Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro A17

Telephoto zoom lens • Digital era • Discontinued

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Sample photos

180mm F/6.7
300mm F/5.6
300mm F/6.3
260mm F/9
300mm F/8
300mm F/10
70mm F/7.1
300mm F/10
100mm F/11
180mm F/4.5
280mm F/7.1
300mm F/5.6
300mm F/7.1
200mm F/6.3
230mm F/9
180mm F/9

Sample photos uploaded by users

148mm F/5.6
300mm F/8
70mm F/7.1

Abbreviations

DI The lens is designed for 35mm digital SLR cameras but can be also used on APS-C digital SLR cameras.
LD The lens incorporates low dispersion elements.
MACRO A lens with better close-up focusing capabilities in comparison with traditional lenses. Not a macro lens though.

Model history (6)

Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 172DA13 - 91.5m⌀58 1993 
Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 LD 372DA13 - 91.5m⌀58 1996 
Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 LD 472DA13 - 91.5m⌀58 1999 
Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 LD Macro 572D, 772DA13 - 91.5m⌀62 2000 
Tamron AF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 LD Macro 672D, 872DA13 - 91.5m⌀62 2000 
Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro A17A13 - 91.5m⌀62 2006 
Tamron AF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro A17N II 2008 

Features highlight

1
LD
Macro 1:2 @ 300mm
Focus limiter
9 blades
⌀62
filters

Specification

Production details
Announced:February 2006
Production status: Discontinued
Original name:TAMRON AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 TELE-MACRO (1:2) A17 LD Di
System:-
Optical design
Focal length range:70mm - 300mm [4.3X zoom ratio]
Speed range:F/4 @ 70mm - F/5.6 @ 300mm
Maximum format:35mm full frame
Mount and Flange focal distance:Canon EF [44mm]
Minolta/Sony A [44.5mm]
Nikon F [46.5mm]
Pentax K [45.5mm]
Diagonal angle of view:34.3° @ 70mm - 8.2° @ 300mm
Lens construction:13 elements in 9 groups
1 LD
Diaphragm mechanism
Diaphragm type:Automatic
Aperture control:None; the aperture is controlled from the camera (Canon EF, Minolta/Sony A, Nikon F)
Aperture ring (Manual settings + Auto Exposure setting) (Pentax K)
Number of blades:9 (nine)
On Canon EOS APS-C [1.59x] cameras
35mm equivalent focal length range:111.3mm - 477mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed range:F/6.4 @ 70mm - F/8.9 @ 300mm (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:22° @ 70mm - 5.2° @ 300mm
On Sony DSLR-A/SLT-A APS-C [1.53x] cameras
35mm equivalent focal length range:107.1mm - 459mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed range:F/6.1 @ 70mm - F/8.6 @ 300mm (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:22.8° @ 70mm - 5.4° @ 300mm
On Nikon D APS-C [1.53x] cameras
35mm equivalent focal length range:107.1mm - 459mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed range:F/6.1 @ 70mm - F/8.6 @ 300mm (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:22.8° @ 70mm - 5.4° @ 300mm
On Pentax K APS-C [1.53x] cameras
35mm equivalent focal length range:107.1mm - 459mm (in terms of field of view)
35mm equivalent speed range:F/6.1 @ 70mm - F/8.6 @ 300mm (in terms of depth of field)
Diagonal angle of view:22.8° @ 70mm - 5.4° @ 300mm
Zooming
Zoom mechanism:Manual
Zoom control:Zoom ring
Zoom type:Rotary
Zooming method:Extends while zooming
Focusing
Closest focusing distance:1.5m
0.95m [MACRO @ 180-300mm]
Maximum magnification:1:2 @ 300mm at the closest focusing distance
Focusing modes:Autofocus, manual focus
Autofocus motor:Micromotor (Canon EF)
In-camera motor (Nikon F, Minolta/Sony A, Pentax K)
Manual focus control:Focusing ring
Focus mode selector:AF - MF (Canon EF)
None; focusing mode is set from the camera (Nikon F, Minolta/Sony A, Pentax K)
Manual focus override in autofocus mode:-
Focusing distance range limiter:NORMAL;MACRO-
Vibration Compensation (VC)
Built-in VC:-
Physical characteristics
Weight:435g (Nikon F)
Maximum diameter x Length:⌀76.6×116.5mm (Nikon F)
Weather sealing:-
Fluorine coating:-
Accessories
Filters:Screw-type 62mm
Lens hood:DA17 - Bayonet-type round
Teleconverters:Not compatible
Source of data
Manufacturer's technical data.

Compatibility

  • The autofocus will not be available with Nikon D40, D40X, D60, D3000-D3500, D5000-D5600 digital SLR cameras.

Compared to the Tamron AF 75-300mm F/4-5.6 LD Macro 672D, 872D

Manufacturer description #1

Tamron 70-300mm Telephoto Zoom Now Upgraded and Available in Di Series

TAMRON Introduces AF70- 300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1: 2

Mr. Morio Ono, President of Tamron Co., Ltd., announced Tamron's introduction of the AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2 (Model A17), featuring a Di* optical system designed for both digital and film cameras.

* Di (Digitally Integrated) is a designation Tamron gives lenses featuring optical systems designed to meet the performance characteristics of digital SLR cameras as well as film cameras.

Tamron now offers a lightweight, compact, high-image-quality telephoto zoom lens with macro capability of 1:2 that can also be used with digital cameras-the AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro 1:2 (Model A17). The new lens is a Di type lens using an optical system with improved multi-coating designed to function with digital SLR cameras as well as film cameras. With this 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, flipping a macro switch in the focal length range of 180mm to 300mm obtains a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2 at a minimum focus distance as short as 95cm (37.4"), enabling close-up shots of flowers, insects, and other objects that normally require the use of a specially designed macro lens. Moreover, this is a zoom lens that casually offers the distant capture and foreshortening effect pleasures of the 300mm ultra-telephoto world.

