LensTip.com

Lens review

Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD

16 January 2025
Maciej Latałło

7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

The Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD doesn't have any serious problems with coma correction and the correction of aberrations of higher degree responsible for deformation of point-like images of light. In the corners of the APS-C/DX the influence of these aberrations remains imperceptible but in the corner of full frame some deformations can be spotted. Still their level remains low. Of course you should add that the Sony and the Sigma didn't show here practically any problems; compared to that the Tamron performs a bit weaker.

Center, f/2.8 Corner APS-C, f/2.8 Corner FF, f/2.8
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, f/4.0 Corner APS-C, f/4.0 Corner FF, f/4.0
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh


In order to present a full spectrum of results in this category we decided to show also crops taken from photos of starry sky taken from the upper left-hand corner of full frame. This time we focused on shots taken by f/2.8, f/4.0, and f/5.6. They show clearly that even on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV coma is not corrected completely and its effects can still be visible as a very small 'comma'. Of course it has to influence the tested Tamron's resolution on the edge of the frame and can be another reason why the values you see in the frame centre are so much higher than the results on edges of the frame.


Please Support Us

If you enjoy our reviews and articles, and you want us to continue our work please, support our website by donating through PayPal. The funds are going to be used for paying our editorial team, renting servers, and equipping our testing studio; only that way we will be able to continue providing you interesting content for free.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - advertisement - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Corner FF, f/2.8 Corner FF, f/4.0 Corner FF, f/5.6
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh


Astigmatism, understood as an average difference between horizontal and vertical MTF50 function values, amounted to 9.8%. It is a result on the borderline between low and medium level so not providing any serious reasons to complain. Of course it should be noted that the Sony and the Sigma presented here values of 3-5% so a bit lower.

The appearance of out-of-focus images produced by the new Tamron 2.8/90 is nice. There are no aspherical elements in the optical construction so it is difficult to expect any traces of onion ring bokeh; as a result the interiors of the circles are very smooth, with even light spread, and the rim, appearing on stopping down, is not especially intense. Still mechanical vignetting makes itself felt, even after stopping down the aperture by 2 EV. Once again it is an aftereffect of the long, narrow mechanical construction of the lens, closed from one side by a small front element.

Center, f/3.3 Corner APS-C, f/3.3 Corner FF, f/3.3
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, f/4.0 Corner APS-C, f/4.0 Corner FF, f/4.0
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, f/5.6 Corner APS-C, f/5.6 Corner FF, f/5.6
Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh