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  What the Press Say . . . Tamron Lenses

AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 LD Di
The Tamron's wide zoom and focusing rings makes it very nice to use. It focuses quickly although it lacks the zip of its rivals. That said, it does seem to perform better than most in low light. Like the Sigma, the Tamron features a 1:2 macro setting. We were impressed by the Tamron's performance throughout the focal length range. At the shorter end it delivers very sharp results, especially at f/8-11, while zooming sees a drop off in resolution to fair to good at 300mm. Distortion is well conrolled although you need to take care at the meximum telephoto end as it is higher than normal. The Macro setting (lens set between 180mm and 300mm) really adds to the value of the lens, because the results show excellent sharpness and contrast.
SUMMARY: A very good telezoom that rivals the Sigma for quality.

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When you stop to consider the fact that the Tamron 70-300 is less than two thirds the price of the Sigma equivalent, and most other lenses in its class, the build quality feels very sold and robust. The zoom and focus rings are silky smooth and handling is comfortable. Like the Sigma, it's also reasonably compact for a lens sporting this range of focal lengths.
Performance: to be hones, we weren't really expecting too much in the way of sharpness from a 70-300mm lens that retails for under £100, but the Tamron was full of surprises. It easily matched the impressive Sigma's sharpness right out to its 300mm maximum telephoto setting, shooting wide open at f/5.6. The edge-to-edge sharpness was even better after stopping the lens down by just one stop, to f/8. Both the colour and contrast were equally good, although autofocus speed was less impressive, taking noticeably longer than the Sigma in our standard lab test. In the field, however, there was remarkably little hunting even in low-contrast scenes, making the Tamron's focusing quick enough for most real-world situations.
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DIGITAL CAMERA SHOPPER BEST VALUE AWARD