Tamron announces commemorative 70-300mm telephoto lens

Tamron USA, Inc., has announced that, marking the firm's 60th anniversary, it has developed a new high resolution lens for Digital SLR cameras. The SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD telephoto zoom lens has been produced first for the Nikon mount, with the eventual development of compatible mounts for Canon and Sony. The lens is equipped with several interesting features.

The lens contains a sophisticated XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens element made from specialized high-grade glass that has lower dispersive properties than standard LD lenses. The XLD lens element delivers best in class resolution with advanced axial chromatic and magnification aberration correction - major inhibitors of image quality enhancement. The result is a lens that delivers sharp contrast and better descriptive performance throughout the entire zoom range.

The lens includes features that ensure quick, accurate focusing. Tamron's first-ever ultrasonic auto-focus drive USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), achieves faster focusing making this telephoto lens good for photography of sporting events and other fast-moving subjects. VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization allows the photographer the freedom to shoot at a shutter speed that is an extra four stops slower without having to worry about blurring. The lens also includes full time manual focus, which offers the opportunity to cross over from auto-focus to manual focus by simply adjusting the focus ring, allowing the photographer to make adjustments on the fly. This helps the lens produce impressive results even in telephoto situations where the depth of field is narrow. Another focus-related feature is internal focusing, in which the internal elements of the lens move and the lens' external size does not change. This offers better balance and easier telephoto shots. Moreover, the barrel is not subject to stray light that can negatively affect images. Because the external elements do not move, it makes it easier to utilize polarizing filters and the flower shaped lens hood to control the amount of light that enters the lens.

The lens contains countermeasures to reduce ghosting and flare with Tamron's new BBAR (Broad-Band Anti Reflection) multilayer coatings that reduce reflection into the lens elements. In addition, Tamron applies internal surface coatings on cemented surfaces of lens elements to make images sharper with better color reproduction and balance. Also the flower-shaped lens hood is designed specifically to block out damaging light rays and ensure clear, sharp images.

Tamron's new lens is compatible with traditional film cameras as well as digital SLRs with full-frame or APS-C size sensors. With a full-frame digital or 35mm SLR, portrait and medium telephoto shots can be achieved on the wider 70mm end of the range and telephoto shots at the longer 300mm side. When using an ASP-C sensor camera the angle of view changes, giving it the equivalent range of 109-465mm for ultra-telephoto shots. With a maximum magnification ratio of 1:4, the lens can be used to explore in the realm of semi-macro photography.

Check Tamron's website for further information about this new lens, including its expected shipping date and cost.