Comments on: Tamron SP AF60mm F/2.0 Di II LD 1:1 Macro Lens Review

By: Jack Neubart

Jack Neubart — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:41:15 +0000

Victoria – as an addendum, I would not use the 50mm for portraits, no matter what. Portrait focal lengths on a full-frame camera start at around 85mm, to 135mm. Sorry, but you can’t get everything in one lens. If you’re on a tight budget, then I’d get a zoom – say a 70-200 f/4 L-series and if that’s too pricey, then something in that focal length range that may be cheaper (remember to multiply the given focal length by the sensor factor – 1.6X in the case of Canon APS-C cameras, but not if you’re using a full-frame camera).

Not to mention, if you buy a macro lens, you’ll need a ring flash sooner or later, since you’ll otherwise get very blurry or out-of-focus pictures shooting handheld, unless you’re really good – in which case, you can shoot wide open and go for selective focus, where you blur out the background into a wash of color.

Hope this helps a bit more.

By: Jack Neubart

Jack Neubart — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 07:28:06 +0000

Victoria – I haven’t compared macro lenses side by side, but essentially, you would not use a 50mm lens for portraits, unless it’s on an APS-C camera (where it will then translate to a longer focal length). I own the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro and it’s a fine lens – which would also work nicely for portraits (although you may have to soften the image using Photoshop or a similar program for a more pleasing effect in a portrait).

The whole idea behind a macro lens is to focus on small things, incl. insects. Most macro lenses focus to lifesize magnification – but that also take a lot of careful use of the camera/lens to get sharp pictures. Read my other responses for more info on close focusing.

Thanks for writing.

By: Victoria Sinani

Victoria Sinani — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:13:32 +0000

Sorry I mean’t to say how fast does the Tamron focus!

By: Victoria Sinani

Victoria Sinani — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:59:03 +0000

I am looking to purchase a lens for 50:50 macro:portrait and this was one of the lenses I was interested. As well as macro my lens will be used to take portraits of my 2 year old. How fast does the Canon focus? is it suitable for low light/indoor portraits? How do the portraits compare to the canon 50mm 1.8/1.4? I am one a very ltd budget so was hoping to use this lens for 2 purposes.

How do you find the working length for macro? is it enough for insects? Is it ok to use without a tripod? Have you compared to the 100mm F2.8 macro?

My other alternative is the Canon 60mm F2.8 macro. Will I notice a difference between the F2 vs F2.8? The canon has a usm and reports say focusing is very smooth. Both new are a similar price so advice would be apprecited. I need the lens with the best bokeh for portraits and faster AF as a 2 year old does stay still for long.

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:19:49 +0000

Jack,

I may have missed it but I thought you should know: the aperture changes with focus distance on this lens. At about 3 meters from the subject it can still be shot wide open, but as you focus on closer subjects the aperature closes more and more until it is at about f/4 at the closest focus distance.

You can confirm this in the EXIF data.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:11:38 +0000

Great review Jack, I haven’t decided on a Macro yet but you helped to narrow down the field.

By: Jack Neubart

Jack Neubart — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:50:16 +0000

Sorry for the delay, Carrie. Was out of town. I own the Nikon 60 micro, which is a fine lens. I didn’t compare them side by side, and frankly it’s been a while since I worked with the Tamron. I would say, go to the store, mount each lens on the camera, and see which feels best. If you can, make some test exposures – if you use the camera’s built-in flash to prevent camera shake and enhance depth of field, make sure to remove the lens shade. Don’t make tests at high ISO values, since the noise will interfere with your evaluation of the lens.

I hope this helps.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:59:55 +0000

Hi Jack,

Great article. I just purchased a Nikon D-90 and want to buy a macro lens tomorrow. I’m torn between the Nikon 60mm AF-s micro f2.8 ED or the Tamron AF 60mm f2.0 sp. I’m pretty new at this and I’m not sure what AF-S ED vs SP DI II LD means.

Could you lead me in the right direction?

Thanks.

By: Jack Neubart

Jack Neubart — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:42:20 +0000

Richard – you didn’t specify which filter you had: 67 or 55mm. You can use the 67 on a 55mm thread, but don’t go the other way, as that will lead to vignetting. The other thing to consider: will the lens shade still fit?

Glad you’re enjoying Photocrati.

By: Richard Hannam

Richard Hannam — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 13:35:17 +0000

Jack. Just came across your site as I’ve been considering this Tamron. I use a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 & a Canon 70-200 IS f/4L. Both awesome but I’m doing more portraits & food shots. My lenses will handle these but I thought a prime/macro would be a good addition for both use & quality. From what you say, looks as if I’m right. Probably be less distortion for internal pics too. It was a toss up between the Tamron & the Canon. You’ve convinced me the Tamron is the better option & at the same time provided some valuable technical advice. On a separate note I totally agree with you about buying quality filters. For my lenses, I use the Hoya HD CPL. Virtually indestructible, great image quality & only 1 stop of light lost. And a half decent ND stand-in as well. Not cheap but the only sensible option. Obviously I have UV filters too. if it’s a choice between a $2500 lens & a $100 filter, I know which one I’d choose! My Canon uses 67mm filters. Could I use a stepper on the new Tamron which is 55mm? I use 2 cameras so switching lenses is not a problem.
Thank you very much.