Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Lens Review by Marcie Reif
I took the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD lens out for a spin for the very first time to a wildflower field with some adorable little girls. They were full of movement and energy, and along with some difficult backlighting to shoot in, I knew that this would be a good test for the lens to see how it could perform under these challenging conditions. The 70-180mm did not miss a beat! I was extremely impressed with how it captured my subjects and how lightweight it felt in my hand.
I shot the entire session at f/2.8. Traditionally when you shoot at a lens’ lowest aperture, you are not going to get the sharpest images possible with the lens. This was not even close to the case with this lens, I could see my complete reflection in their eyes.
As I shot further away from my subjects and used the 180mm focal length, I felt that the lens was shooting at it’s prime. These images were so sharp! Initially, based on what I saw on my viewscreen of the Sony a7iii I actually thought they were sharper than when I was closer to my subjects at 70mm, but once I got home and loaded the images onto my computer, they were all equally sharp and in focus.
I was most impressed with how consistently sharp the images were shooting through the entire focal range of 70mm through 180mm. If I was closer up, I was able to capture the details of their face perfectly and when I got farther away the sharpness and compression was unreal!
Over and over, I’m genuinely impressed with the exceptional quality of the e-mount lenses that Tamron produces. They are new at creating these products yet I see zero quality issues. They are phenomenal. When the 28-75mm first came out, I contemplated buying a Sony mirrorless to accompany my Canon 5D Mark IV, but couldn’t see a good enough reason to invest in the camera – until I tried Tamron’s 28-75mm lens, and then I HAD to buy the Sony mirrorless just to use the lens. Now I’m even more excited to own this 70-180mm because it’s going to give me the advantages of having that focal range but not the weight in my camera bag.
I mainly use my Tamron 70-200mm on my Canon to capture my son playing baseball and creating highlight reel videos. I absolutely love what this lens can do for me and what I’m able to capture. However, it’s often really hot at the games and I’m often squatting and moving around a lot to get the shot. I can get dizzy and light headed from the weight of the lens and the balancing act I sometimes need to do. I need to take breaks and set the camera and lens down to rest, but with the extreme lightness of the Sony and Tamron e-mount lenses I can see how this will make a big difference for me!
This lens is weather sealed and protected with a fluorine coating to make wiping down the glass easy. For all the other important specs you can read more about it here: https://www.tamron-usa.com/product/lenses/a056.html
Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Lens Review by Marcie Reif
Want to learn more about the Tamron 35mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 Lens for Sony E ? Read Marcie’s Review on this lens!
comments +