Is this bargain, lightweight telephoto zoom lens a good buy for Nikon Z mount? Amy Davies finds out
Along telephoto lens for full-frame cameras can be quite an expensive outlay. This is where looking at third-party makers, such as Tamron, can be a good way to keep to a stricter budget. Its 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III is available in Sony E and Nikon Z mount versions – here we’re looking at the latter.
With its RRP of £699, not only do you get a very well-priced optic, you also get something longer than Nikon currently offers in its own range of mid-range zooms. Going up to 300mm makes this a good choice for a range of subjects, including portraits, wildlife, sports, event photography and close-ups, or even architecture and landscape photography.
This is also a lens that those who don’t want to carry around massively weighty and chunky lenses might opt for. Of course, for that privilege, there is a trade-off to consider. In this instance, it’s that the aperture is fairly narrow, ranging from f/4.5 at 70mm to f/6.3 at telephoto.
Other lenses that Nikon users looking for an affordable telephoto zoom might consider include the Nikon 70-180mm f/2.8, which offers a consistent wide aperture but a significantly shorter telephoto end. At £1,299, this lens is also quite a bit more expensive. There’s also the Nikon 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR all-in-one superzoom, which starts much wider but again, doesn’t have the same reach. It’s also more expensive at £829.
While the Tamron 70-300mm lens is designed for full-frame cameras, DX users might also want to consider it. Here the equivalent focal length would be 105-450mm.
Features
The lens construction consists of 15 elements in 10 groups, which includes 1 LD (low dispersion) glass element. Tamron says it is designed to suppress chromatic aberrations and provide excellent resolution from edge to edge. Additionally, there is BBAR coating to prevent reflections. Seals are included in several key areas, including the mount, to provide a waterresistant construction.
There are seven aperture blades to create the out-of-focus areas. Although this lens doesn’t have a very large maximum aperture, you should still be able to achieve some nicely shallow depth-of-field effects when shooting at the maximum focal length.
While it’s not designated as a macro lens, given its focal length, you can use it for typical close-up subjects such as flowers. The closest focusing distance at 70mm is 0.8m, rising to 1.5m at the telephoto
