I use this A-mount lens with my Sony LA-EA3 adapter on my Sony A6500 camera to take macro shots, mostly of flowers at this point. I bought it used and the condition looks pristine and could easily pass as new. I have used it only as MF but exposures are automatic. It will not AF with the EA3 and I will use the EA4 if I want AF. At first I ordered a 50mm Sigma Macro lens and after trying it out I returned it because the working distance was just too short. I cant even imagine how useless a 30mm macro lens would be! I am very pleased with the Tamron 90mm Macro!
Jeff Czaja
5
Well I picked this up during Christmas season for my gift. I know, I know...lets get on with the review. Ok...simply put this is a great lens. I love taking macro pictures and needed a dedicated macro lens (note if the lens is not a 1:1 it is not a true macro). It is the middle of winter here in the Chicagoland area, so there are no flowers or bugs to take photos of. This is when I discovered that when people call this the portrait macro they are not lying. This lens takes beautiful portrait shots. Beautiful bokeh. Now to talk about what others say about this lens. I do not mind the manual/auto focus clutch ring. I actually like it quite a bit. The only thing that I noticed is a touch of focus creep sometimes when I am zoomed in fully on a close subject. Thats my only complaint. Cant wait for winter to go away and I can get my macro on! I would recommend this lens with no reservations...a great lens and a pretty good price.
Melissa in Houston
5
After purchasing my first DSLR earlier this year, I found I really love taking pics of bugs, blades of grass, flowers, drops of water, and so on. I found this lens on Amazon first and then went to my favorite lens review site to check their verdict. It received 4 stars for optical quality (and isnt that the most important thing), 3.5 stars for mechanical performance, and 5 stars for performance value. So with that review I decide to purchase. I dont really feel I can say much more about this lens than what has been said in multiple reviews both on Amazon and lens review sites. Yes it is cheap, but not all of us can see the point in spending more than this on a lens for our hobby. And I think that is who Tamron (and other 3rd party manufacturers) are really making these lenses for - those of us who love photography but just dont have the expendable income for an "L"-type lens. Negatives? Ive read a lot of reviews where it is said that the lens "feels" cheaply made. Im very new to the world of lenses, but I can say this one at least "feels" better (more sturdy) than my kit lens (which feels very cheap). There is the noisy auto-focusing as others have mentioned. It is almost like a "clicking" as well as the sound of gears moving. This made me very nervous when I first heard and felt it, but its not present in manual mode which where I have mainly used it. As long as this is limited to the autofocus mechanism and the quality of my photos is not affected I can overlook it. To sum this up, as a person new to both DSLRs and macro photography, I feel this is a very good purchase. Most reviews of the picture quality of the lens are very positive with the mechanical quality being its main drawback. At this point in my photography, I feel that lens quality is much more important than the noise from a focus mechanism. And if in the next year I decide I dont like this lens or macro work? The used ones sell at close to the price of the lens new.
johnnyb588
5
The sharpness of this lens simply blows me away. I do a lot of macro work in wedding photography for my business, but I also love taking this lens out for simple hobby days in nature. The macro capabilities of this lens are second to none in this focal range, and the performance/price ratio simply cant be beat. A lot of the other reviews have already hit on the highs and lows of the lens, so I wont waste your time by saying the same things over again. When I was making my macro choice, the two options I landed on were this Tamron and Canons 100mm L. I had worked a lot with the Canon 100mm L before (borrowing, renting), and the performance was splendid. It truly is a remarkable lens. However, after a session with the Tamron, comparing the Tamron and the Canon side by side, and researching photos/reviews on the web, I found that I could not justify the extra expense for the L glass. The greatest advantages the L has are the autofocus and weather sealing, in my opinion, and neither of those matter to me as I use manual focus for nearly all of my macro shots and Im not doing the sort of nature photography that makes weather sealing imperative. I would recommend this lens in a heartbeat as a primary macro lens and an interesting portraiture lens as well.
Photo_Guy
5
Lens comes in a variety of formats, Canon, Nikon, etc. Mine was for a Sony A-Mount (SLT-A77v) camera. The Sony version is a little different as far as switching from manual to AF but its not a big deal. First I went the way of extension tubes, magnifying diopters, etc. Those will work but they dont measure up to a dedicated macro. I spent a lot (a really lot) of time reading reviews and comparing the various options for macro lenses and was down to either this one or the Sony 100mm f/2.8 that was more $$$. I decided on the Tamron because of the macro pictures I saw primarily on Flickr. The images were sharp, good contrast, and no apparent aberrations I could tell anyway. The lens didnt disappoint. The clarity of the macro is pretty amazing. Ive uploaded a couple of pictures to the customer images part including a moth with amazing detail. Very happy with the lens and would recommend for anyone wanting a great macro capable lens.
