Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III

Everyone with a reflex camera, analog or digital, sooner or later comes to the conclusion that he or she needs a telephoto lens. The question then is: which one?

The Tamron 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD was my final choice. Tamron has had a reputation for making excellent telephoto zoom lenses for years, and I've had to say that this lens is no exception. Quickly ordered from Coolblue, delivered the next day and also received a free UV filter! The lens is well packed and comes with manual (almost unnecessary due to simple operation) and lens hood.

Those who make the switch from a kit lens will be pleasantly surprised by the fairly robust build quality of this lens, those who have already held a Canon L-lens or a Sigma EX, on the other hand, will be less impressed. The Tamron 70-300mm is completely made of hard plastic with the exception of the zoom ring and the focus ring, both of which are covered with a sturdy rubber-like material. This makes this lens light, but not very sturdy. So don't drop it!

Mechanically, this Tamron lens is quite well put together, but it is not top technology. Zooming and focusing changes the length of the lens (the maximum length is huge, which looks impressive but is very inconvenient), the filter rotates when focusing. Fortunately, there is no play between the different parts.

The autofocus, as you would expect from a lens in this price range, is not that great. Slow and loud, but before that consistent and quite accurate. Since the focus ring rotates during autofocus, it is important not to interfere with it, as this could damage the micromotor. Manual adjustment is not possible in auto mode, but it can be turned off via a well-placed switch.

The optical quality of the Tamron 70-300mm is very good. So good, in fact, that you immediately forget the lesser mechanical sides. The lens delivers excellent results, from 70mm to the full 300mm. Also a nice bonus is the macro function, which you can activate from 180mm via a switch. This macro mode allows you to focus very closely, giving you highly magnified images. Unfortunately, the lens is not sharp enough for true macro photography, which is understandable when you consider that a good macro lens quickly costs ten times the price. I don't use the macro function myself.

All in all, this lens delivers tremendous value for money. Tamron has clearly saved on the mechanics (autofocus and construction), but more than makes up for this with the excellent optical quality of this lens. With a maximum aperture of f/4 (f/5.6 at 300mm), it is of course not particularly bright, but those who own a tripod or have the weather can use the Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD beautifully. making pictures.

After fiddling around for a while to see how it works, I was able to take very good pictures with this lens. You get everything very close and you can also take good portrait photos at a short distance. My wife was not really happy with it, the wrinkles were now very visible :-)

Within the medium-telephoto category, there is a suitable lens for everyone. In many cases, this lens will be for different people. The range makes it possible to capture both portraits and nature photos that are rich in detail. This lens is robust and very solidly built. Perhaps even on the heavy side for some, but the lens does not extend.

The sharpness is certainly good, although in less light it may be necessary to stop the lens a bit (wide opening is then at the expense of sharpness). The bokeh is less, but acceptable and the lens hardly suffers from distortions.

The Stabilization (VC) is a useful addition to this range. The USD should be quiet, but you can hear it (especially in the beginning). The autofocus is good but not too fast; therefore seems less suitable for sports photography, for example, but could also be because this is unknown territory for me.

All in all, this lens is particularly suitable for its future user, with the most positive point being the price-quality ratio.