The new Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD offers a range and flexibility that's ideal for both photos and videos. It's compact and lightweight, making it a practical choice for various shooting scenarios.
Coming to you from Julia Trotti, this insightful video reviews the Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 lens. Trotti begins with a portrait session, showing its performance at different focal lengths. She notes that the lens is surprisingly small given its 10.7x focal range. Weighing only 600 g and measuring 12.6c m when zoomed out to 28mm, it’s unobtrusive and easy to handle. The lens features external zoom, a zoom lock switch, a customizable button, a USB-C port, a 67mm filter thread, and moisture resistance. Vibration compensation is also included, enhancing its versatility.
Image quality is impressive. Trotti is pleased with the clear, detailed photos across the focal range, noting that some long zoom lenses struggle with sharpness at the extremes, but this one remains consistent. She highlights the lens's fast and reliable autofocus, crucial for both stills and video. Throughout the review, you can see how the lens performs in various settings, demonstrating its adaptability.
Trotti manages expectations, reminding you that this lens is not GM-quality glass. Its primary focus is on providing a broad focal range and compact size. It's suitable for enthusiasts, beginners, and those needing an all-in-one lens for travel or daily use. The high aperture range means it's not ideal for shallow depth-of-field shots, but with careful positioning and the right focal length, you can still achieve pleasing background separation.
The lens’ nine circular diaphragm blades contribute to smooth, round bokeh at wider focal lengths, although it becomes more eye-shaped between 200-300mm. Despite this, Trotti finds the bokeh appealing and notes the lens’s capability to produce attractive portraits even with closer backgrounds. She appreciates its character and the balance Tamron achieved in size and image quality.
Trotti also discusses the lens’s handling of chromatic aberration and lens flare. The lens shows minimal chromatic aberration, with only slight fringing in high-contrast areas. Lens flare and ghosting are more noticeable in backlit situations, which she finds occasionally distracting but manageable with careful composition.
Comparing this lens to other Tamron super zooms, Trotti highlights its extra reach over the 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 and its wider field of view compared to the 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3. Each lens has trade-offs between aperture, focal length, and weight, with the 28-300mm striking a balance for those needing versatility without sacrificing too much in image quality.
For video, the autofocus performance remains strong across the focal range, smoothly transitioning between subjects at different distances. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Trotti.
