70-200 f4 IS lenses.
Overall, I like it and now I'm even considering to get its little brother too: the Tamron 90mm macro.
I'd recommend this lens to any one if image quality is your main concern!
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Feb 9, 2008
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foto_man
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Registered: Aug 29, 2007
Location: China
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 23, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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very sharp when wide open, stunning sharpness after stop down a bit
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Cons:
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Need time to get use to the focusing mode
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Got a good copy from ebay. It's a very sharp lens and the sharpness is at least on par with Canon's counterpart. Once you get use to the focusing mode, you can even use this lens to take photos of fast-moving butterflies! Highly recommended.
Some samples at http://www.dchome.net/viewthread.php?tid=292240&extra=page%3D2%26amp%3Bfilter%3Dtype%26amp%3Btypeid%3D20
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Sep 23, 2007
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bitbytes9
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Registered: Jan 21, 2005
Location: Malaysia
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Sep 13, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very Good
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Cons:
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Don't have full/limit switch.
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Very good.
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Sep 13, 2007
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nivenu
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Registered: Jul 16, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Jan 28, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Extremely sharp, good build quality, tripod collar included.
Good focal length for creepy crawly macro.
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Cons:
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None that effect its fine optical performance,
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It was a tough decision between choosing this lens and the Canon 180mm macro. After trying some shots with the Tamron I was convinced it was for me. It turns in excellent sharpness and very good contrast. Ideal focal length for getting in close to small insects, butterflies, even frogs.
Some do not like the speed of focusing, but it has never bothered me.
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Jan 28, 2007
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fuzzybabybunny
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Registered: Aug 24, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 686
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Review Date: Jul 8, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Extremely sharp.
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Cons:
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Cheap plastic feel. Autofocus is *retarded* too much of the time. Slow, loud, hunts on objects that you feel should be contrasty enough to focus on.
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Jul 8, 2006
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cincyMAT
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Registered: Jul 13, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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Review Date: May 31, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $575.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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The Tamron 180 is a tack sharp macro lens. Good contrast with very real color. Pictures are very sharp mated to my Nikon D2x.
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Cons:
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AF is slow and loud compared to Nikon AFS. HOWEVER, when using MF for macro work the focus ring is smooth and easy to use.
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Some may consider the Tamron 180 to be cheaply constucted because it's so light. I think anything that produces such tack sharp images and is this light to be a quality piece of engineering. In addition I like the extra working distance the 180 provides compared to my Tamron 90 macro.
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May 31, 2006
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MarkSaperstein
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Registered: Sep 23, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 1336
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Review Date: Jan 20, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very good build quality. Excellent optics. Ability to rotate polarizer filter with the hood attached. Price.
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Cons:
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None so far.
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I have had two copies of the Canon 180 macro, and recently acquired the Tamron. I sold my first Canon because I didn't think it was as sharp as I was lead to believe. When the second copy performed the same as the first, I decided to try the Tamron. The Tamron is a bit sharper than the Canon, even stopped down. Color and contrast are basically the same (both excellent). The bokeh in the Canon 180 is just slightly smoother than the Tamron (maybe there is an extra aperture blade or two?), but it is still very pleasing with the Tamron. Autofocus is slow, but accurate (same with the Canon). Build quality is quite good. The lens feels solid (though not as solid as the Canon). The clincher for me is the new Filter Effect Control (FEC) ring. This allows you to rotate a polarizer filter while the hood is attached. Last but not least, the street price is about 1/2 of the Canon price. I highly recommend the Tamron 180 macro.
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Jan 20, 2005
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crowning
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Registered: Jan 16, 2002
Location: Germany
Posts: 175
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Review Date: Aug 31, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $700.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Extremely sharp, good colors, absolutely no chromatic aberations, slow but very accurate AF, lightweight,
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Cons:
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Filter effect control: the moving filter ring shold be something good, but in real life it's anoying to have your flashes twist around when doing macro work
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After a long and extensive search for a good and long macro lens I gave this lens a try and fell in love with it: it's the sharpest lens I've ever used and the only one whichs AF beats my MF skills.
It has a very usable lens hood included, tripod collar (which could be build a little bit more massive, but works as designed and easily hold my D60 + battery grip + lens + flashes without problems) and a very smooth focus ring which makes MF a joy.
Besides Canon 100mm macro lens it's one of the few lenses that has VERY good corner sharpness when focused to infinity, so I recommend it for astro work, too.
If you want to see some sample photos (mostly macros) go to
http://www.tom-crowning.com/search/search.php,
select this lens and hit the search button.
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Aug 31, 2004
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