a Fast review of the Tamron 70-180 F2.8 for Sony E and FE cameras

Conclusion :

If you are searching for a small 70-200 F2.8 with a great image quality and a fast AF, this lens is made for you. 800g and 15cm only, as small as the Sony 90 macro G OSS.

My first thought about this lens :

- the size is very very small (see the lens on the right) : as small as a Sony 90 G macro (left) or a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 and its LA-EA3 adapter (center), you can take it everytime you need it, there is always a place for it in your bag. .
- the weight is really really low (800g): once attached to the camera, it's really well balanced because of that
- Image quality : I did some test full open (F2.8) from 70mm to 180mm and for me it's really really good, I dont need more.
- AF speed : very fast, I tested it with the A7S (contrast AF) and the A7R3 (Phase AF) and it's very fast. Maybe not as fast as a GM lens but fast enough for almost everything. It is said by Tamron that this lens has there fastest AF ever made thanks to the VXD motors.
- AF is very quiet
- price is really low in comparison with other lenses of the same focal range : 1100E (2300 to 3000E for the Sony GM depending on the version)

Now few things you have to know :

- there is no stabilization on the lens so you will use the one of the camera
- it's all made of plastic BUT a very good quality of plastic
- there is no button on the lens
- there is no focus range limiter nor AF ON/OFF button on the lens
- it is not a fixed size lens like other 70-200 F2.8
- another intersting thing is the min focus distance. From 70 to 180 min focus with AF is 0.85m but if you switch to MF, at 70mm min focus is only 0.27m that mean almost a macro lens.
- if the lens is not attached to a camera and if you move it, there are moving parts inside the lens, it's due to the AF technologie used. I dont know why nobody speak about that because it's very surprising and you may think that there is a problem with the lens but it's not the case, it's build like that. Reviewers should explain it because people could think that the lens is broken and return it because of that.

If you want to see some examples of photos, take a look to my circus photos :
www.flickr.com/photos/142745201@N07/52740901903/in/datepo...

Taken on: September 14, 2022

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Camera: Sony ILCE-7S, f/4.0, 1/160 sec, 35mm, ISO 5000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-7S
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	35mm
ISO:	5000
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	DxO PhotoLab 5.2.1
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