Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Review (Sony E-Mount)

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is an impressive telephoto zoom lens designed for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras. As part of Tamron's fast aperture lineup, this lens delivers an f/2.8 constant aperture throughout its zoom range, making it a strong contender in the mid-telephoto market. It's particularly appealing to photographers and videographers who need versatility, portability, and high-performance optics without the bulk of more expensive alternatives. In this review, we'll take an in-depth look at its design, performance, image quality, and more.

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Features / Specifications

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD offers a compelling set of specifications, catering to both amateur and professional users. It combines a solid build, high-quality optics, and impressive performance in a relatively lightweight design.

Focal Length: 70-180mm, covering a mid-telephoto to telephoto range, ideal for portraits, sports, wildlife, and events.
Maximum Aperture: Constant f/2.8, providing a wide aperture for low-light shooting and excellent depth of field control.
Lens Construction: 19 elements in 14 groups, including:
- 1 XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) element.
- 1 LD (Low Dispersion) element.
- 1 GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) element.
Coatings: BBAR (Broad Band Anti-Reflection) coating for reduced flare and ghosting.
Autofocus System: VXD (Voice-coil Extreme Dynamic) motor for fast, precise autofocus.
Minimum Focus Distance: 27cm (10.6 inches) at 70mm, 85cm (33.5 inches) at 180mm.
Filter Size: 67mm.
Size and Weight: 149mm (5.9 inches) in length, 81mm (3.2 inches) in diameter, 810g (1.79 lbs).
Weather Sealing: Weather-resistant construction for protection against dust and moisture.
Other Features:
- Fast and responsive autofocus for both stills and video.
- Compact design for a telephoto lens, easily portable.
- Rounded aperture for beautiful bokeh.

Build Quality

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD combines a well-constructed build with a lightweight design. It feels sturdy and durable in hand, capable of handling the rigors of both casual and professional shooting environments. The lens is weather-sealed, making it suitable for outdoor and nature photographers who may encounter challenging conditions.

Materials: The lens is made of a durable, high-quality plastic body, offering a solid feel without being overly heavy.
Weather Sealing: The lens has extensive weather sealing, with rubber gaskets around the lens mount, zoom, and focus rings, helping it resist moisture and dust.
Zoom and Focus Rings: The zoom ring is smooth, offering excellent control, while the focus ring is finely tuned for manual adjustments.
Build Quality: Despite being relatively lightweight, the lens feels premium, and its overall construction suggests that it will hold up well over time.

Size, Weight, and Dimensions

For a telephoto zoom lens with an f/2.8 aperture, the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is remarkably compact and lightweight. This makes it an excellent choice for photographers and videographers who want a portable solution without compromising on image quality.

Weight: 810g (1.79 lbs), making it much lighter than many other f/2.8 telephoto zooms on the market, including Sony's own 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens.
Dimensions: 149mm (5.9 inches) in length and 81mm (3.2 inches) in diameter, making it more compact than expected for its focal range.
Portability: With its relatively light weight and small profile, the Tamron 70-180mm is highly portable, especially compared to other telephoto lenses of similar specifications.

Image Quality

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD delivers excellent image quality, providing sharp, contrast-rich, and vibrant results across the entire zoom range. It competes closely with other premium lenses in the market, offering top-notch performance without the hefty price tag.

Sharpness

Center Sharpness: The lens performs exceptionally well in terms of sharpness. At both ends of the zoom range (70mm and 180mm), it provides impressive detail, even when shooting wide open at f/2.8.
Edge Sharpness: Edge sharpness is good throughout the zoom range, with minimal falloff when compared to the center. Stopping down to f/4 or f/5.6 improves sharpness across the frame, making it ideal for landscape and architectural shots.
Zoom Range: There’s very little drop-off in image quality across the zoom range, which makes the lens a reliable choice for professionals who require consistent performance.

Color and Contrast

Color Accuracy: The color reproduction is vivid and accurate, with lifelike skin tones and natural color balance. The BBAR (Broad Band Anti-Reflection) coating helps to minimize flare and ghosting, ensuring that color saturation remains high even in challenging lighting.
Contrast: The lens offers rich contrast, particularly at wider apertures like f/2.8, where the subject stands out against a smooth background.

