Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD for Sony Full Frame/APS-C E-Mount, Black

Pros- Great Build Quality- Relative light weight, well-balanced on the camera- Compact for it's focal length and brightness- Large, comfortable Zoom Ring- 1:2 Macro Capability in Manual Focus Mode- Sharp nearly through the zoom range and across the frame- Fun to shoot with!Cons- No lens stabilization- No autofocus switch or function button- Stops at 180mm instead of 200mm- Manual Ring close to the camera body versus on the end of the lensLong ReviewI had already owned the Sony FE 70-200 f/4 lens which I really liked but noticed that I wasn't using much. I tried using it for indoor photography with a Speedlite (flash), but the ISO levels were much higher than I felt comfortable with due to the f/4 limitation. It was also considerably bulkier than my 24-70 f/2.8; especially, with the tripod mount attached to the lens. Finally, the minimum focal distance was frankly terrible. I could get considerably closer to my subject with my 24-70 vs the 70-200, thus I shot the 24-70 almost all the time. After hearing rave reviews about the Tamron, and the ability to do Macro(ish) photography, I purchased the Tamron and placed the two head to head.SharpnessI didn't do much pixel peeping, but it seemed to me in the center of the frame, both the Sony and Tamron were sharp. The Sony fell apart in the corners pretty badly wide open. The Tamron definitely was sharper in the corners wide open (even at a full stop faster), but certainly not as sharp as the center of the frame.BrightnessAperture-wise the Tamron is a full stop faster than the Sony (f/2.8 vs f/4), but it actually seemed to pull in 1.25-1.5 stops of light. That is, in some situations where the Sony shot at ISO 800 at f/4, the Tamron seemed to be around ISO 300 at f/2.8 vs the expected ISO 400. I credit this to the due to the fact that light "transmission" of the lens is different than aperture. It just might be that the Sony has more lens elements and coatings that reduce light transmission versus the Tamron. To any effect, it was a nice little bonus.Minimum Focus DistanceIn autofocus mode, the Tamron can definitely get closer to a subject than the Sony, but reproduction ratio is still not as good as my Sony 24-70 f/2.8. Switching the Tamron to manual mode, and adjusting the Zoom ring to 70mm, you can get as close as 1:2 which is getting close to Macro territory. The center sharpness seems quite good at this setting, but it does get quite soft toward the edges of the frame. This is the only time that I missed having the manual focus ring on the end of the lens as I found it hard to hold the camera lens steady with my hand placed so close to the camera body. It's neat you get that bonus feature out of the lens, but those that want quality Macro images should still get a dedicated Macro lens.Low-Light PerformanceThe Tamron seemed to get an additional 1-1.5 stops of light over my Sony depending on the focal length, but the Sony has lens Optical Image Stabilization built-in. With the Optical Image Stabilization turned ON, I was able to get (reliably) an additional 1-1.5 stops out of the shutter speed for still subjects. On the other hand, for moving subjects, the Tamron has the advantage as you can have faster shutter speeds with better Iso performance over the Sony.Indoor Photography with SpeedliteEven with a Speedlite, I find larger apertures to be preferred. The larger the aperture, the brighter the background is which makes for more pleasing, natural looking photos. The Tamron created more pleasing images, at faster shutter speeds (or better ISO performance) than the Sony.Build QualityReviewers lamented at Tamron's plastic housing calling it cheap and "kit lens" like. In my experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, the housing is plastic, not metal, but the zoom and manual focus rings have a nice, smooth feel to them. In addition, while not terribly heavy, there is some heft to the Tamron lens and it feels solid. Finally, there is a nice tactile feel of the (huge) rubber Zoom Ring and Manual Focus ring. I will say that the Sony feels like a tank with its metal housing and internal zoom, but the Tamron is no "kit lens", it feels substantial in the hand and I personally like the black finish to the Sony's white.To be honest, after testing both lenses, I was conflicted if I really wanted to get rid of my Sony. Tamron seemed to only slightly edge out the Sony in all of my tests. But the deal-breaker was when I used the Tamron out in the field. It takes up less space in my bag and feels so much better in the hand than my Sony ever did. The fast aperture meant that I could pump up my shutter speed to freeze action or eek out better ISO performance. Where as with the Sony, I would shoot a little bit and then switch back to my 24-70, the Tamron I just enjoyed shooting so much that I would keep it on for much of the day. Needless to say, I sold my Sony and kept the Tamron.

So far I'm really happy with this lens! I'm switching to a couple Sony A7III's from Nikon D750's and I have had the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. I don't use that lens very often, but as a wedding photographer I feel way more comfortable when I have it in my bag just in case I need it. When I was deciding on my Sony kit, I originally planned on foregoing a 70-200 for a while and buying the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 later when I could afford it since it's so expensive. Then someone mentioned the miracle lens Tamron 28-75 to me - which I'm also getting - but it made me wonder if Tamron had a comparable lens that might be a good option. I found this one and decided to take a chance on it. It feels great in my hands, maybe not quite as hefty & high end as the $$$$ Nikon or Sony version, but it certainly doesn't feel cheap. It's also much lighter weight, which is wonderful. I also definitely don't feel like I'll miss that extra 20mm in my line of work. And the biggest surprise for me is that there's absolutely no chromatic aberration, which is usually something that afflicts cheaper lenses. I attached a comparison of two shots of my hoya Hindu rope plant (I know it looks funny, but it illustrates the point well haha) - you can see that with the much pricier Sony Zeiss 50mm f/1.4, there's chromatic aberration visible on the plant hanger. This is super common with backlit subjects and is kind of a pain to fix. But the Tamron 70-180mm has absolutely zero chromatic aberration. So time will tell how well it holds up, but my initial reaction is that I'm incredibly happy! (These images were shot with the Sony A7RIV)

Great lens with no significant drawbacks.- Sharp wide open (at least in the center and near center, haven't checked corners yet)- Lightweight and reasonably small (as for tele-zoom)- Bokeh is better than 28-75- 180 vs 200 is not a problem at all- Using it on A7r2 and cannot say that I'm missing stabilization too muchOverall I'm very happy with it.