Jan 12, 20234 min read

LENS REVIEW: THE TAMRON AF70-300mm f/4-5.6 SP DiMACRO LENS

(This was written to be assessed as part of my Journalism course. This was in Semester 2 of Level 4 and was for my Feature Writing and Design module, where we were tasked with writing a consumer and B2B feature. This was written for the B2B part of the task, and my magazine design is also included below)

Can a £125 lens fulfil your photographic needs? This in-depth analysis by photographer, Molly Woodthorpe, will answer all your questions about this affordable but by no means cheap, macro lens.

Macro Photography: an Overview

Macro photography aims to make small objects more visible, and to give the audience something they don’t usually see, hence why macro shots usually are of small flowers or insects- we don’t usually get to see them in detail with the naked eye. However, it does not have to have one of those as the subject- it has many other purposes, such as to show details of jewellery or even as art, where it can have any subject imaginable. Macro can be defined as any photo that has been magnified at a ratio of 1:1, or above. This refers to where a one-inch object is projected by one inch on the camera sensor.

There are several ways to get a macro shot. The first is with a regular DSLR camera or a point-and-shoot camera, they both have built in macro so users are able to zoom in to get closer shots without the need for an extra lens. Photographers are also able to crop photos- making the subject appear more magnified than it actually is, to fill a frame. Finally, using a macro lens. This is the only real way to achieve a ‘true macro’ photo, as the others merely mimic the effects of macro. Here, we have tested and reviewed the Tamron AF70-300mm Macro lens, a relatively cheap and easy-to-use lens, to consider the most important factors when choosing a macro lens.

This lens is available on Amazon as well as a variety of online retailers, and can be purchased to be compatible with Canon for £159.99, Nikon for £168.99, Pentax for £249.88 and Sony for £99.99 (Prices from Tamron on Amazon). For this price, it comes with a Bayonet Hood, which can be used to prevent glare and lens flare in photography- which is very useful in macro, as lighting is such an important factor. This is due to needing a fast shutter speed, so less light is allowed into the lens, so bright lighting and flash are very useful, making a bayonet hood a frequent necessity.

Firstly, beginning testing on a variety of subjects:

The Hedgehog: This lens worked really well for actually taking this photo, but I had more of a problem attaching the lens to the camera at speed. The hedgehog was moving quite quickly away from the area and I had to spend time trying to get the lens on, where I could have been photographing instead. There is the argument that it could have been my camera (Nikon D5600) that was the issue, but I have not had any other lens take as long to fit into place as this one did.

The Acer leaf: This photo took quite a few attempts, it was an early morning so the light was not great and it was also blustery, but with flash on it mostly fixed the lighting issue. The problem was focusing, the leaf was blowing about and the Autofocus is a little too slow. The only way I could compensate for the slow focus was to increase the shutter speed and take more photos until I got the right one, but had the lens have had quicker autofocus I would not have had to do this. Overall, I am very happy with the final result, but I would have liked to achieve it with fewer shots.

The Bee: Overall, I am impressed with this photo, or more so how the lens focused. The bee was moving very quickly between the flowers- which was also moving in the wind- but there is a strong focus on the bee, and a nicely blurred background which helps bring more attention to the foreground.

The main issue with this lens is focusing, firstly, the autofocus is slightly on the slower side, which means for some subjects this is not the best lens- sports, performances and such quick-moving subjects are not as easy to capture as say, wildlife or even an event at a place such as an airfield. To shoot with this lens, a faster moving subject, it is easier if you are closer, as adjustments can be made more quickly which works better with the lenses AF.

However, the bigger issue with the AF, is the problematic depth that comes with it- back focusing instead of front focusing is too frequent. This means there can be inconsistency with the depth of field and there is little to no control over this, so you never know if your images are going to turn out how you want. This is less of an issue for amateur photographers, but when this is your career, it is far more of a problem- you could be being paid to photograph an event, and only come out with 15 usable photos out of the 50 you took.

The final disadvantage was the distance you have to be from the subject- trying to take a very close up photo of something tiny like a bee or other variety of small insect is very difficult when you have to be so far away you can barely see it, let alone follow it as it moves.

Onto the positives- it is a good lens. Its lightweight for its size, easy to use and fit to your camera body, the design is sleek and very easy to use. Personally, this was the first macro lens I had used, but it is very simple to use for both standard and macro photography.

At a glance:

Cost:

£125

Overall length:

116.5mm (4.6”)

Weight:

458g

Max Diameter:

76.6mm (3”)

Min focus distance:

1.5m (4.92”)

Filter size: