Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro

Pretty Darn Close Well, it's a gem of a lens. Show me another lens which has a non-rotating filter mounting but which allows you to rotate your filter, with a dedicated rotating ring, just behind the base of the mounted lens shade. It also has the "manual, auto-focus" switching built into the focus collar. You (push) click that collar "outward" for "AutoFocus", and back, "inward", for Manual-Focus. This is the old fashioned way of doing it, It works well. But the auto-focus is also a bit slow and old fashioned. Adequate, especially for macro, but not up to focus speed compared to modern lenses. It is a wonderful size and weight for it's focal length, f/3.5 seems a perfect wide open aperture. The lens is a perfect size and weight for what it delivers: a 24" working distance for 1" butterflies and an impressive critical focus which almost hits the highest marks of image excellence. I'm hoping for a modern MKII, as this one is now "discontinued".

Excellent Long Macro I am quite satisfied with the performance of this lens in the short time I have had it. Very sharp with nice bokeh. A great focal length for handheld spring flower shots although it can be a challenge to manage without stabilization. I have not had a chance to shoot it with my tripod yet but I expect it to do very well. The af is fine. I think if you need to go from close to infinity or the opposite, it will hunt so the key is to select the distance I am shooting at first and not expect to go back and forth instantly.

Sharp for macro shooting. The lens is sharp and produces great photos. It is very well built. The only challenge I've had is that it seems to search on autofocus in close range. It will focus out to infinity, then back into the subject, like it doesn't initially know whether to focus in or out until it goes all the way to the extreme.