Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD Review

The 70-200mm zoom is the go-to lens for many an event photographer, but f/2.8 versions can cost more than $2,000.

Tamron's low-cost take on the telezoom, the 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD ($799), zooms slightly longer and costs a lot less, but gets there by halving the light-gathering capability.

It delivers excellent image quality and a tried-and-true zoom range for the price.

Event photographers and other pros shouldn't will be better served with an f/2.8 zoom, but enthusiasts will be very happy, and for that the lens earns our Editors' Choice.

A Long and Light Design

The 70-210mm ($599.00 at Amazon) is a long, skinny lens.

It measures 6.9 by 3.0 inches (HD), weighs just 1.9 pounds, and supports 67mm front filters.

The zoom design is internal, so the lens never gets longer or shorter when adjusting the focal length.

Tamron sells the 70-210mm for Canon EF and Nikon F SLRs.

It is compatible with APS-C (DX in Nikon speak) and full-frame (FX) sensors.

Both Canon and Nikon have their own 70-200mm f/4 lenses, similar in size and weight, but they are more expensive, at $1,200 and $1,400 respectively.

The lens is not part of Tamron's recent SP series of premium glass, but doesn't skimp too much on fit and finish.

The barrel is constructed from sturdy polycarbonate and offers protection against dust and moisture.

The front lens element is coated in fluorine, which repels grease and moisture, making it easier to clean.

The manual focus ring sits in the middle of the barrel.

It's bare polycarbonate with a knurled texture, but doesn't grip as well as rings covered in rubber.

It turns with some pleasant resistance, requiring about 180 degrees of rotation to move from the minimum focus distance to infinity.

The zoom ring sits farther ahead, just behind the front element.

You can't turn it when the hood is reversed for storage, but with the hood removed or positioned for use, the ring is easily accessible and features a rubber coating, so your grip on it is a bit firmer than on the manual focus ring.

The 70, 100, 135, and 210mm focal lengths are marked on the barrel, and the zoom control requires about 90 degrees of rotation to move from one extreme to the other.

Two toggle switches sit on the left side—AF/MF and VC On/Off.

The focus control is self-explanatory, although you can always override autofocus with a manual twist of the focus control, even when the lens and camera are set to AF mode.

The switches do a good job staying in place, even when moving the lens in and out of a camera bag.

This corrects a problem with the Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2—its toggle switches seemed to change position of their own free will when I was testing it.

The VC toggle turns the image stabilization system on or off; Tamron uses Vibration Compensation to describe it—it's the same thing as Canon's Image Stabilization (IS) and Nikon's Vibration Reduction (VR).

The 70-210mm is rated for four stops of correction via CIPA standards, but I found it to be a bit less in the real world.

I was able to get consistently sharp results shooting at 1/30-second at 210mm—about three stops of correction—but at longer shutter durations blur was a noticeable problem.

Focus is available as close as 37.4 inches (0.95-meter).

When working that close to your subject at the 210mm focal length, the lens is capable of projecting subjects onto your camera's sensor at roughly one-third (1:3.1) life-size, which is large enough for us to consider the zoom a macro.

That's a little bit closer than the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM (1:3.7) and the Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/4G ED VR (1:3.7).

The 70-210mm doesn't ship with a tripod collar, but there is one available for it.

For $139 you can add a collar with an Arca-Swiss tripod foot attached.

I don't think you need it for handheld shooting, but if you do a lot of tripod work, or use a Black Rapid style strap that attaches via a tripod socket, it's a worthwhile add-on, especially if you use an Arca-Swiss tripod head.

The lens is also compatible with the 1.4x ($419) and 2.0x ($439) teleconverters from Tamron, although you'll need a camera that can focus with an f/8 lens if you opt for the 2.0x.

You can also use it with the $59 TAP-in console, a USB connected dock that can be used for firmware updates and autofocus fine-tuning.

Razor-Sharp Photos

I tested the 70-210mm with Canon's 50MP full-frame SLR, the 5DS R.

Despite the zoom's relatively low cost and the extra stress that a high resolution image sensor puts on lenses, the 70-210mm delivered sharp results throughout its range, although results are a bit crisper when shooting toward the wide end.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

At 70mm f/4 it manages 3,652 lines on Imatest's center-weighted sharpness test.

That's significantly better than the 2,750 lines we want to see at a minimum from a lens paired with the 5DS R.

Resolution isn't completely even throughout the frame, with the central third putting up excellent results (3,929 lines), while the mid parts show 3,516 lines and the outer periphery lags slightly behind at 3,300 lines.

Narrowing the aperture rises all tides.

At f/5.6 the average score climbs to 3,884 lines, with most of the frame meeting that figure and the outer edges lagging so slightly behind (3,572 lines) that it's barely worth mentioning. Peak performance is at f/8 (3,894 lines), and the story is the same—clear results from center to edge.

