We love our Tamron 70-200mm lens! We use it all the time for almost all shoots. The Bokeh is incredible, and the colors are stunning. Its a bulky lens, but not overly heavy. The Handle/rest is extremely beneficial and useful. We love that is came in a padded case/bag for the lens.

Almost a great lens, but not as good as the majors!

This Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 I purchased for my Nikon D810 is almost great. Well constructed, fast focus even in low light, fairly sharp at f/4 and above. Will never use it at f/2.8 since focus is soft compared to my Canon. I also have a Canon 70-200mm L f/2.8 II on a 5D Mark III and at f/2.8 the difference is significant. However at f/5.6 it is hard to tell the difference from the Canon. I shoot sports and the extra megapixels of the Nikon D810 makes up a little for the soft f/2.8.. I can crop much more and sacrifice the f number for the extra resolution I get with this lens and the Nikon D810. Not to heavy, and the price is almost half of the Canon. So, if you want this kind of versatility, you can't beat it for the price! I do recommend it, but don"t expect ... MoreThis Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 I purchased for my Nikon D810 is almost great. Well constructed, fast focus even in low light, fairly sharp at f/4 and above. Will never use it at f/2.8 since focus is soft compared to my Canon. I also have a Canon 70-200mm L f/2.8 II on a 5D Mark III and at f/2.8 the difference is significant. However at f/5.6 it is hard to tell the difference from the Canon. I shoot sports and the extra megapixels of the Nikon D810 makes up a little for the soft f/2.8.. I can crop much more and sacrifice the f number for the extra resolution I get with this lens and the Nikon D810. Not to heavy, and the price is almost half of the Canon. So, if you want this kind of versatility, you can't beat it for the price! I do recommend it, but don"t expect miracles at f/2.8.

Amazing lens, amazing price

SUMMARYIn addition to this lens, I have owned the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 ED, the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-s, the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR, and have used the Sigma f2.8 EX. This lens is on-par for sharpness with the Nikkor glass, and far better than the Sigma, which is a mess in terms of aberration and distortion at the extremes. I prefer it to all of the other lenses, including the Nikon VR. I got mine for about $400 used-if you shoot weddings or events, this is a must-have piece of glass.PROSOptical quality - Comparable to the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VREase of use - the push/pull manual focus function is wonderful, with live view and this lenses ability to close focus, I rarely pull out my macro lens for anything but ring shots at a wedding, or if I find a weird insect ... MoreSUMMARYIn addition to this lens, I have owned the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 ED, the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-s, the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR, and have used the Sigma f2.8 EX. This lens is on-par for sharpness with the Nikkor glass, and far better than the Sigma, which is a mess in terms of aberration and distortion at the extremes. I prefer it to all of the other lenses, including the Nikon VR. I got mine for about $400 used-if you shoot weddings or events, this is a must-have piece of glass.PROSOptical quality - Comparable to the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VREase of use - the push/pull manual focus function is wonderful, with live view and this lenses ability to close focus, I rarely pull out my macro lens for anything but ring shots at a wedding, or if I find a weird insect or something.Price - Pretty obvious, here. Yes, you give up VR, but when shooting people, I am generally keeping my shutter speed above 1/160 anyhow. Anything else, I'm on a tripod. I'd love the VC version, but I can't justify the expense.77mm filtersIncluded tripod collarIncluded petal hood that works very wellCONSWeight - Can't do much about this for a 3x f2.8 zoom with a lot of glass inside. Get a Black Rapid or similar strap and carry by the tripod collar!Autofocus performance - Tends to hunt in low light, slower than the Nikons, but better than the Sigma.Autofocus - Doesn't always nail focus, especially has trouble with eyes on a full-length subject. When it nails it, it's magic. I just have to be vigilant.

Beautiful Imgaes, dissapointing Autofocus

Absolutely beautiful images...when the autofocus is working. I used this lens both indoor and outdoor and the autofocus was simply sub-standard. Maybe I received a bad copy but it had a hard time locking on anything. It would focus, and then re-focus, and then finally focus again after the third attempt. If the AF gets fixed, it could be a wonderful lens. I returned my copy and bought the 70-210 f4 and LOVE that lens. The AF and VC on it are amazing for what you pay.

Good lens at a great value...

