help needed with Tamron 70-300mm f4/5.6 DI LD Macro

[happysnapper2009]

hi im new here and realy need some help .
next week im buying my first SLR .
not sure what to go for Nikon D60 + AF-S DX Nikkor VR 18-55mm Lens or Canon EOS 1000D + 18-55 IS Lens.
also i will need a macro lens the shop were i will be buying my camera from are doing the Tamron 70-300mm f4/5.6 DI LD Macro lens in a deal with cash back . i have a limit of £500
to spend for camera,normal lens ,macro lends , mem card and bag and lens case .

im realy into my macro shots my old compact camera worked very well but time for a SLR
has any one gotany macro shots useing the Tamron 70-300mm f4/5.6 DI LD Macro .

thanks

[Frog]

Instead of putting money out for a macro, I bought a set of Kenko extension tubes.
Other than that I'm not lens savy enough to say but Welcome to the forums.
A friendly and great learning place.
When you get your kit, start posting up some shots.

[happysnapper2009]

Instead of putting money out for a macro, I bought a set of Kenko extension tubes.
Other than that I'm not lens savy enough to say but Welcome to the forums.
A friendly and great learning place.
When you get your kit, start posting up some shots.

thanks for the welcome . i used a slr a cpl of days ago for the first time a canon 100d . and loved it thats why im going to buy a slr myself. took some photos of the girlfriend (cant post them if you get my drift lol ) . as for the macros as soon as i get my kit i will do some test shots.

[A.M.D.A.]

Welcome to PR.

If you are really into macro photography (like me), then I'd suggest you get a good macro lens, and optionally some "budget" telephoto/wide-angle, instead of the other way around. That 70-300mm lens is known for poorer image quality, awful CA's and softness. But if you are only going to shoot infrequently, or want to use the lens as a lens cap, then it should be OK. For serious work, get a dedicated macro lens or quality extension tubes. An example is the TAMRON 90mm F2.8 MACRO or Canon EF-S USM 60mm F2.8 60mm MACRO.

Check out the gallery here at PR to search for photos taken with the lenses in question, I see there are many posted already.

[Loupey]

I bought my son this lens - it's a steal for the price.

I took it out for a test drive and posted the results here:

70-300mm Field Test

[happysnapper2009]

I bought my son this lens - it's a steal for the price.

I took it out for a test drive and posted the results here:

70-300mm Field Test

cracking photos thanks for the link , im realy going to have fun with my new set up .

[jetrim]

Have this lens, and it's been pretty good to me so far haven't experienced any of the "softness" ADMA spoke of, except when it was due to user error (me).
Here's one with the macro slide switched:


and one without it being in macro mode:


Do be aware that the macro switch is a little cheesy, you can only switch it on when the barrel is fully extended (275-300mm range) and it gets *stuck* from time to time. Work the zoom back and forth a few times and try it again (that usually does the trick)

[A.M.D.A.]

It is said that stopped down to F8-11 yields best results. Also, there are always "good lens copies" and "bad copies" and then the downright "terrible copies". If you get a good one then yes, good pictures will result, though mostly what one needs is skill.

[Loupey]

This thread reminded me that I never used the 70-300mm since my original field test - and none under controlled conditions.

So I shot these all this weekend at full macro mode (1:2, half life size) at 300mm which gives over 3 feet of working distance - great for bugs btw - with the Canon 50D. Uncropped and with fairly normal levels of post processing.

The first three were hand-held with a strobe. The last two were window-lit on tripod.

Not too shabby for a $180 lens, brand new.

I also just bought my son a Canon XS (1000D) this morning (it's actually still in the car) so I don't think I'll be getting the zoom back to play with anytime soon

[freygr]

I also have the Tamron 70-300mm f4/5.6 Macro, Full Frame. I have had very good luck with this lens. I have not seen any softness at all. But the DOF is much less than your old "old compact camera"