We see a drop in resolution at narrower f-stops, presumably due to diffraction—3,637 lines at f/11, 3,219 lines at f/16, and just 2,573 lines at f/22.

For best results, don't narrow your settings beyond f/16.

At 135mm f/4 the lens shows 3,844 lines, an excellent result.

There is a dip at the edges of the frame, which show about 3,025 lines, which remains a very good result.

Edge quality improves at f/5.6 (3,158 lines) and the center resolution enters the outstanding range (better than 5,000 lines), for a strong 4,260-line average.

Results are not that far off at f/8 (although edges are better, 3,400 lines).

Diffraction plays its part at narrower f-stops—we see 3,463 lines at f/11, 3,060 lines at f/16, and 2,480 lines at f/22.

We see the lowest resolution at 210mm.

At f/4 the lens manages 3,161 lines on average, but while the central area of your image is in the very good range (3,490 lines), resolution dips to 2,923 lines (good) as you move toward the middle third and peripheral areas of the frame.

These are acceptable numbers, but not on the same level as you get at 70mm and 135mm.

At f/5.6 the average scores ticks up to 3,239 lines, thanks again to very strong image quality at the center (3,722 lines).

The mid parts and edges hover around 3,000 lines.

Peak performance is delivered at f/8 (3,499 lines) and f/11 (3,449 lines)—most of the frame is in the very good range, hovering around the average, and edges show around 3,200 lines—noticeably better than at wider angles.

We see the expected drop in resolution at f/16 (2,931 lines) and f/22 (2,459 lines).

There is also a bit of image distortion.

We see a modest 1.2 percent barrel distortion at 70mm—straight lines are drawn with a slight outward curve.

This gives way to about 1 percent of pincushion distortion at 135mm—the outward barrel curve reverses and lines have a slight inward bow.

At 210mm there's a more noticeable pincushion effect, about 1.4 percent.

For most shots you won't notice, but if you do have a scene that requires perfectly straight lines, be prepared to do some software work to correct the effect.

If you use Adobe Lightroom Classic CC for image management and editing, you'll be happy to know that there is a one-click correction available.

That same profile corrects for any vignette as well.

The 70-210mm is not immune to the effect, caused by light not being gathered as efficiently at the edges and corners as compared with the center.

The darkening is only noticeable when shooting at f/4, but we do see a pronounced vignette at 70mm (-2.4EV), 135mm (-2.1EV), and 210mm (-2.3EV).

If you shoot with a Nikon camera you can enable Vignette Control, which should be enough to negate the effect when shooting JPGs, but Canon cameras don't apply in-camera adjustments to third-party lenses.

Regardless, if you shoot Raw on either platform, you'll need to make the corrections yourself when processing images.

A Strong Value Proposition

If you're not a pro and you want a long zoom lens for an APS-C or full-frame Canon or Nikon SLR, the Tamron 70-210mm f/4 Di VC USD delivers excellent value for your dollar.

It's not the sharpest or brightest zoom we've ever tested, but it doesn't cost $2,500, either.

Image quality is excellent through most of its coverage range, with a slight step back when shooting at maximum zoom—a downer for sure, but not a deal breaker in our book.

Add an all-weather build, teleconverter compatibility, 1:3.1 macro capture, image stabilization, fluorine coating, and a compact, internal zoom design and you have a lens that's an easy recommendation for photographers shopping for a telezoom on a budget, and an Editors' Choice.

That's not to say it's without fault.

There is some distortion and vignetting, though the distortion isn't overwhelming, and the vignette disappears by f/5.6.

We also feel that photographers earning their bread and butter shooting indoor sports and events will find that an f/2.8 zoom is worth the extra cost—it can gather twice as much light, giving you more freedom to freeze motion when capturing the fast-moving action of basketball or revelers on the dance floor at a wedding reception, as well as a shallower depth of field for portraiture.

But for photographers whose requirements aren't as critical, opting for an f/4 zoom like the Tamron 70-210mm is not only a cost-saving proposition, it's also a weight-saving one.

The lens is about a pound lighter than comparable f/2.8 zooms.

If you use an APS-C camera you'll find that it pairs quite well with a smaller, lighter body like the Canon Rebel and Nikon D5xxx series.

You'll enjoy a bit extra effective telephoto reach with the APS-C sensor size as well—and you can even add a teleconverter to lock on to really distant subjects.

If you do need an f/2.8, we like Tamron's SP 70-200mm G2, although it does tend to flare a bit when shooting into the sun.

Canon has two current f/2.8 zooms, the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM, now selling for under $2,000 due to the release of version III of the lens—optically the same, but with improved lens coatings for $2,099.

Nikon has a pair of f/2.8 zooms, the f/2.8G ED VR II for $2,199, and the improved f/2.8E FL ED VR for $2,799.

Both companies offer their own take on the 70-200mm f/4 as well, but at prices much higher than the Tamron.