Tamron AF SP 90mm f/2.8 Macro Reviews

This is my standard lens for all close up and macro work and is also my lens of choice for head and shoulders portraiture.

I've had it for about 3 years and it has been totally reliable.

Build, handling and optics are all excellent and the push / pull MF/AF mechanism is first rate to use.

For me, MF is key wth this lens as the AF is slow and noisy but for macro work I wouldn't trust AF anyway.

It gives excellent results from f2.8 to f16 with a suggestion of diffraction softening at about f22.

Bokeh is beautiful and works very well for portraiture as well as macro.

It works well with a Kenko 300 PRO 1.4X TC and with extension tubes (its pretty good with both together in fact). The image quality with the TC is so good that I tend to leave it on most of the time, the extra reach being useful for shooting butterflies etc.

One minor niggle is the way in which the lens extends as you focus closer, IF would be nice (as the canon 100 macro) but at the price its something I'm happy to live with

I've had this lens and been using it on a Pentax *ist D for about two years. It's a really good lens, super sharp and has never let me down.

The build is decent although not as solid as the old manual AD2 Tamron 90mm that was rock solid. The manual focusing ring is a little sloppy, but I don't care for the razor sharp results it delivers.

I use the lens wide open regularly and the quality is excellent. You can check out my photos taken with it here

Really an outstanding macro with excellent bokeh. Better IQ than my SMC Takumar 100mm f/4, but also more versatile because of the fast aperture.

Unlike many macros, the front element is near the front of the lens barrel. As a result, it really helps to use a hood.

Problems? The bright center spot caused by sensor reflection is a serious problem, and it is nearly impossible to avoid by minor changes to the camera angle, etc., when it occurs. The problem is less commonly an issue when shooting near wide open. Using the 2X matched converter also avoids the spot and gives higher magnification, but IQ was no better than using other 2X converters on this or other lenses.