Bokeh

Background Blur: The rounded aperture blades give the Tamron 70-180mm an appealing bokeh, especially when shooting wide open at f/2.8. The out-of-focus areas are soft and smooth, which is ideal for portraiture and subject isolation.
Smoothness: The bokeh remains consistent even as you zoom in or out, making it a great choice for portraits and other applications that require background separation.

Optical Aberrations

Chromatic Aberration: Chromatic aberration is well-controlled, with minimal fringing even in high-contrast scenes like backlit subjects.
Distortion: Barrel distortion is present at the wide end (70mm), but it's minimal and easily correctable in post-processing. At 180mm, the lens exhibits almost no distortion.
Flare and Ghosting: The BBAR coating does a great job of reducing flare and ghosting. Even when shooting directly into the light, the lens produces clean, contrast-rich images.

Autofocus

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is equipped with the VXD (Voice-coil Extreme Dynamic) motor, which provides fast and accurate autofocus performance. The motor is silent, quick, and precise, making it suitable for both stills and video. Whether you’re capturing fast-moving subjects or need to make quick focus adjustments during video shoots, the autofocus system performs exceptionally well.

Autofocus Speed: Fast, accurate, and quiet, with minimal hunting even in low light.
Tracking: The lens does a great job of tracking moving subjects, making it perfect for sports and wildlife photographers.
Manual Focus: When in manual focus mode, the lens offers smooth and precise manual adjustments.

Performance in Photography and Videography

Photography

Portraits: The 70-180mm f/2.8 is excellent for portraits, especially at the longer end of the zoom range (135mm-180mm). The fast aperture allows for beautiful background separation and subject isolation, and the lens’ sharpness ensures that fine details like hair and eyes are captured crisply.
Wildlife and Sports: Its telephoto focal range and fast autofocus make it ideal for wildlife and sports photography. The lens can capture fast-moving subjects with ease, and the f/2.8 aperture helps you isolate your subject against a blurred background.
Event Photography: This lens excels in event photography due to its versatility. The zoom range provides the flexibility to shoot from a distance or get closer to the action, while the wide aperture allows for excellent performance in low-light settings.

Videography

Autofocus for Video: The VXD autofocus system is quick and silent, making it perfect for videographers. Whether you’re tracking moving subjects or adjusting focus in a static scene, the autofocus works smoothly and silently, without producing distracting noise or jitter.
Focus Breathing: Minimal focus breathing makes the lens a good choice for videography, particularly when pulling focus during interviews or other cinematic shots.
Stabilization: While the lens lacks optical stabilization, it pairs well with Sony’s in-body image stabilization (IBIS), which ensures smooth handheld shooting in most situations.

Use Cases

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is incredibly versatile, making it an ideal option for various types of photography and videography:

Portrait Photography: The 70-180mm focal range is great for portraiture, allowing for flattering compression and smooth bokeh, with the added flexibility of being able to zoom in for tighter compositions.
Wildlife and Sports Photography: With its fast f/2.8 aperture and responsive autofocus, it’s an excellent choice for capturing fast-moving animals and athletes, especially in lower light.
Event and Wedding Photography: The 70-180mm range is perfect for event photographers who need to capture both wide-angle group shots and close-up action shots without changing lenses.
Travel and Street Photography: While on the larger side for street photography, its portability for a telephoto lens makes it an excellent choice for travel photographers who want to capture a wide range of scenes with a single lens.

Price

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD offers outstanding value for money, especially considering its fast f/2.8 aperture, excellent image quality, and compact design. At a more affordable price than Sony's 70-200mm f/2.8 GM, this lens delivers comparable performance for those looking for a high-quality telephoto zoom without the premium cost.

Price Range: Competitive pricing, significantly lower than the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM while providing similar performance.
Value for Money: Excellent value for those who want a high-performing telephoto zoom lens without the large price tag.

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is an excellent choice for Sony full-frame mirrorless users who need a fast, compact, and affordable telephoto zoom lens. Offering superb image quality, fast and quiet autofocus, and a solid build, this lens provides professional-grade performance at a fraction of the cost of similar lenses from Sony and other manufacturers. Whether you're into portraiture, wildlife, sports, or event photography, this lens has the versatility to meet your needs.

Conclusion

Rating

Our overall rating: 8.8/10

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD is a top-tier telephoto zoom lens that combines impressive optical performance, fast autofocus, and excellent value for money. For those in need of a high-quality zoom lens, this is an excellent option.