New f4.0 Speed 70210mm Telezoom From Tamron

For anybody who wants the traditional 70-210mm telezoom in a smaller, lighter and more affordable package, Tamron has just added an f4.0-speed version to its line-up of Di series lenses for full-35mm D-SlRs.

The new 70-210mm f4.0 Di VC uSD (model A034) is around 175 mm in length and weighs it at a very manageable 850 grams. It has a weather-sealed external construction with a fluorine coating on the front element’s exposed surface to help better repel dust and grease. Hand-held shooting is further enhanced by the provision of Tamron’s ‘Vibration Compensation’ (VC) optical image stabilisation which is claimed to give up to four stops of correction for camera shake.

The optical construction comprises 20 elements in 14 groups and includes three elements mad from low-dispersion (lD) optical glass to minimise both axial and transverse chromatic aberrations and therefore enhance sharpness. Tamron says that its new 70-210mm f4.0 zoom delivers a “… crisp and clear image quality across the entire zoom range”.

The lens’s focusing group is internal and is the zooming group so the length of the lens does not change during either operation. The minimum focusing distance is 95 centimetres which gives a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3.1 (close to onethird lifesize) which Tamron claims this is the highest in its class. Autofocusing is via Tamron’s ‘ultra Sonic Drive’ (uSD) and a full-time manual override is provided. Dual high-performance ‘mPu’ microprocessors are dedicated to the image stabiliser and autofocusing operations for increased speed and responsiveness.

The new 70-210mm f4.0 is compatible with Tamron’s TC-X14 1.4x and TC-X20 teleconverters which give zooming ranges of 98-294mm and 140-120mm respectively. It’s also compatible with the TAP-In console which enables the customising of certain settings and the downloading of firmware upgrades. A tripod-mount collar with an Arca-Swiss type mounting plate is available as an optional accessory.

The Tamron 70-210mm f4.0 Di VC uSD will be available locally from April in either Canon or Nikon mounts. local pricing is yet to be announced. For more information visit www.tamron.com.au