Arriving before the end of the month, Tamron’s latest telephoto zoom for Sony full frame E-mount starts all the way back at a normal field of view. The 50–300mm f/4.5–6.3 Di III VC VXD (model A069) offers a little extra-wide oomph as a go-to kit zoom, effectively bundling a “nifty fifty” into a kit zoom without significantly increasing the size of the lens.
The old standards in telephoto zoomage, namely 70–200mm and 70–300mm, are great. They’re standards for a reason. However, they are just a bit limiting. When you’ve got one of those on your camera, you are only working in telephoto. Ever wanted to zoom out just a wee bit, and wished you wouldn’t have had to change lenses to do so? Boom. Enter the 50–300mm.
“That sounds great,” I hear you saying, “but surely that’s just going to make for a bulkier bag, right?” Not at all, my friend! The closest comparable lens is Tamron’s 70–300mm f/4.5–6.3 Di III RXD lens, also for full frame Sony E-mount. Note that the 70–300mm does NOT have a stabilization system, whereas the 50–300mm does. At 23.5 ounces, the 50–300mm is a tad bit heavier (compared to 19.22 ounces), but at 5.9″ it’s almost exactly the same length—to look at it another way, it’s 2 mm longer, which as about the width of a nickel. And if you don’t need a brighter aperture for a particular photo excursion, you could actually leave your 50mm lens at home, meaning a net reduction in kit size.
Two XLD and two LD lens elements help support impressive optical performance throughout the zoom range, buoyed by specialized coatings on the lens elements. A VXD linear motor drives the autofocus. The built-in VC (vibration compensation) system is great for suppressing camera shake, especially at long range, so you’re much less likely to miss once-in-a-lifetime photographic opportunities.
The cherry on top is the minimum focusing distance of only 8.7 inches, providing a 1:2 magnification at 50mm. That’s half macro! At 300mm, the minimum is still only 35.4 inches, with a magnification of 1:3.1. The closer you can get, the more creative options you have, so this is a good thing.
As with all new Tamron lenses, the 50–300mm f/4.5–6.3 Di III VC VXD is also compatible with the Tamron Lens Utility software, enabling settings tweaks, firmware updates for compatibility with future camera models’ special features, and more.
Can you use this Tamron 70-300mm on a Z8 with a Z adaptor? Thank you!
Yes, it should work with something like this Megadap adator.