Tamron Auto Focus 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR (Model A17NII)

I should start off by saying, I am a beginner photographer using a Nixon D3200. I've only used one other lens in my life, the one it came with, which is why I figured I better get a better one for distance shots. I'm not looking to be a professional, I really just enjoy the outdoors and want to be able to take pictures of birds & wildlife. I mostly bought this lens to use for photographing birds. I was really deterred by the price and nervous about the lack of image stabilization, being that I'm not very steady handed. I decided to give it a shot anyways. I am completely in awe. This lens perfectly fits my needs. I'm able to take pictures of birds in just about any lighting and weather, whether they are moving or not. The auto focus was a must for me and it works beautifully. It seems sturdy and durable and is very easy to use. I'm able to get beautiful close up shots of birds in nearby trees! Im not at all steady handed and all of my pictures have been without the use of a tripod, just by hand. Even if I'm fully focused in, I can still take good pictures without a tripod or propping my elbows on something, so that didn't turn out to be an issue for me at all. I've only had photographs with doubled tree branches in about 10 photos, out of about 200 since I got this lens. And really the photograph still came out really nice (it's actually below)- the branches were blurred in the background so you really couldn't even tell. Also, with about 3 out of about 200 pictures I have taken, I've seen a slight purple or green edge on the bird or tree branch. It's a rarity though. I'm really impressed. It's also much lighter than I expected it to be, so I'll be able to take it hiking no problem- and we go on long trails, hiking for up to 10 hours a day! I'm really impressed and I highly recommend this lens, especially for bird and wildlife enthusiasts. I do hope to one day get a lens that reaches further, but for now and with my current budget, this is perfect! You'll be able to get really good close up photos, some as close as even showing the details of their feathers, of birds in nearby trees. I can also get some pretty amazing long range photos with this as well. Totally worth it! The photos below were taken with this lens, with only minimal editing to the coloration and contrast of the photo. These birds were about 30-40 feet away in a nearby tree! They probably would have come out even better had I have used the hood that it comes with, but I keep forgetting to put it on.

Got this as a gift for my wife. It fits on her Nikon D3300. The package includes a Lens hood and 2 caps for each end of the lens. This is a great lens for a casual photographer who isn't looking to spend a lot of money to take good pictures. Overall the pictures taken are crisp and sharp. Zooming into 300 or using Marco usually requires a tripod or high ISO. We are by no means professionals, but we have noticed that the motor is louder than the stock lens that came with the camera and the auto-focus can be a little slow. We do typically do some post-processing on our photos with Lightroom which likely corrects some of the problems that comes with a lens in this price range. It would be easy to find more faults in this lens as others have pointed out, but at this price point you simply cant beat it.

Okay I have been in the photographic field for over 30 years...yeah yawn I have to say that so you know I didn't just walk in on this sorry. I just got this Tamron 70 - 300 lens for my Nikon D5000 basically because I cannot afford or justify the cost of a Nikkor lens. I used to sell these lens in the camera shop I worked at when I was 18 yrs old (yep I am getting on a bit) and then they were expensive lenses with good optics and I could never afford them, Sigma was the best I could do and I liked them. but this was such a deal at just under $160 for it. okay the optics are excellent, here is a good proof, very quick shot last night of the moon, my 55 - 200 Nikkor will not auto focus well on it, this Tamron spot on perfect. the clarity and clearness it amazing, and colors come through on humming birds as well as anything. In other words I thoroughly recommend this as a good solid addition to your camera setup.. The lens does weigh a bit more but it does have a wonderful 62mm diameter filter thread at the front which allows for far more light to work in there for quick picture taking. Okay the snag on this great deal is what??? hmmm no vibration reduction on it...oh is that all no biggie really. So I say go for it and enjoy. P.S. just one little teensy weensey whine about it is no case or pouch to put it in when you travel, I know its nothing really but was a bit surprised by that. So now off to order a filter to protect the lense and a backup lens cap always have those in case you lose it when traveling.

If you've been searching for a telephoto lens, chances are you probably haven't come across many that are this cheap. I have an older Nikon camera (D40x) that was compatible with this lens and decided to give it a try. I am very new into photography and this was my first telephoto lens purchase, beforehand I'd just been using the stock Nikon 50mm lens that came with the camera body. This lens works fantastic for the price you pay. The image quality is outstanding and as much as people complain about the auto focus on this model, it works well enough. The downsides to this lens are that the auto-focus is a tad slow, but once you become familiar with the lens unless the photos you are taking require a quick auto-focus (example, birds in flight). My biggest issue with the lens is that it creates these purple/blue sheen or spot on some of the images. This can be extremely frustrating when you capture the perfect image but it is filled with this color. I'm not sure why it does this, since I am still so new into photography, but it can be managed in Photoshop quiet easily so in the end it doesn't necessarily impact your shots (some situations however, it can). Other than that, there are some soft spots that appear on some images which can be rather annoying. Overall, I think for the price you are paying this is an excellent lens. I've been using it for a few months now and find more joy using it than frustration.

