TAMRON SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD MACRO £580/$650

Allow us to introduce the latest and greatest in a line of prestigious Tamron 90mm macro lenses

we’ve seen some fabulous G2 (Generation 2) Tamron lenses over the last year and, while this doesn’t bear the G2 moniker, it’s still a new generation of the 90mm VC USD lens. Like G2 and other recent Tamron prime lenses, the gold ring around the barrel is ditched in favour of a silver band, making it easily distinguishable.

Compared with the previous edition, this has upgraded optics, doubling up on top-notch XLD (extra Low Dispersion) elements, while retaining an LD element, and adding two types of nano-structure coatings. Like the Canon stabilized lenses, the Tamron has a hybrid image stabilizer to cancel out the effects of X-Y shift and vibration.

Build quality is excellent. The lens is particularly solid and well made, with a precision feel to the comfortably large switches and smooth-action focus ring. Along with only the Canon 100mm L-series lens here, the Tamron includes weather-seals. It also adds a fluorine coating on the front element, to repel oil and moisture, and enable easier cleaning.

performance

In our tests, the VC (Vibration Compensation) system matched that of the Canon stabilizers, giving a four-stop effectiveness at medium to long focus settings. The results of our lab tests are impressive and, in real-world shooting at very short focus distances, the Tamron beat every other lens in the group for resolving fine detail. Colour fringing is slightly worse than average at very narrow apertures but still barely visible in images.