Review on Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP A/M FEC LD (IF) 1:1 Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras (B01N Model) by Noe Miceli

I've spent countless hours looking for a good macro lens and I've mostly settled on the Sigma 70mm, Tamron 90mm and 180mm. I've read complaints about how close you have to get with 70mm or 90mm lenses and figured any extra distance I could put between me and shy animals and bugs would be nice (assuming that lens can focus to 18.5 inches). The lens was packed in a plastic bag (with a small desiccant bag) and placed in the included lens case (and in the original box). I was glad to see it packaged that way as Revain did a poor job of stuffing the shipping box with plastic weight pads. The first thing that struck me right out of the box was the included lens case, which while not made of neoprene seems to be made of quality material. Nylon (maybe 600D?) and about 1/4 inch of extra padding was sewn around the entire pouch. I was glad to see this because I really don't think neoprene offers much protection and I can't stand the smell. The case is very well made and has a double lacing system to close the lens case. In addition, it has a practical handle that makes it easy to carry. Unfortunately, there are no hooks, D-rings, or loops to easily attach it to a bag or attach a shoulder strap. This lens is approximately 7.5 inches long with both end caps and approximately 3.5 inches in diameter. Length and diameter naturally increase if you have a lens hood or tripod mount. By the way, the lens hood is huge (which is good), but it adds 4 inches to the length of the lens. I use this lens with my Sony A57 and when I mount it on the camera body I notice a bit of looseness. I find that very characteristic of Tamron lenses and worth deducting 0.25 points from the overall score. No, the lens will not fall and the connection between the lens and the camera will not break, but I think Tamron needs to fix this issue. I will say that this lens has a lot less movement than my 17-50 and 70-300 Tamron SP lenses. For the price, I would have expected a more precise and tailored fit. This lens is mostly made of plastic, but it doesn't look cheap. The fit and finish is perfect and the large focus ring is amazing! The focus ring has a nice rubberized (and textured) strip and rotates smoothly in manual focus mode. One thing I found odd (or at least very different from any other lens I've used) is the lack of an AF/MF switch. Instead, you have to grab the focus ring and pull it toward the front of the lens for autofocus, or toward the camera for manual focus. The ring clicks into place well and shouldn't exit AF or MF modes unless you really want to. Autofocus performance is definitely lacking (as most reviewers have pointed out), but it works, and when it locks in, you'll get the perfect photo. I prefer manual focus because I find the focus point control much easier and faster. If you switch the lens to autofocus and the focus is not close, it cycles through the entire focal range, but if you switch the lens and the focus is close, the lens can focus in a split second. It really depends on the environment, but in general I found AF to be lacking and it usually cycles through the whole area, which takes a few seconds. The 0.25 point deduction is worth it because (in some cases) it would be nice to have fast autofocus. There is another ring on the front of the lens that allows you to use FEC (Filter Effect Control). This makes it very easy to rotate the filter with the hood on (otherwise you will have to remove the hood, rotate the filter and put the hood back on). I really like this feature (although I don't use filters) and anyone who uses filters can rotate their filter in this quick and easy way. The tripod mount is easy to remove/install thanks to the articulating design. It fits into a predefined slot and there are markings on the mount and on the lens itself so you can be sure your camera is straight/flat. I plan to keep the mount on the lens most of the time because it's comfortable to hold and rests in the palm of my hand when shooting handheld. I really like taking photos without a tripod, simply because I don't have a tripod. to carry it around and I almost always have a very steady hand. However, it's good to use tripod stability for macro photography, as the slightest movement can cause your photos to appear blurry, or an area you thought was in focus can shift to a different area of the frame. This is the first lens I've used where I've noticed this. I actually thought there was something wrong with the lens because I was manually focusing on the subject and when I was ready to take the picture I noticed it was out of focus. Now that I know what's going on, I was able to effectively fix it without a tripod. But in any case, if you have a tripod with you, use it. Before I forget, I should mention that this lens has internal focusing. This means the lens barrel doesn't physically expand or contract when you focus (unlike a traditional zoom lens). This feature is convenient and can greatly reduce the amount of dust that can enter the lens. So far I've only been able to test the lens on inanimate objects in my house as we prepare for winter and it's just too cold outside. I will be traveling to the South West very soon and am hoping there will be some great outdoor macro photography opportunities. Overall this lens is great. The optical quality is first class and I have not encountered any problems such as chromatic aberration, vignetting or distortion. I have added some photos to the product page and plan to add more in the near future. Deduct 0.25 points for lens mount Deduct 0.25 points for AF performance Overall rating: 4.5 stars out of 5.