Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Coverage/Review/Hands-on/etc…

• 5 years ago

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