Photography News Issue 51

Photography News | Issue 51 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD £789

A long telezoom has great picture potential for scenics as well as for more specialist topics like wildlife and sports, but such lenses can be too big to carry around. But not the Tamron 100-400mm zoom; it’s the lightest lens of this range and it’s compact too. It’s lighter and shorter at its 100mm setting than the Canon/Nikon 70- 200mm f/2.8 lenses, for example. Mounted on a Nikon D810 the combination was nicely balanced, fine for handholding and didn’t feel at all unwieldly even when racked to the 400mm end. No tripod mount is supplied as standard but it is available as an optional accessory for £109.99. Given the lens’s comparatively low weight, fixing the camera body to a monopod/tripod without over- stressing the lens mount is feasible. The lens includes Tamron’s proprietory VC (Vibration Compensation) system. I have used VC on other Tamron lenses including its 150-600mm so I know how effective it can be. I tested the 100-400mm’s VC on a calm day, taking a series of handheld shots at 100mm, 200mmand400mm focal lengths with shutter speeds from 1/60sec down to 1/15sec. Looking at the results, I was very impressed at what I saw at 400mm. I would not have expected to get five out of five very sharp images at this setting and a shutter speed of

1/25sec, but that is what I got. Gentle breathing, a smooth release and stable stance all help and it was a benign day too, but I thought that was still a mightily impressive showing. Of course, that is no reason to leave the tripod or monopod at home, but it shows what the lens’s VC system is capable of when no support is on hand. The specifications claim a 4EV benefit so assuming that 1/400sec is the minimum shutter speed for a 400mm lens, my test shows that this claim is spot-on. The lens features a zoomlockwhich works at 100mm only and there is a focus limiter. The limiter has two ranges, 1.5 to 7m and 7m to infinity, depending on the focus distance when the limiter is engaged. The limit range (and firmware) can be changed using the Tamron TAP-in console, available for £55. Tamron uses its Dual MPU technology to give high speed AF performance and together with the USD motor, you get swift, responsive and accurate AF. It is silent and very smooth too and gives a decent tracking performance. Starting at the 100mm setting, sharpness was good across the frame at f/4.5. However, stopping down to f/5.6 and then f/8 made significant improvements to give nice, contrasty images before diffraction had a negative impact at f/16 and f/22.

Above The Tamron long zoom is great for isolating details in a Advanced lens coatings help to avoid flare when shooting towards the light. scene. Right

Specs

Prices £789 with hood Format 35mm full-frame, APS-C Mounts Canon, Nikon Construction 17 elements in 11 groups Special lens elements Three LD (low dispersion) elements Coatings

eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency). Fluorine coating on front element Filter size 67mm

Image qualitywasmore impressive at the 200mm setting with very sharp images at the maximum aperture and that high level of performance got even better to f/8 before gradually falling away at the small apertures. Of the three tested focal lengths, I thought 400mm would produce the weakest showing, but I was wrong. At f/6.3 and f/8 sharpness rated very highly, especially f/8 where images were detail packed. Further stopping, and quality started to tail away. Overall, optical performance is of a high standard given the focal length range and attractive price. WC

100mm

200mm

400mm

Aperture range F/4.5-5.6 –f/32-45 Diaphragm Nine blades Internal focus Yes Manual focus Yes Minimum focus 1.5m Focus limiter

F/4.5

F/5.6

F/6.3

Yes, 7m to infinity or 1.5 to 7m depending the focus distance when limit switch is set (can be changed with TAP-in console available separately) Maximummagnification 1:3.6 Distance scale Yes Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser VC with claimed 4EV benefit. Mode 1 (normal shooting) and 2 (panning) Tripod collar Not supplied, optional A035TM tripod mount £109.99 Lens hood Supplied Weather-sealed Yes Dimensions 199x86.2mm Weight 1115g (Nikon) Contact Intro2020.co.uk

F/5.6

F/8

F/11

F/16

Verdict

Tamron’s 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD offers great versatility in a compact package. You could have this long telezoom together with a standard zoom and cover a massive focal length range in a respectably portable outfit.

F/16

F/22

F/32

Pros Compact for its range, optical performance, VC, range, price Cons Tripod mount optional