Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro (for Nikon Digital SLR) Lens

I was on the lookout for a mid range (zoom) Macro for my Nikon D40. I limited my comparison to Tamron 90 and Tokina 100, as the Nikons (both micro 105 VR and 85 VR) are beyond my budget.

After careful study I had to drop the Tokina as it won't auto focus on cheaper Nikon bodies that doesn't have focus motor in the body. Though the ability to AF is not a deal breaker with Macro as many people prefer manual focus for Macro, it's still nice to have AF, as lens in this zoom range is also ideal for Portrait.

So far I'm impressed with this lens, especially considering the price. Here are few of my takes on this lens.

Pros:
1. Cheap when compared to other lens with similar focal length.
2. Sharp. Some people even say it's comparable to Nikon micro 105 VR.
3. Light. I've read that the body is not as sturdy as competition, but I definitely don't have any issues with the quality of the construction.
4. Ability to auto focus on cheaper Nikon bodies like D40, D3100, D5100.

Cons:
1. Slow and noisy Auto focus in poor light. Not a deal breaker for Macro as manual focus is usually preferred. With good light AF is pretty fast.
2. Slight chromatic aberration at wider apertures, but very minimal.
3. No stabilization or VR. Again not a deal breaker as the usage of tripod is recommended for Macro. But there are time when you need to hand hold the camera and in those circumstances VR would be very helpful.

I own a Nikon D5100 and was looking for a macro lens for some time. The Nikon lenses being too expensive, the choice was between this one and Tokina. After researching online for a couple of months I finally decided to purchase this one. This is my first non-Nikon lens and I haven't been disappointed one bit so far.

The lens is pretty easy to handle, the switch between auto and manual focus modes is quite smooth and of course the picture quality is to die for. Especially at this price.

The only con is that the auto-focus is quite noisy and tends to hunt a bit. This is not much of a problem with me as I prefer to focus manually. Anyways manual focusing is preferable for macro photography.

All in all it is a great buy and I would recommend it without reservations. As for the delivery, I got it in 5 days, which is slightly more than Flipkart's otherwise exceptional standards. Or maybe it seemed so to me coz I couldn't wait to get my hands on the lens.

after going through pros and cons of almost all macro lenses available in market,i bought this lense.this is the only macro som1 need to buy who
1)is on budget(damn cheap indeed)
2)wanna hv a dedicated(1:1 reproduction ratio)macro lense with better optical quality(though not best)
pros
1)cheap and light lense
2)sharp when stopped down to 11-16(which may give u a thread like DOF at 1:1reproduction,keep this in mind)
3)can be used as a portrait lense(stop down to f4 and shot from atleast 15 feet from the subject)
4)able to autofocus on entry level nikon DSLR(d3000,d3100,d5100)
tokina has a similar lense with better built but till date nikon mount copies are able to autofocus on entry level nikon dslrs
cons
1)focus hunting is the biggest problem.somtyms u feel so fuzzzy
2)front element extends forward while close focusing decreasing working distance further(thank god it doesnt rotate)
3)inferior built quality
4)very slow focusing speed..never try to track a flying insect
conclusion=best budget macro lense.this is the only macro lense with reasonable quality for u if u r on budget

This is a fantastic product. I have recently picked this product not from Flipkart. I was hunting for a Macro lense for a while for my Nikon 5000D. I had a couple of option that i was working on: One was Nikkor 60 mm 2.8 and third party lens. Offcourse, a Nikkor is no doubt a better deal to look out for as that would have been a better fit. But, cost does become an important criteria to look out for. That is when I checked out, Tamron 90mm 2.8... It has costed me Rs21,900/-, but it is all worth. I have had some great shots and the outcome has been really very nice.

Pro: Great Macro, Low light the usage is very good. it is fast.
Cons: The extension of the barell which zomming in could be an issue, Not a traditional way of AF / MF option (I figured it after a few shots).

Overall it is a great lense and very handy.. My experiments with this has just started.