Tamron has just added its most versatile zoom lens for Sony E-mount cameras to its growing lineup of lenses: the 50-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VCD. It’s a full-frame lens for cameras like the Sony A7 IV, although you can pair it with an APS-C camera like the Sony A6700 and extend that impressive zoom range further to 75-450mm.
It offers a little extra reach at the wide end over Tamron’s popular 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 from 2020, plus better close-range focusing capabilities, with macros up to half life size at the 50mm wide end.
These two achievements are achieved without increasing the overall lens size and weight at all, although the price of Tamron’s latest zoom lens has increased by around 25% over the 70-300mm – the 50-300mm costs $799/£ 819 (Australian prices TBC).
For most people, it’s a price worth paying given the added versatility, and it’s worth knowing that Sony’s own lenses are typically about twice as expensive as Tamron’s. The closest Sony proprietary alternative is the FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS, which costs a further 25% over the 50-300mm.
If all you need on the go is a camera and one lens, the 50-300mm is an attractive option, covering scenarios your camera phone might struggle with, ranging from portraits to macro shots and interesting remote locations .
We don’t quite get the versatility of the recently announced and bulkier Nikon 28-400mm lens, the Tamron lens is impressively compact, measuring just 5.9 inches / 150mm while weighing just 23.5oz / 665g – making it a perfect match for Sony’s mirrorless cameras.
It’s also a rugged moisture-resistant lens equipped with optical image stabilization, which Tamron calls Vibration Compensation (VC), and a linear motor for fast and quiet autofocus – that’s the VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) in the entire lens. name.
The minimum focusing distance is just 8.66 inches / 0.22 m with the lens at the wide-angle 50mm position, while at 300mm it is 35.4 inches / 0.9 m, resulting in a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3 – about a third of the actual size.
Tamron’s latest lens will only be available in Sony E-mount from June 27. There’s currently no word on whether this will be made available in other lens mounts – although if the 70-300mm lens is something we can use, there’s hope for a Nikon Z mount version.
The 50-300mm could be one of the best Sony lenses available for triple digits, especially for those looking for that one lens that goes beyond where their camera phone naturally finds its limits. You get an impressive zoom range and close focusing capabilities, all in a lens that seems to be a good match for Sony cameras.
