Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro (for Nikon Digital SLR) Lens

firstly awesome job flipkart..got it delivered on 4th day after ordering with a Diwali holiday in between.good packaging...this is my 7th buy from them! i bought this lens because i wanted to expand my zoom capability of my nikon d3100. after reading and analyzing a ton of reviews and performance analysis for lens within my budget i narrowed down my choice to tamron,sigma and nikon's own range of lens all 70-300mm. I finally went for tamron and believe me guys i made the right choice. tamaron is so much better(really much better) than other two because, 1. sharpness is excellent better than those two for surely(tested). 2. CA(chromatic aberrations) are manageable but till now i havent seen any!! @ 300mm!!.
3. focusing is a tad bit better than sigma...and nikon lens does not have the af-motor at all!!
4.i feel that af-noise is not that much at all because u will be concentrating on the subject that u wont notice it at all, but its audible though not loud.
when its fully extended its like an rpg launcher!! which can make other guys drool!! also if u are using a dx-apc cropped sensor camera then this types of lens is must have because they have sweet spot which really helps in macro...and this lens does have macro(but not true macro but its awesome!)

so should u go for it or what??

1.if u are restricted by ur budget then this is the best choice/buy u can make,seriously trust me.
2.if u are willing to pay more for a better lens u have nikon's own range and also tamron's higher version of the same which is like 15k more!!

now bad points this is for all the three lens,
1.@>200mm the sharpness becomes soft but not by a large margin. 2.@>200mm shakes are inevitable..hence u need a monopod or tripod.
3.this lens is extremely sharp around f/8 & f/11(which is good) hence in low light this struggles to perform and the pics are worse.

PS:i hope this helped to reduce ur confusion rather than adding any!! all the best.

ashik

I bought this one in jan'11.
It does not have any kind of stabilization in it. Image sharpness is good, but u need a very steady hand or a tripod for getting perfect images...
It has autofocus motor inbuilt but its noisy...
Coz thats all u can get for only Rs 8k!!!

Ps. It has macro mode in 180-300mm

I have Tamron 70-300mm for nearly a year and I always prefer this lens over 18-55mm Kit lens. In outdoor, it gives pretty good result. Indoor photos are bit average. But It never disappoints for Telephoto scenes. Tele Macro is fine, But unfortunately I haven't used much.
You can't use this lens so closer to any object for Macro (as we use 18-55mm). Because It's focal length starts from 70 which means the camera should have some distance. Also you can't expect Wide Angle Shot with this lens.

Overall this Lens is Great and recommended. Don't expect only with this lens you can shoot for any shot. It's a TelePhoto Lens not All-Rounder (Actually in DSLR there is no All-Rounder lens : You've to buy different kinda for different situation).

was actually looking for something in the 200mm range and decided that for under Rs10000.
I would give this lens a try (not much to loose if I didn't like it). As I just recently purchased this lens I haven done much serious work with it yet but I am quite satisfied with the test shots I've taken espically if I stay below 200mm. Even the test shots I took at 300mm (on a bright clear day) were good.

For it's macro feature, once you get it into it's macro mode it does take some nice shots (note: a tripod is a must for macro shots at these focal lengths). Then the challange is getting the lens out of macro mode, luckly I was home because I had to go find the bloody book to figure out how to exit the macro mode.
Bottom line, if you're looking for a lens with a working range of 70-200 with the ocasional foray above 200mm this lens is a good value.
Do read it .
Very good image quality for an inexpensive lens, better than the Nikon and Canon equivalents. Well worth using. Build quality better than you have a right to expect at this price point and image quality is pretty decent.
PROS: -
Cheap , Very good at f8, small and light,great DOF
CONS : -
Slow AF , Image quality at 200-300mm,CA´s, but only in very contrasty situations, easy to remove in PS
CA = chromatic Aberration.

I am enjoying it . Buy and give it a try :)

Buy this lens if you cannot afford the expensive Nikkor alternative-come with VR, but you want to enjoy getting close to your subject without moving closer.

The macro feature is just brilliant. Pictures taken from this lens in the macro mode will get adulation, lots of it.

Taking pictures of the setting sun, full moon in the sky becomes easier. USE A TRIPOD, or a still flat surface when in the 200-300mm region; handshake will hurt badly otherwise(applicable for most lenses with f4.6 aperture.

Cannot compare it with the Sigma alternative but this lens is definitely worth each paise I spent. I did not buy it from flipkart, sorry, I found a cheaper option at a local dealer but I have bought stuff from flipkart before and their service is always commendable unless in extreme circumstances.

Bottom line:

1. If you are a novice, like me, you should think of this especially if you are on a tight budget.
2. Offers great zoom, definitely during bright light settings.

P.S. @ all those who say this is a bad lens, you either do not know how to use the DSLR yet, or you are just simply doing it wrong.