Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro VC USD Lens Review

Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro VC USD Handling and features

Even with the inclusion of Vibration Compensation, this lens isn't much heavier than it's predecessor, striking a good balance between the use of high quality materials and construction and light weight. Weighing about 550g and being just short of 123mm long, it balances well on the Canon EOS 5D MkII used for testing. The lens sports a moisture resistant design and a thin rubber gasket has been placed around the metal lens mount to help prevent the ingress of dust and moisture into the camera body.

As this lens incorporates Tamron's USD silent focusing motor, autofocus is quick, especially for a Macro lens and very accurate. A three-stage focus limiter switch is provided for those times when the camera struggles to achieve focus first time, preventing the lens from hunting through the whole focus range.

Manual focusing is a pleasure as the wide rubberised focus ring is well damped and very smooth to operate, which makes it easy to apply fine adjustments. Manual adjustments can be made at any time, whether in Auto or Manual focus mode. A minimum focus distance of 30cm provides life size magnification, without being overly close to your subject. Focusing is performed internally, so the 58mm filter ring does not rotate and the lens doesn't extend.

With care, sharp images are possible hand-held at shutter speeds as low as 1/6sec at normal focusing distances, approximately half the time. This is roughly four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb for sharp hand held images would permit. At close focusing distances, higher shutter speeds will need to be used, but the VC system still helps to make a difference in the amount of sharp hand-held shots that can be taken. The VC system also provides a very steady viewfinder image, which can help with accurate composition and focusing.

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