Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 di LD Macro Lens for Nikon Mount

I told myself I’d never buy third party lenses when I bought my first dslr and boy am I glad I was wrong about that. At a super affordable price this is an amazing entry level zoom lens that outperforms my kit lens at the same zoom hands down. Chuck this baby on a crop sensor camera and you have a max 450mm zoom and I’m totally here for that. The added macro is a nice feature too! There’s a slight amount of vignetting on some images but it’s easily enough edited out in post and definitely easy to deal with considering the price and how decent quality the images are. This is definitely my #1 recommendation for first purchase zoom lens [brand:tamron]

Be Careful

Be careful when you order this. This lens, along this many older lenses, dont work with the modern Nikon AF system. This lens uses a physical motor within the Camera Body itself to power the Autofocus, some bodies, such as the D3300, only have electronic focusing. The electronic-Focusing lens for Nikon are marked with "AF-S". The old focus system is just marked with "AF". CHECK YOUR BODY BEFORE YOU BUY.Seemed a solid lens in good condition, a few marks, but that is to be expected. Even though I couldn't use it, it seemed to be quite well built.

Capable budget lens that delivers more than you might expect

Straight out of the box I checked the sharpness of this lens throughout its range, using flash indoors and available light outdoors. The pictures were decently sharp, even at the long end. For close ups, you can get good pictures of large insects such as bumble bees and butterflies which fill about half of the frame, though beware - depth of field is very limited, so use at least f11 and don't expect much of the photograph to be in focus. This is because the "macro" function only works between 200 and 300mm, but also because this is always the case with extreme close-ups. The lens focuses fairly swiftly, but it takes a while if you from a very close shot to a distant view, and if your subject is at 300mm don't expect it to find focus straight away. All this is ... MoreStraight out of the box I checked the sharpness of this lens throughout its range, using flash indoors and available light outdoors. The pictures were decently sharp, even at the long end. For close ups, you can get good pictures of large insects such as bumble bees and butterflies which fill about half of the frame, though beware - depth of field is very limited, so use at least f11 and don't expect much of the photograph to be in focus. This is because the "macro" function only works between 200 and 300mm, but also because this is always the case with extreme close-ups. The lens focuses fairly swiftly, but it takes a while if you from a very close shot to a distant view, and if your subject is at 300mm don't expect it to find focus straight away. All this is normal for "consumer" lenses and if you want a speed demon you will need to pay more for Nikon's or Canon's own state of the art lens. At shorter focal lengths at f8 or so the lens is admirably sharp and delivers detailed, contrasty images. For nature eg trees and plants the lens works well and also for portraits, but I wouldn't try to snap birds in flight or motor racing and expect a high success rate. It works brilliantly for the purposes I have, and the lack of VR/VC (vibration control) won't be an issue in good light or with fast moving subjects which need a really fast shutter speed anyway to freeze movement (unless you want a creative blur.)

DOA but return was no problem

Unfortunately this lens was DOA. Its pretty cheaply made and feels it. The auto focus is slow and noisy and doesn't always actually focus. This was DOA so maybe this was part of the same problem.Now the good bit. I returned it to my local store, demonstrated that it had jammed at somepoint. They had a test procedure to follow which took them around 15mins. I was refunded no problem. The staff at the Merthyr Tydfil store were friendly and helpful all in all the best return experience I've had in any shop. I bought a Canon lens to replace this from the same shop as they had one in stock. I would definitely buy from CEX again. Cheers guys 👍

Excellant service

I have been using CEX to buy photographic lenses and mobile phones for several years. I am confident they check all devices thoroughly before putting them up for sale.I find their prices are very,very good, better than most of the competition.Add to this that all CEX photographic and mobile phones come with a 12month guarantee, makes them better than their competitors, as they normally only offer 3months warranty.Well done CEX and keep up the excellant work.

Excellent lens

I've used this lens a few times now and it's brilliant, great for wildlife photography and CEX is cheaper , by alot , than anywhere else! Product came exactly as described and I've had no issues so far.Only problem I had was the 1st one they sent was for a Cannon not a Nikon even though it said it was for a Nikon. I'm told this happens occasionally with CEX. it was easy to return to a physical store and order another one. Refund was prompt. Accidents happen and they all aren't experts in camera's.Overall I'm happy with the service and product.

Good details and sharpness

One quick way to judge a lens is how it gets the focus peaking in your camera go crazy. Yes, this lens when pointed at the moon makes the moon surface busy with sparkling FP spikes. See photo- so nicely detailed and sharp at wide open f4. For distant focuses like that, best sharpness is at f5.6, dropping away quickly with narrower apertures. I must qualify my positive stars rating that it is based on the quick impression above. I am yet to look at this lens in greater details. My used copy shows signs of uses and abuses, yet still in working order. So that says something about durability. On the other hand, the focus ring makes dubious screechy sandy noises that may or may not be there originally.

Love mine.

Purchased this to sit on a Nikon 3300 for wildlife, nature photography and the two work very well together. The short end the photos are sharp, nice color and the lens is all around very responsive and fast, at the 300mm end details can be a bit fuzzy and without VC youd use a tripod or at the least steady your camera on something while shooting although on the fly Ive gotten some great photos of birds in flight. The lens offers a macro setting I have used its a nice feature but you will do better with a dedicated macro lens. The lens is quiet, light weight, and easy to carry around. Obviously there are more expensive choices but if your on a budget Tamron makes very nice lenses, I also have this lens in a Canon mount. These do not disappoint.

Tamron Camera lens

I am just starting out in photography and wanted to purchase a few lenses to help me develop my photography skills. Given the price of new lenses I started looking at second hand lenses and was suprised by the prices that CEX offered the lenses for. The lens was in excellent condition and works perfectly. I am pleasantly surprised at how good the lens was. It exceeded my expectations as I was nervous about purchasing a second hand lens. Thank you CEX team. A star from me

Value for money

I have had one of these for a little while. It is not a professional lens, but it is very affordable and can produce nice images but you do need to learn how to use it. If you have a newer mirrorless camera with IBIS, you can get decently sharp images. Not those of an L lens but then this doesn’t cost thousands, so you can’t expect that. It is very lightweight so good if you travel and it is a modest size for the range. I’ve had decent wildlife images, particularly with a crop sensor as it will give you the extra reach. It won’t work well handheld on a camera without a viewfinder, it really needs to be held to the eye rather than using a touchscreen. All round good value and I think better than the budget Canon equivalent.