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Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD

Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD
16 January 2025
Maciej Latałło

1. Introduction

When it comes to macro lenses, it seems quite classic 2.8/90 parameters Tamron likes a lot. Already in 1996 they launched the manual MF SP 90 mm f/2.8 Macro, offered as the Adaptal II version alongside its autofocus version. In February 2000 they presented its improved version, also with autofocus and mounts fitting the most popular reflex camera systems. In April 2004 that model got Di letters in its name, meaning it was optimized to cooperate with digital reflex cameras.

Up to that time we dealt with an unchanged optical construction, consisting of 10 elements positioned in 9 groups; what's more, it increased its dimension during focusing. In September 2012 there was a change – Tamron showed an improved model, characterized by a closed optical construction, this time consisting of 14 elements positioned in 11 groups. It all made the lens much heavier, bulkier, and demanded a bigger filter diameter. The fact that they added optical stabilization and an ultrasonic autofocus motor undoubtedly contributed to these changes.

Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Introduction

In February 2016 that model underwent a slight lifting. The optical construction remained unchanged but they improved the coatings and autofocus; as a result the lens became a bit shorter but even more heavier, with an increased diameter of the filter thread.

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It's worth mentioning the fact that, apart from the 2.8/90 macro models Tamron can also so to speak boast of their prehistorical achievements, meaning here manual 2.5/90 class models. They released as many as four versions of them, in 1979, 1988, 1990, and 1994.

Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Introduction

In 2016 full frame mirrorless devices became quite active on the market so it was obvious that next models from this producer would be released as mirrorless versions. The next launch happened in September 2024 in a form of the 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD model, offered as Sony FE and Nikon Z variations.

Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD - Introduction

The fact that the newest lens proved to be even bigger and heavier, with an even larger filter diameter than its reflex camera predecessors, even though it didn't feature optical image stabilization, was quite surprising. The following chart presents basic parameters of all the Tamron models, described here.

Still the Tamrons 2.8/90 have always had one strong asset – a very good image quality. That's why we were very curious how the newest model would fare and, courtesy of Focus Nordic, that sent us one specimen of the Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Di III Macro VXD for testing purposes, we were able to find out. Our impressions you can find in the following chapters – enjoy your reading!

You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it’s still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.



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