Page 31 - Fuse Magazine - Volume 41 2018

group test: Budget telephoto zooms

mount option: pentax K mount option: canon ef-s Nikon DX sony a

Pentax 55-300mm Tamron SP 70-300mm

f/4.5-6.3 DA PLM WR f/4-5.6 Di VC USD

£400/$380 £330/$450

Like the Nikon 55-200mm lens on test, this Pentax Tamron’s 70-300mm VC USD is becoming a bit of a
model has a crafty retractable design that measures minority item, with its ring-type ultrasonic autofocus
only 89mm in length when ‘folded down’. And yet, unlike system. That’s no bad thing, as AF performance is fast
the APS-C format Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon lenses in and quiet, and comes complete with manual override.
the group, it delivers a full 300mm telephoto length at Many will also prefer the mechanical coupling for the
its maximum zoom setting, equating to 450mm on a focus ring, which comes with a focus distance scale
full-frame camera. beneath a viewing panel.
The autofocus system follows a current trend for a The Canon-mount and Nikon-mount editions feature
‘pulse’ stepping motor mechanism. It’s virtually silent Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation)
in operation – which makes a refreshing change from stabilisation system, while the Sony A-mount version
some of the other lenses in Pentax’s lineup. There’s relies on in-camera stabilisation. The large zoom ring
no optical stabiliser fitted, the lens relying instead on at the front of the lens operates smoothly. Positioned
sensor-shift stabilisation in the host camera body. Build towards the rear, the focus ring doesn’t rotate during
quality is very good, and features weather seals. autofocus, so it doesn’t impair handling. As with most
Tamron lenses, but not that many own-brand optics, it
performance comes complete with a hood.
In terms of performance, the lack of optical stabilisation
isn’t a drawback. Shooting with a Pentax K70 body, we performance
found that the camera-based stabilisation gave a four- Helped by the inclusion of both an LD (Low Dispersion)
stop benefit. There’s a slight drop in sharpness at the and an XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) element, levels of
long end of the zoom range, but image quality is very sharpness and contrast are very pleasing, and colour
good overall. fringing is well controlled.