So far the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD has been pretty well received, but there hasn’t been a lot of coverage. Above Dustin Abbott did a live stream with the Tamron 70-180mm, which I will bullet point below. Also, sonyalpha.blog had some positive words to share in their review.
Sony Alpha Blog
Pros
- Excellent sharpness on the entire field and entire range at all apertures
- Very small and light
- Very reasonable price
- Very good bokeh and soft background blur
- Extremely fast , silent and accurate AF
- Very low level of chromatic aberrations
- Moderate vignetting
- Very good resistance to flare
- Fully weather sealed
Average
- Build quality is good but well below the Sony
- Color rendition little bit yellowish
- Not compatible with Sony TC1.4 & TC2.0
- No button to switch to MF, to set a custom function, to limit focusing range
- No optical stabilisation
Cons
- Huge distortion between 135mm and 180mm (no lens profile yet available as of April 2020)
- Lens does extend when zooming and the zoom ring is quite dampened , so no smooth zooming possible in video
- Does not look “Pro” if your are pro wedding photographer
Read the full review Sony Alpha Blog
Summary of Dustin Abbott’s Live Stream
- The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is their largest lens, but it is very light and maintains the 67mm filter thread
- It zooms out a little, but it is nice and smooth
- The new included lens hood feels a little more robust, but it doesn’t lock into place
- No switches on the lens, but a zoom lock
- Amazing focusing lens
- Focuses as fast as anything he has ever shot with even at 180mm
- Min focus to infinity is about instantaneously
- Super quiet AF
- Everything you need for wild life, birds, sports, etc…
- Very accurate AF
- Fluorine coating on the front
- He then goes on to review some images, but nothing bad here except maybe IBIS might not be good enough
- Manual focus action is very slow because of the huge focus throw, but it feels good
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Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8: B&H Photo / Amazon /Adorama
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
