Tamron SP 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro LD-IF Autofocus Telephoto Lens for Nikon AF

2017-07-12T06:22:35

As other reviewers here and in-depth reviews online say, this lens has absolutely amazing image quality. What I'm getting out of this lens is excellent in terms of color, contrast, sharpness and general image rendition. I could not ask for more. Build quality is also great. I was concerned with this being an older-design third-party lens that the quality would feel poor and cheap (especially for this price compared to others!). On the contrary, it feels excellent. The feel of the focus ring in manual mode couldn't be smoother or a better pressure. The lens feels like it is constructed well and must be as I have minimal to show for the over 7 years I've had it (it was used when I bought it as well) One area this lens is behind the times in would be auto-focus. It is quite slow and loud. However, as I have a fast 70-200 that I use for any telephoto work I am doing besides macro it's a non-issue for me. As a dedicated macro lens AF is not important to me, and as mentioned above, the manual focus feel is superb. One feature that is missing and could be of some importance to potential buyers: this lens is not weather sealed. I am just a hobbyist, so I don't tend to go out and shoot in inclement weather. On the rare occasion I'm shooting somewhere like a rain forest I just bring a rain cover for my gear and make do. While it's lack of weather sealing means this lens might not work for some adventurous shooters, I think this lens is perfect for anyone else. If you don't absolutely have to have weather sealing than I see no reason to look any further than the Tamron SP 180mm Macro

Kevin E.

2017-05-15T07:25:52

I would definitely recommend this lens, colors and sharpness are amazing, I like the design and the way you change from manual to automatic focus, very useful when you are on the field and can not take your eyes off the viewfinder, I'm not going to deny that I was hesitant to buy it thinking it wasn't as great due to the difference of price from canon lenses, but I'm happily surprised by it.

Luis A.

2017-01-05T17:43:06

Works great.

JOHN S.

2014-11-15T19:00:00

The 180mm focal length is perfect for small moving subjects because you're far enough away with this lens not to bother them. The image quality like most macro lenses is outstanding. The sharpness of the lens is impressive even wide open a f/3.5. The tripod collar makes using the lens easy but rotating the collar is difficult. You have to almost completely loosen the collar before you can rotate it. The collar on my Sigma 150 is smooth and easy to rotate compared to the Tamron. Now for the manual focus part of the evaluation. Auto focus is okay if you have good light and you're not focusing at macro distances. If you're shooting something close in macro mode the lens hunts and hunts requiring you to use manual focus. Compared to the Sigma I own in a different camera mount the Sigma 150 focuses fast in macro mode and even faster for non macro use.

MARK S.

2014-07-14T21:00:00

Mostly used for flower and insects. Great so far.

DANIEL H.

2013-11-25T19:00:00

I am a lifetime amateur phtog. However, with the little time I have had avail. since purchase, this lens is outstanding. It beats my old 100mm by a long shot. I am very pleased with the results I have achiveed with my new 180.

DONALD L.

2013-06-28T21:00:00

I use this lens mostly for insects, especially dragonflies and butterflies. It produce sharp images. It is easy to switch from autofucus to manual; this is important to me because autofocus is usually only approximates the exact plane of focus I want - no fault of the lens, it's macro photography where one often needs to fine-tune focus. That said, autofocus is slow. It would also be nice to have stabilization.

psittacid

2013-03-18T21:00:00

Useful for closeups of insects and flowers at the local botanical gardens

Flash

2013-02-06T19:00:00

Use this for macro photography. Since the focal length is 180 also good for portrait

Abhijeet J.

2012-04-03T21:00:00

Aside from slow auto focus I think this lens is near superb. Tack sharp images at all apertures, beautiful smooth bokeh at larger aps. I've used this lens now for over 5 years with my canon 5d (and now my 5d mk3) and I smile every time I reach for it.

JAMES A.

2012-04-01T21:00:00

This is a great long macro lens for Sony users who can't, and won't spend over $2K for the extremely rare Minolta Maxxum 200mm f4 macro. This is a true bargain.

TL

2011-11-25T19:00:00

Gets great close-up images without having to be on top of the subject.

RICHARD B.

2011-11-20T19:00:00

Great lens, able to get close shots without being on top of the subject.

RICHARD B.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

Very nice lens. Expensive but usually the best stuff if. It's a lot heavier than I had expected but comes with its own tripod mount, of which is very recommended. Not the sharpest lens I've used but very acceptable photos and does a good job with macro, enabling the photographer to keep a good distance from the subject in order to keep things calm. Comes with a nice padded case also. Had no complaints using this lens though really prefer a shorter focal length simply for handling.