Use this lens predominately for my kids' sports, and it does a great job for the price. The focus is not quite as fast as some of the high-end lenses, but for me, that particular characteristic was not worth 2-3 times the price, and I feel like I get fantastic results for my purposes. Fast action shooting is great - able to capture individual laces on a spinning baseball from 20-30 yards away. Great depth of field in the photos, as well. I have paired this lens with my Sony a55, and the combo work very well together (again, for my purposes). The lens itself is beefy, with what I consider to be good weight to it. To me, it gives the impression that the lens is more durable or well-built than a flimsy little featherweight lens, but that's just me, and the extra weight ... MoreUse this lens predominately for my kids' sports, and it does a great job for the price. The focus is not quite as fast as some of the high-end lenses, but for me, that particular characteristic was not worth 2-3 times the price, and I feel like I get fantastic results for my purposes. Fast action shooting is great - able to capture individual laces on a spinning baseball from 20-30 yards away. Great depth of field in the photos, as well. I have paired this lens with my Sony a55, and the combo work very well together (again, for my purposes). The lens itself is beefy, with what I consider to be good weight to it. To me, it gives the impression that the lens is more durable or well-built than a flimsy little featherweight lens, but that's just me, and the extra weight just doesn't bother me in the slightest. Excellent lens at this price point.

Great, great lens

I'm relatively new to DSLR photography. However, I've taken a few photography courses and have spoken with many photographers. After doing a lot of on-line research, YouTube reviews, and talking with photographers, the suggestions I received most was to get a 70-200 zoom lens. I am using an entry level Canon Rebel T7i, so the choice boiled down to the Canon lens ($1,700) and the Tamron lens ($730). Not wanting to spend the extra $1,000, I opted for the Tamron and could not be happier. Although the lens is much heavier than I expected, it is still a fantastic lens. The focus is quick and the anti vibration setting makes a huge difference when hand held shooting. What I like about the lens is the larger aperture setting, AND, the aperture remains throughout the zoom. ... MoreI'm relatively new to DSLR photography. However, I've taken a few photography courses and have spoken with many photographers. After doing a lot of on-line research, YouTube reviews, and talking with photographers, the suggestions I received most was to get a 70-200 zoom lens. I am using an entry level Canon Rebel T7i, so the choice boiled down to the Canon lens ($1,700) and the Tamron lens ($730). Not wanting to spend the extra $1,000, I opted for the Tamron and could not be happier. Although the lens is much heavier than I expected, it is still a fantastic lens. The focus is quick and the anti vibration setting makes a huge difference when hand held shooting. What I like about the lens is the larger aperture setting, AND, the aperture remains throughout the zoom. This makes a positive impact on action photography, which is why I purchased this lens. I've been using the lens to take photographs of birds and it's doing a fantastic job. I'm not sure how much of a difference the Tamron is compared to the Canon, but for my money and level of experience, it certainly is a fantastic lens which will get a lot of use.

Love the lens

Purchased this lens to use with the Pentax K1. Coming from an APS-C format, this is a larger and heavier lens by comparison but comparable to others in the same class. However, I think handling is great and well balanced when using with the heavier FF K1. Focusing is surprisingly fast, accurate, fairly quiet with the K1. Images are sharp. Price is great against Pentax own 70-200. I'll be using this lens quite often and my only wish is that this lens would have been water-resistant like most Pentax lenses and bodies.

My new favorite!

As a portrait and lifestyle photographer, my go to lens is my 85mm because of the beautiful bokeh and the focal length but I do keep a large variety in my camera bag. I also shoot a lot of sports photos for the local high school (my dad is the athletic director) so I had a 70-300mm to get right in the action. Recently, that old lens of mine has been slower and showing it's age and usage so I started shopping around to replace it. I always wanted a wider aperture for those night time football games and this is perfect! I haven't used any of my other lenses since I got it! It's been great for outdoor and studio portraits AND all those action shots! It's fast and works perfectly with the auto focus on my camera. I'm so happy I added this to my collection!

tamron sp 70-200 f2.8

This lense is an amazing value. It's good build quality (in my opinion better than Nikon's DX telephoto lenses). The image is sharp. The lense's main weakness in my mind is auto focus. It uses a fairly loud motor and struggles in low light conditions, often jittering non-stop. It might take a few tries tries of on your camera trigger to get the right focus. In better lighting conditions the AF is much better. It's also worth noting that the lens doesn't have image stabilization. If you are a photographer whoes on a budget this lens is perfect for you.

worked beautifully in the presets

I purchased this lens to shoot outdoor sports both at night and during the day. The Tamron SP AF 70-200mm worked beautifully in the presets - great color, speed, and clarity. However in manual it became clunky and lethargic, frequently losing connection to the camera body. I spoke with Roxanne at Adorama and a CSR with Tamron USA, both assured me that this was not normal and worked with me to generate an exchange. I would highly recommend this lens not only for the quality of the lens itself but also for the customer service provided by Adorama