Product Description

28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Tamron zoom lens * effective focal length: * 28-300mm with 35mm film or full-frame digital cameras * 44-465mm with APS-C sensor cameras * compatible with Nikon digital and film SLR cameras with F mount * manual focus only with Nikon D40, D40x, and D60 SLR models * Extra Refractive Index glass for a compact, lightweight design * low-dispersion glass and hybrid aspherical glass elements for superior image quality * internal focusing * minimum focus distance: 19.3 in. *

Product Details

• Brand: Tamron
• Model: AF061N-700
• Dimensions: 2.00" h x 2.00" w x 3.50" l, 4.41 pounds

Features

• World's smallest and lightest 28-300mm lens (June 2004)
• 28-300mm focal length
• f/3.5-6.3 maximum aperture
• XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass
• Multipurpose lens for Nikon 35mm film and digital SLRs; macro to telephoto ranges

Customer Reviews

Great quality, terrific value
(Tamron also makes this lens available for Canon and Pentax digital SLRs, for the same price.)

This new digital SLR-friendly zoom lens from Tamron is a great way to acquire a high-quality zoom lens for a fraction of the cost if you bought from the camera maker (e.g., Nikkor). Tamron claims this is world's "smallest and lightest" zoom lens for the focal range. I have no idea if that's true. It's small and lightweight indeed, about the same size as the DX lens bundled with the Nikon D70 but feels lighter in the hand. To my eyes it's a plastic lens, but this made-in-Japan lens looks and feels solid. It has all the bells and whistles of a modern lens: XR, LD, asperical, plus macro capability. In real world shooting I'm very happy with the result, and I really don't think buying an official Nikkor lens would make much of a difference. Two things to keep in mind is, 1) as long as you buy a namebrand lens (Tamron, Sigma, and maybe Vivitar) you are getting a good deal, and 2) the marginal increase in lens quality (perceived or real) from the camera maker is extremely unlikely to improve pictures by any discernible amount. Give Ansel Adams a disposable camera and he would still take better pics than you and me, period. As long as you have a high quality, capable lens like this Tamron, you are armed with all the gear you need to NOT miss a great picture opportunity. The only ingredient nobody can sell, is your creativity. (Unfortunately the latter is what I lack and try to improve. For now, at least the Tamron is giving me the right tool.)

For digital Nikon SLRs, the 1.5 "magnification" factor (or crop factor) means the effective focal length of this Tamron is about 43-460mm in 35mm equivalent.

In short, this is a really top-quality lens that any Nikon D70 enthusiast should consider. It's a lot bang for the buck, and it's even made in Japan unlike many Nikon official lenses which are made in sweatshops in Southeast Asia.

If you buy just one lens, this is it.
When I got my dslr, I did not get the "kit" lens. I wanted immediately to be able to take both macro and zoom shots, and I didn't have money for more than one good quality lens. So I researched and read reviews online and when I bought my new camera, I got the Tamron 28-300. I made a great choice. If you buy just one lens; this lens is it.

This lens' macro shots are clear and detailed. For example, in a picture I recently took of my Pomeranian each individual hair that sticks up is visible and clear, strand by strand.

The versatility of the lens allows me to take landscape pictures, photos of birds in my yard, portraits, nearly whatever strikes me. Every time they are crisp and the colors are good.

I love this lens; it is still my primary lens.

Great when only one lens makes sense
Got this lens for my wife along with a Nikon D-50 just prior to a 2 week trip to Africa. Initial impressions were that the lens was very lightweight and compact and gave an amazingly full range of wide-angle to zoom capability. On the plus side, this lense stayed on my wife's camera all the time and she got some great shots that I missed while I was fumbling to change lenses. On the bad side, I swapped cameras with her one evening and found the lens to be less than great in low light (ie required long shutter times) at even modest zoom settings and even with ISO set up to 400 on the camera. I found that shutter speeds got so slow that I could not handhold the camera without blur from lens shake (1/30 or slower) while my other Nikon with the 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 was still taking good shots. Also, I found that on the digital camera with its 1.5x lens multiplier that the 28mm wide angle end of the lens was not wide enough for some of those vast African landscapes.
Net, net -- if I were on a camping trip or vacation where having a single lens was important for light weight and no fuss, I would use this lens, but if I were doing critical photography, I would probably bring a pair of faster lenses to cover the same range.