Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Tamron AF 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD Lens for Nikon F DSLR

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2019

I've had this lens for less than a day, and so far, I'm very impressed. No regrets spending $800 on it.

The lens is wonderfully sharp—even wide open, even at the longest focal length—and at most settings the sharpness extends all the way out to the edges of the frame. Having been accustomed to the performance characteristics of the Nikkor 24-120mm f/4, I was quite surprised that this Tamron maintains excellent sharpness throughout its zoom range—even at the long end, where the Nikkor performs at its worst. Unlike many zooms, the Tamron is actually least impressive at its shortest focal length, where the center of the image is sharp, but edge acuity isn't great until you stop down to at least f/4. Tamron calls this lens a "portrait zoom", and it does seem to be optimized for the typical portrait focal lengths from 50mm through 135mm. The 35mm short end seems like a bonus, rather than the focus of the lens (pun intended).

Autofocus is very reliable, except perhaps (on my copy at least) at the short end of the zoom range, where there seems to be a bit of inconsistency depending on the direction the focus motor is turning (my copy focuses better when the lens is going from a shorter distance to a longer). Autofocus speed is quite leisurely. The lens seemingly takes almost a full second to rack focus from infinity to MFD or vice versa. Also, the AF motor is not particularly quiet. I believe it's a micromotor instead of a ring motor like Nikon's SWM. Still, it's nowhere near as noisy as some screw-drive lenses.

Manual-focus action is decent, and it's mechanical, not fly-by-wire. Unusually for a modern lens, the focus ring turns during autofocus—which isn't great, because you have to remember to keep your fingers off the ring or risk stressing the AF motor. Also, the lens lacks any kind of focus scale. (Hyperfocal distance? What's that?)

This lens focuses really close! At MFD, when the lens is zoomed in to 150mm, the front of the lens is something like 6 inches from the subject. And the magnification at that working distance—1:3.7—is higher than that of some zooms that call themselves "macro" lenses. This is a versatile lens.

Image stabilization works very well. If your handholding skill is any good, the stabilization on this lens will make the image in the viewfinder simply rock-steady. It works better than the VR on the aforementioned Nikkor 24-120mm. The VC motor is very quiet when engaging and disengaging, unlike that on some older Tamron lenses such as the 70-300mm f/4-5.6.

I was afraid the lens would be heavy for my taste, being about 10% heavier than the Nikkor 24-120mm (a lens that already feels a bit heavy to me). Surprisingly, it actually doesn't feel too heavy. But what it does feel is bulky. This is a very thick-bodied lens—too thick to be comfortable for small hands.

The exterior of the lens is made of good-quality plastic. The surface finish is smooth matte. I worry that it will scratch easily, and that the scratches will show well. Overall, the fit and finish of the lens is excellent for a consumer/prosumer model. The zoom action feels pretty good—nice and consistent throughout the zoom range, without play, but with an undamped feel. It could use a little lubrication. There is a zoom lock switch that seems unnecessary, since there is no hint of zoom creep. The lens is shortest at the 35mm focal length and longest at 150mm, at which point the forward inner barrel sticks out about two inches. Impressively, there is ZERO movement when you grab the front of the extended barrel and try to wiggle it laterally. That's quality! I just hope it stays that way.

34 people found this helpful

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Oleg Penzin

very good new Tamron lens

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I really like quality of pictures produced by this lens, its zoom range and aperture are very practical.

3 people found this helpful

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C. B. Palmeri

This lens punches (well) above it's weight class (price)

Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2022

Verified Purchase

I own pretty much every Sigma Art lens. I consider them my top working lenses, and they are very good. I also own a large number of Tamron lenses (mostly "SP" lenses). And I also have this very humble Tamron 35-150 f/2.8-4.

Yes, my Sigma Arts and Tamron SP's are all stellar performers. They are also well above $1K each. This $800 zoom just continues to blow my mind. Full frame corner sharpness is on par with many of my primes at half their price. From f5.6 and up, FF corner and edge sharpness is better as good (and maybe better) than every other zoom I own, and is approaching the sharpness of my primes. This lens is an incredible bargain at this price.

4 people found this helpful

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Maestro Vecchio

Pleased as Punch

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

A beautiful and sharp lens at a great price. This is a really nice lens for travel.

7 people found this helpful

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A. T. Miller

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

Not that great in low light situations. Hunts quite a bit. Light weight and portability make up for it.

5 people found this helpful

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Roy Benson

Excellent lens

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

This is a great lens...best walkaround lens that I have ever used.

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Manny

Worth every penny.

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2019

Beach Shoot at Freeport TX yesterday, amazing results. All shot with D850, using HSS, Rovelight 610 and edited in LR. For $799.00 it is an amazing deal.

15 people found this helpful

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TxujCi

Heavy

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021

Heavy but work great

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Giorgio

Qualità quanto basta

Reviewed in Italy on May 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

Con l'ultima serie di produzioni, Tamron sta dimostrando di non essere seconda a nessuno. Qualità costruttiva senza fronzoli. Nitidissimo già a TA. Un pochino pesante, ma è sinonimo di qualità. Molto soddisfatto. Zero stelle ad Amazon per l'inesistente cura nell'imballaggio! la scatola dell'obiettivo era libera di scorrere dentro una scatola 5 volte più grande, senza nessuna imbottitura di carta o altro materiale. Dalla Spagna all'Italia ha corso enormi rischi. Non acquisterò più obiettivi su Amazon. Il rischio di ritrovarsi a casa il prodotto massacrato di botte è elevatissimo!

2 people found this helpful

Translate review to English

購入しました

D610と相性がいい

Reviewed in Japan on July 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

手ブレ補正もなかなか良い感じです。室外での使用で、とても満足しています。35-150mmズーム、便利です。ワイド端F2.8でこの価格帯は、純正が中古でも高額なことを考えると、タムロン様ありがとうと言いたいです。D610の買換えをを考えていましたが、このレンズのおかげでまだまだ使えそうです。大きさや重さは人それぞれに感じ方が違うでしょうが、純正の重さ大きさを考えれば、十分に小さく軽いと思います。

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Tamron AF 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD Lens for Nikon F DSLR

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Tamron AF 35-150mm F/2.8-4 Di VC OSD Lens for Nikon F DSLR

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