RICHARD R.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

I decided on this Tamron 180mm macro because of reviews and past experience with Tamron products. Money well spent. It's a quality lens that is extremely sharp and contrasty. This will do nicely until I find the rare Minolta Maxxum 200 f4 macro.

TL

2010-03-30T21:00:00

The good: - Image quality is great! - Relatively long shooting distance, even for 1:1 magnification. - Supports a generous range of apertures. - AF is sharp. - Can produce great portraits, given sufficient distance to the model. - Price is better than some of the competitors. The not-so-great: - Lens has an aperture ring, but the ring is unusable on Nikon digital cameras. Was it too expensive to just remove the ring and eliminate this confusion?!? - I wish it had an AF limiter - but I don't mind using manual focus when needed.

Dan

2010-02-24T19:00:00

I debated between this and the 200mm Micro Nikkor. I used to own a Tamron SP 90mm f2.5 adaptall mount lens that was one of the ever best macro lens I have had in Kodachrome and Velvia days. The good experience with that lens tipped the balance when I choose the Tamron SP 180 mm. I generally stay away from third party lenses, only a select few of outstanding lenses from Tamron, Tokina and Sigma made it into my bag after careful evaluation. The Tamron SP 180mm has proved to be a very good choice. There is no doubt that the 200mm Micro Nikkor is an excellent lens. However, the Tamron is turned out to be equally good as of optical performance, if not slightly superior. Although the Tamron is housed in plastic as opposed to metal like the Micro Nikkor has, it is proved to be durable in the field. It is also lighter than the Nikkor and that helps keeping the weight of the back pack down. The unique filter ring is very handy on the Tamron, adjusting a polariser filter while the hood is attached is easy with this feature. All in all, this Tamron lens is excellent for macro, product and portrait photography. The bokeh of this lens is very nice, optics are excellent, the colour rendition is very pleasant. The focusing speed is relatively slow, however, this is a macro lens primarily where we mostly focus manually anyway. This is one of the few third party lenses that I am happy with.

aikbreeze

2010-01-22T19:00:00

I admired the closeup flower photos of a photographer I found online, who replied to my email that she took them with this lens. So I immediately bought one, and it's now the number one lens I use with my Nikon D300. What I first noticed about the pics is how soft the backgrounds are. This is due, as I understand it, to the length of the lens. There is also a certain overall softness, if you can call it that, to the entire photo. But the photos remain sharp; the "softness" is more a perceived easiness on the eyes, a sweetness. This was entirely lacking with my Nikon 60mm macro which I'd been using. I've read that the quality of photos from the Tamron 180 compares favorably with the Nikon 200mm macro that costs over three times as much. I love this lens, and in my opinion it's a real bargain. I hope Tamron brings out a VR version of this lens.

JAMES F.

2009-04-07T21:00:00

Try this lens on an Adorama focusing rail and a Bogen 410 geared head on a sturdy tripod and macro will never be the same again.

Kimmer

2008-05-05T21:00:00

Sharp, well made, FEC controll works well as does the AF which snaps dead on. But, manual focus is recommended. You can get real close to the subject from a distance appropriate for macro anyway. The tripod collar could use a better tightening screw. Considered the Nikon 200 f4 but the $600 savings will allow me to get the new Nikon 60 f2.8 to add diversity to my kit.

Dan

2007-02-11T19:00:00

Already own 50mm & 100mm macro lenses and this just blows them away.

Fishwill

2007-02-04T19:00:00

I've compared this lens with the Canon 180L and chose this lens not because of price but because of what I've read and experienced about the LD coatings. I tested both lenses and found them similar in resolution but the falloff at the edges was minimized in the Tamron. I couldn't validate that flare was decreased (as advertised) but it makes sense that it would be on a coating specifically designed for digital. I use a Canon 5D (full 35MM chip) so edge issues and flare are critical. The Canon construction is undeniably better but the Tamron's lighter weight and good quality contruction are a good compromise. Both lenses are slow for autofocus and, frankly, it doesn't really help in a macro anyway since the depth of field is so shallow that picking out what you want to focus on is a very personal (not computer) thing.

mg

2007-02-04T19:00:00

I bought this a couple of years ago and it wouldn't work with the Canon 10D. [...] I have many other lenses [...] and they work fine with my 10D.

Bruce