Tamron 75-300, f4-5.6, LD Macro 1:3.9

[ziggy53]

I picked up this lens used and, for the money, it's wonderful at the short end and usable at the long end. You would never mistake it for an "L" lens, but I think it's very under-rated.

Here is an example:
File: - IMG_0763_railyard_pole.jpg
Model - Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
ExposureTime - 1/1600 seconds
FNumber - 4.00
ExposureProgram - Aperture priority
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
FocalLength - 77 mm

[ziggy53]

Here's a crop at 100% with mild locallized sharpening via USM.

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... And a semi-macro (if you believe that 1:3.9 is "macro".)

File: - IMG_0774_weed.jpg

Model - Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT
ExposureTime - 1/100 seconds
FNumber - 5.00
ExposureProgram - Aperture priority
ISOSpeedRatings - 100
FocalLength - 70 mm (this is the reported length, wierd?)

[ian408]

Let's see some "real" shots. From your test shots, it looks pretty good.

Ian

[ziggy53]

Let's see some "real" shots. From your test shots, it looks pretty good.

Ian
Thanks Ian.

I was hoping that the last shot, the "weed", would be interesting to some. I am looking forward to printing that one. The bokeh is fairly decent and the plant shows some depth and good detail. It's hard to tell from the screen whether it will work or not at large size.

I did shoot some images to test for visual compression at 300mm. Unfortunately, the haze was so strong, I had to punch up contrast to a point that makes the shot a little surreal, so it's not worth showing.

I also shot closer at 300mm to verify that the lens doesn't have a problem at the long end. It seems OK. I do think at 200-300mm it goes a bit soft, so primary planned use will be at the 75-200 range, plus the semi-macro.

I plan on testing the lens on product photography this week. I'll post some of that round.

ziggy53

[ian408]

Knowing the usable range of a zoom is something worth "measuring" as
you've done.

Looking forward to some production results!

ian

[ziggy53]

Some candid shots here. All shot with the Tamron except the last two, which were 50mm f1.8 prime, 'cause there was just no light.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=16306

ziggy53