Tamron A17NII AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2 Nikon+Motor

I am absolutely delighted with the build, picture quality and price of this lens. I bought it as a complete beginner, wanting to use it for insect photography. It is well built and easily attaches to my Nikon D3300 - in fact, it stays on it all of the time now. The auto focus works as if the lens were made for the camera and I don't notice the noise .....I don't have a problem changing from macro to normal focus ....... I prefer manual focusing, to be honest, but it depends upon the subject and context.I think this is a seriously good piece of kit - excellent value for money - I just wish I'd bought it sooner.Update 19/8/16 ..... I'd had the lens for 10 days yesterday and the motor is no longer working. I am therefore returning it. What a shame. I had originally given it 5 stars ..... but have had to change that score to one.Update 12/11/16 ..... I just couldn't do without this lens so had to purchase another...... It's outstanding ..... so back to 5 stars ...... except that the system will not allow me to change and save!

Really pleased with this lens great picture quality .wasn’t sure if it would be ok at first as I have a Nikon D5600 and mixed reviews some saying it would not be compatible without a tamron mount but it fits and works straight on . The auto focus can be a bit slow at times as it locates the shot but overall a great piece of kit the settings to be able to switch to manual or auto is great and the setting to adjust from normal to micro + to move focal range is only a half turn from 70 to 300 .all these pics I posted were taken on auto focus so judge for yourself .I did get a tripod but did not use it on the moon shot which is cropped a bit .overall I would give this lens 4 out of 5 and especially as it is at such a low price compared to its rivals and with myself being a novice it’s ideal to learn with

So, you want another lens, besides the 18-55mm kit lens of which you've grown very fond (assuming you had a similar start as me), but you're tight for money. Honestly, this lens is not that much of a bad choice. You're likely better off saving your money for a zoom lens that performs a little better, but if you need one now, I say go for it.It does all that you really need, to be perfectly honest, so long as you dont mind acting as though your tripod is instead a permanent extension of your camera, rather than a useful tool you may have on the offhand. What I mean by that is, this lens dislikes (to a very high degree, might i add) ANY kind of movement or vibration. Hell, even the subtle press of the shutter release on my camera is enough to trail the entire image. A remote shutter release is highly recommended, therefore. I shouldn't dwell on this factor too much, however, since this lens does not support Vibration Reduction, and it is also a telephoto lens. I don't know if you've ever used binoculars before, but holding them perfectly still is certainly a chore. In essence, you should know, when buying this lens, that it can't be used as a walk-around handheld lens, which isn't a bad thing.Having had all of the above said, if you set your camera up properly, this lens does actually perform really well. I've found that setting your camera to about f/9, or around there, is the sweet-spot for the lens's aperture, and with a quick increase in post sharpening effects, the pictures will actually come out impressively clear. There's certainly no comparison to a non-variable zoom lens, but if you're an amateur wanting to take easy snaps of a city skyline, then this lens will do the job to a really high degree. The only problem is that it's often a little fiddly to get set up.With the picture quality out of the way, I do want to talk about it's autofocus; let's just say, if the subject is moving fast, good luck. By making the lens attempt to auto focus on an object, it really does tend to sound like someone is trying to reverse a remote controlled car down the shaft of the lens and up into the sensor. Better yet, it does sometimes struggle to focus correctly, and on odd occasions, it will rotate the lens a full 180 degrees, before grinding it back to its starting position (where you were certain the picture looked clear to begin with anyway), bestowing upon to you its iconic RC motorbike sounds once again. Now, having said all of this, it does get the job done. It will eventually focus, and to be fair, it does actually attain its focus in a reasonable time more often than not, just dont expect it to focus on anything that tends to move faster than what an RC Car could achieve.On to its weight. As predicted, it's a heavy one, but not unbearably so. It does feel like it's made out of 120 pound coins, both metaphorically and physically. Then again, I don't know what I'm expecting from a telephoto lens, they will always be this heavy, and honestly, I'd be slightly concerned if it weighed any less. It does feel nice to hold when it's on your camera. It really does help to beef the entire camera.All in all, this lens is pretty good for the price it has. I'm definitely satisfied with it, and I feel I'll certainly use it. It's a shame it doesn't have VR, but you can't have your cake and eat it. If you aren't too bothered with photographing moving subjects, and are instead more of a stills photographer, you'll certainly find a use for this lens.I do still recommend saving for a better lens, though. Tamron make some good lenses, and I'm sure you'll find one you like, just expect to fork out in excess of £350; even then thats a relatively cheap price.

This lens was bought to upgrade my old AF lenses which are not autofocus compatible with my new camera, a Nikon D3400. It was an opportunity to try out a 300mm focal length lens to see if its worth upgrading to a Nikon one in due course. This is a pleasantly well made lens which can be switched over from auto to manual FOCUS. The zoom ring is by necessity and design manually operated. Movement is smooth and the focus motor is relatively quiet.There is a "Macro" switch but in reality it is a lock button for the zoom ring between 180-300mm. Focus is an art form with this selected but will deliver good results if the camera is around 5' away from the subject. Any closer and focus is difficult in manual and almost impossible in auto. The result a good "Super Close Up" but certainly not macro. That said, from a personal perspective I only want crisp sharp close up pictures not macro.The casing is mostly plastic but aesthetically pleasing.I dont think the extra 100mm is worth the money as thus far I have noticed little difference between this and the 55-200mm from Nikon in terms of performance.Zooming is smooth and quiet. Imaging is crisp and clearA good budget lens, which matches the Nikon one in most aspects. I asm vrry pleased with the performance of this lens. Only build quality might tempt me to spend the extra £s to upgrade to Nikon branded.**Update** 12/8/09 this lens is still in the case, still in use and still going strong.