Emma L.
4
Fabulous lens! The macro capabilities are truly incredible. It is a very sharp lens and was easy to learn how to use. My reason for giving it 4 out of 5 stars is because auto focus is pretty slow most of the time! Its also a noisy (physically noisy) lens, but thats not a huge deal. Overall, the quality is very good, crisp, and bold colors, esp. for a lens in this price range (but it does suck in low light). I cant wait for Spring to get here and get outside and take macro images of dew drops, flower petals, insects etc.
Faxanadu
4
This is a good alternative to the Pentax 100mm F2.8 macro - image quality is a bit less rich - but not too much that you can tell the difference unless you really blow up your shots. Build quality is just ok - the Pentax is much more robust with an all metal construction and weather sealing. The auto-focus system works fast and great with the screw drive and it is nice that this lens has a limiter on it - macro lenses have a tendency to hunt and this one allows you to curb that behavior with the limiter. What I dont like is the fact that you have to not only shift the focus ring to switch to manual - but also have to change the parameter on the camera as well. The Pentax quick-shift system is much better. If you forget to toggle the switch on your camera - you may wreck havoc on your lens and the camera - just not a good implementation of a system that should be convenient. But for the price - good quality images and a nice lens. 4 Stars.
mewtwo
4
Im a novice photographer, and this was my first non-stock lens. Ive been using it heavily for about two months now for insect photography. Its certainly good for the price, and definitely serves my needs, though I can see the limitations beyond amateur use (it could be sharper, and the autofocus is borderline unusable with how much it hunts). The external focusing motor that extends the length of the lens is a tad annoying as well. But it captures insects quite well, and once you learn how to handle the shifting bulk of the lens as it extends it really is a very good lens. If youre a young or new photographer with a limited budget, I highly recommend this lens (I got mine secondhand for about 350). Youre not going to find a better macro for the price.
Lonny Reams
5
UPDATE: After receiving a refund from Amazon I ordered this lens again from another seller. The first seller sent me a lens for a Nikon instead of a Canon. The second order was a much better experience. It arrived in perfect condition and in its original box in perfect working order. Thank you, Amazon for taking care of my return and refund. Now on to the lens review. I love it. Macro pictures are tack sharp, although you WILL need a good tripod, flash (when indoors) and a remote shutter release to minimise camera shake when focusing in at minimum distance, as this lens doesnt have any built in stabilization. When opened up all the way, the focal length is super thin (as is common with all macro photography) but this lens image quality is best at around between f/5 and f/9 so that helps widen that focal length a bit. I look forward to image stacking! I cant wait for spring, to get this lens out in the garden for some great macro shots. This lens also is WONDERFUL at taking portraits. Extremely clean and sharp subjects with beautifuly smooth bokeh in the background. A huge bonus for a lens designed for 1:1 macro photography. I am a landscape artist and am pleased with this lens sharp pictures when taking landscapes. Being able to zoom into a picture to pick out fine details is essential to the type of photo realistic painting I do, and this lens gets the job done quite well. Allot had been said about the autofocus of this lens. Its an older lens so yes its slower than many newer models, and yes you can hear it. I wouldnt call it loud but it would definitely be an annoyance when filming. But I didnt buy this lens to film anything. When I shoot macro I never, ever use autofocus. And its more than fast enough when taking portraits and landscapes, but not something you want to shoot sports with. For what I purchased this lens for, macro, portrait and landscape photography, it excels wonderfully. And at its price point ($219 used) it is an absolute bargain. Like getting three top grade lenses in one. Great lens!!! ****** End of Update ****** Previous review...... I received a lens that would not fit onto my Canon T6I, plus the center of the back end of it was tilted to one side. Im not sure if this was a defective product or if I was shipped a model meant for a different brand of camera. Either way, Amazon is in the process of making things right. Im shipping it back, free of charge and will receive a full refund shortly. Prime membership does have its advantages!
aztecthrush
4
Works fine, sharp, but loud and has trouble focusing at times in night-time situations where I light critters on the road with a video light and snap them up. And its a bit whiny. Returned mine and got a Canon 100mm, which usually snaps to focus even in low light, with virtually no noise (and costs half the price of the new IS version, with pretty much the same sharpness). But the Tamron macro is cheap and solid and probably plenty adequate for most uses, as confirmed by its long and positive reputation in the macro realm. So...I guess its largely personal preference and what you want to spend on what is probably a dupe focal length for most.
