The Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Macro comes with optical image stabilization, which is rated at 3.5 stops of compensation. Although it worked out quite well for us outdoors when shooting hand-held in low-light situations, there are a few important things you will need to keep in mind. First of all, if you are planning to use the lens on a tripod, always make sure to turn vibration compensation (VC switch on the lens) off. Since the lens has no way of detecting tripod use, it will continue to try to stabilize the lens, resulting in blurry images. Second, if you don’t let the lens stabilize a little first and just shoot away, you might end up with slightly blurry images, especially in the slow shutter speed range. Lastly, don’t forget to turn off image stabilization when using it on a camera with built-in image stabilization (such as the Nikon Z6 or Z7), since the two systems might end up working against each other. NIKON D780 + VR 90mm f/2.8G @ 90mm, ISO 100, 8/1, f/9.0 Thanks again for this excellent comparison. After reading this few times, I have a question for a specific scenario. The final control is the VC On / Off switch, which turns the lens' built-in Vibration Compensation on and off. This is a big selling point for the Tamron SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 VC USD (Model F017), as neither the Canon or Nikon equivalents offer image stabilisation. In practice we found it offered around 4 f-stops of compensation, obviously dependant upon your own particular hand-holding technique, making it much easier to use the lens in low-light.

Add to that the better flare performance, better bokeh, a fixed physical length ... and you have my opinion. This lens has a very mild to negligible pincushion distortion, which normally can be ignored or in very critical applications easily corrected in post. This is quite good. Nikon 7200 | Tamron AP AF 90mm f/2.5 | 2.5 Vignetting Its a repeated complaint (not just about macro lenses) that I've heard from several photographers so it was worth mentioning. I know one photographer that purposefully looks for soft lenses because she feels that when an image is really sharp that it looks too fake and is unusable. I completely disagree with her but she would never put a sharp lens on her camera. To her, sharp, modern, glass ruins photography. Although it has 8 aperture blades, bokeh (quality of OOF areas) is only OK (not as smooth as the Canon 100mm Macro for example).

Image stabilization: Yes (except when you buy the Sony version which relies on the body-based stabilization of the latest models). The Nikon 105/2.8 also has optical stabilization. [+] On a Nikon Z camera you need a F-to-Z adapter that is about 33mm and when focused to MFD the lens extends about 28mm and the lens hood is about 43mm. So, The adapter + extension + lens hood is longer than the lens focused at infinity. Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.5 on Nikon Z6 , Retracted vs Extended vs Extended with Lens Hood Vignetting is not significant even on a full frame body - similar performance to the Sigma and a small amount better than the Canon. SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Model A025): All serial numbers compatible, EOS R5 and R6 from firmware 2.0

Corner, f/2.8, non-macro focusing distance: Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VC Laowa 100mm f/2.82× Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Nikon F 105mm f/2.8 VR Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS Irix 150mm f/2.8 The Tamron 90mm f/2.8 is a very good macro lens for the price. It is a very sharp lens and does what it's supposed to do, good color, contrast and excellent sharpness. The build quality is decent, although I am worried about the long term life of the mechanism used to switch focusing mode from auto to manual. Works great on Canon's newest full-frame mirrorless cameras with an EF to RF adapter, and works flawlessly on all DSLRs and 35mm EOS cameras as well. Overall, I am quite happy so far with this lens. It is a very good bargain. But it is not an unalloyed blessing.

Compatible Tamron lenses (Status: 07/2023)

Unfortunately, diffraction causes images to go soft beyond f/16 or f/22, so this extreme-minimum aperture is not helpful to me.

However, Sigma USA's 4-year warranty is far superior to Canon's standard 1 year warranty (though many credit cards will double the Canon warranty for you).Of the six lenses, the Irix 150mm f/2.8 has the best working distance – not surprising considering its long focal length. However, it’s not ahead by much. The Nikon, Sigma, and Tamron have almost as much working distance as the Irix despite their shorter focal lengths. NIKON Z7 + Sigma 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 180, 1/800, f/7.1 Sharpness – Close Focus As is obvious below, these macro lenses are much more similar in size when extended 100% at their maximum magnification of 1:1 (1.0x). Corner, maximum aperture, close focus: Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VC Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2× Tokina 100mm f/2.8 Nikon F 105mm f/2.8 VR Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS Irix 150mm f/2.8