I bought this lens because I got a new camera which required an autofocus feature on the lens instead of the camera body and I got tired of all the zoom pictures I'd taken using manual focus coming out blurry. I am very happy with this lens. It focuses well and I don't really think it makes all that much noise, just a small "vrrrt" as the mechanism works. I think it gives very nice, crisp images and the macro setting works just fine. It may not be as close as some people would like for macro photography, but it isn't a "macro" lens specifically so I think it is a nice feature for a standard zoom lens. The one con I have with this is that sometimes it's hard to tell the lens what to zoom on. For example, if there's something in the background that you're trying to bring into focus, it might focus on something in the foreground first (I had a bit of that problem with the cattail picture I posted) and you have to move the camera around or play with the settings a little bit to get it just right. However, I've had that issue with other zoom lenses before, so I think that is more of a learning curve of zoom lenses in general than just this particular one. I am a more serious amateur photographer. I would like to be able to sell photos eventually, so I probably take them with a bit more care than other people, but I certainly don't have the budget for a super high end fancy lens. I think that for the price, this lens can't be beat if you are trying to up your game so to speak in the realm of digital photography.

When I decided to get a telephoto zoom for my Nikon D3100, I did extensive research into the available lenses. First I tried the Nikkor 55-200 VR. For a telephoto zoom, it is light and small but it felt incredibly cheap to me and the plastic mount was not confidence inspiring at all. When trying it in the camera store, it creaked and I got the impression that it would not be all that difficult to break the mount in field use. So I passed on that one. The Nikkor 55-300 was more than I wanted to spend. My semi-pro photographer friend told me that the 70-300 range is most useful so I decided to look at those. The Nikkor was way out of my price range, so I looked at Sigma and Tamron. I ended up going with the Tamron due to excellent reviews, its macro ability and a very low price. The Tamron is an excellent value for the price (I paid under $160 delivered). Build quality is surprisingly good (better than my kit Nikkor 18-55 or the Nikkor 55-200). Comes with a nice lens hood and front and rear caps. It autofocuses with the D3100 and it has a large manual focus ring that is easy to use. The Tamron is tack sharp at 70mm, even at f/4.0 (sharper than the kit lens at 55mm), making it an excellent portrait lens. On a tripod, I can get excellent results at all focal lengths as long as I remember to stop it down at the longer focal lengths. When I first took test shots with it, it was very soft at 300mm at f/5.6. However, I took some tack sharp images this morning at 300mm after I stopped it down to f/8.0, so now I am giving it a 5 star rating.

I gifted myself a Nikon D90 this past Christmas and also bought 2 lens in addition to the kit 20-105mm lens. One lens was a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and the second extra lens was the Tamron 70-300mm lens. I got it from Amazon for about $165. The main reason that I got it was because I really didn't know anything about the different zoom lens, but I wanted one and this one was really cheap. To my very pleasant surprise, I have loved this lens. It really seems very sharp to me. I'm not an expert in photography, far from it. It is light, it focuses fast enough for me, and certainly accurate enough. AND, it only cost $165!! I am still searching for the "best" zoom lens for me and have tried several: Sigmas, Tokina, and Nikon. So far, this little and inexpensive Tamron has been ideal for me. And I love having the macro capability. Unless you really are going to be shooting close up big stuff, the lens is a good walking around lens. Take it to the zoo; it's perfect. Because it was so inexpensive (notice I didn't say--cheap), I don't mind taking it out in bad/rainy weather. Sure I try and keep it dry, along with the Nikon D90 body, but if something happens to it, I am only out $165. Not some $1600 for a fancy Nikon zoom, that won't have the macro feature. Right now, it works for me. I DO want something longer; at least 400mm, if not 500, but now, it's great.

At first when I got into photography, I just needed a zoom. A REALLY REALLY big zoom. I wanted to see my neighbors door lock from my house. Which, this lens let me accomplish. But, the more I used it, the more I found it's flaws. Low-ISH light performance? Shoot...If you don't have bright sunshine, forget using this one. Seriously. Autofocus is just.. slow. Oh, and noisy. Hunts sometimes when it really shouldn't. Colors aren't very vibrant and have a weird cast to them. Not very sharp, especially at around 200-300mm Light falloff at 250-300 (obvious with a zoom like this, but this one is pronounced.) Zoom ring is stiff in places, not in others. Feels chintzy, even compared to my "kit" lens. Hood is good, blocks lots of light from the sides. In use, my pictures come out blurry when extended past 200mm. Ever so slightly at 200, yet increasing until 300. This, I feel, is the result of the lack of vibration control on this lens. Top this off with the general color tinge and coupling that with the non-sharpness of the thing, I constantly wondered to myself, "Why am I even using this lens?" Well, I was using it because I paid money for it. Since I bought this lens to compliment my "kit" lens long ago, I've grown as a photographer and learned what lenses I really DO need instead of what I THOUGHT I needed. Constantly in my bag are the Nikon 16-85mm vr, 35mm 1.8G and Tokina 11-16mm. These lenses cover everything I could ever want. I don't find myself missing the 105-300mm range simply because I don't use it effectively. I would try and fill the frame even if I really didn't have to or shouldn't have.All just because my lens let me. I now would rather move closer if I need to do this. If I had use for the range, I would have considered a 18-200mm and made the investment. Moral of the story: Don't buy a lens that has reach unless you can justify using it properly. Also, lenses are an investment. I don't consider what I paid for this lens an "investment". I've spent more on dog food a month than on this piece of glass. So, don't cheap out on your lenses. You'll grow to hate their flaws eventually. I cannot in good conscience, say that I liked this lens.