MAIN FEATURES

Improved Coatings Transform Zoom Lens into a Di Type Lens Designed for Digital SLR Cameras

By employing "Internal Surface Coatings" (i.e., multiple-layer coatings on cemented surfaces of plural elements) and new multiple-layer coating technology on ordinary elements, ghosting and flare due to reflections that occur when light enters through the front element and reflections caused by the imagers themselves are reduced to the absolute minimum. Additionally, upgraded advanced quality control raises the level of resolution performance standards and prevents flare due to aberrations, resulting in a telephoto zoom lens suitable for photography with digital SLR cameras.

Macro Effect of 1:2 in Telephoto Zoom Range

Flipping a macro switch in the focal length range of 180mm to 300mm allows entry into the macro range, for photography as close as 95cm (37.4") from the subject. In the macro range, one can take advantage of the telephoto effect and a maximum magnification ratio up to 1:2. (In normal shooting ranges, the minimum focus distance is 1.5m (59").) In addition, since the focal length in the macro range spans from 180mm to 300mm, zooming can also be used to adjust composition.

Designed for Use on Both Digital and 35mm Film Cameras

The ultra-long telephoto zoom covering up to 465mm equivalent can be used on a digital SLR camera, while the wide-end 70mm can be used with a conventional 35mm film SLR camera for portraits and other moderately mid-range shots.

External Design Shared by All Di Lenses

The external design features a gold-colored label on the ring, representative of the heightened visibility and quality design of the Di lens family. Additionally, the black coating over the entire lens barrel creates a high-quality, sophisticated look. The rubber pattern on the zoom and focus rings have been changed to a smaller, higher density pattern that creates a more unified look with the camera and improves the tactile feel when handling.

Manufacturer description #2

This new product is the digitally integrated version of Tamron's well-known telephoto macro zoom. Just flip the macro switch between the focal lengths of 180mm and 300mm, and you can enjoy true macro photography with a telephoto effect, at a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2. Tamron's "Internal Surface Coatings" and new multiple-layer coating technology on ordinary elements reduce ghosting and flare. Strict quality control standards were also applied to increase resolution performance and prevent flare due to aberrations, resulting in a telephoto zoom lens ideal for photography with D-SLR cameras.

Typical application

Class:

Slow full-frame telephoto zoom lens

Missing features (7):

Internal zooming • Faster speed • Constant speed across the focal length range • More efficient autofocus motor (Canon EF-mount version) • Built-in autofocus motor (Nikon F, Minolta/Sony A, Pentax K-mount versions) • Vibration Compensation (VC) (Canon EF, Nikon F-mount versions) • Weather sealing • Fluorine coating

Genres or subjects of photography (5):

Distant subjects • Distant landscapes with perspective compression effect • Wild nature • Macrophotography • Travel photography

Recommended slowest shutter speed when shooting static subjects handheld:

1/320th of a second @ 300mm • 1/80th of a second @ 70mm

Lenses with similar focal length range and speed

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Pros and cons
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Tamron Di series lenses (34)
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35mm full frame

43.27 24 36
  • Dimensions: 36 × 24mm
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Diagonal: 43.27mm
  • Area: 864mm2

Micromotor

In-camera motor

In-camera motor

In-camera motor

Focusing distance range limiter

The lens features focusing distance range limiter which allows to choose between the following focusing distance ranges:

NORMALFull range of focusing distances.
MACRO - ∞Range of focusing distances suitable for shooting nearby subjects.

By setting the suitable focusing distance range, the actual autofocusing time can be shorter.

AF - MF

AFAutofocus mode.
MFManual focus mode.

Aspherical elements

Aspherical elements (ASPH, XA, XGM) are used in wide-angle lenses for correction of distortion and in large-aperture lenses for correction of spherical aberration, astigmatism and coma, thus ensuring excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. The effect of the aspherical element is determined by its position within the optical formula: the more the aspherical element moves away from the aperture stop, the more it influences distortion; close to the aperture stop it can be particularly used to correct spherical aberration. Aspherical element can substitute one or several regular spherical elements to achieve similar or better optical results, which allows to develop more compact and lightweight lenses.

Use of aspherical elements has its downsides: it leads to non-uniform rendering of out-of-focus highlights. This effect usually appears as "onion-like" texture of concentric rings or "wooly-like" texture and is caused by very slight defects in the surface of aspherical element. It is difficult to predict such effect, but usually it occurs when the highlights are small enough and far enough out of focus.

Low dispersion elements

Low dispersion elements (ED, LD, SD, UD etc) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. This type of glass exhibits low refractive index, low dispersion, and exceptional partial dispersion characteristics compared to standard optical glass. Two lenses made of low dispersion glass offer almost the same performance as one fluorite lens.

Low dispersion elements

Low dispersion elements (ED, LD, SD, UD etc) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. This type of glass exhibits low refractive index, low dispersion, and exceptional partial dispersion characteristics compared to standard optical glass. Two lenses made of low dispersion glass offer almost the same performance as one fluorite lens.

Canon's Super UD, Nikon's Super ED, Pentax' Super ED, Sigma's FLD ("F" Low Dispersion), Sony' Super ED and Tamron's XLD glasses are the highest level low dispersion glasses available with extremely high light transmission. These optical glasses have a performance equal to fluorite glass.

High-refraction low-dispersion elements

High-refraction low-dispersion elements (HLD) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

High Index, High Dispersion elements

High Index, High Dispersion elements (HID) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

Anomalous partial dispersion elements

Anomalous partial dispersion elements (AD) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture.

Fluorite elements

Synthetic fluorite elements (FL) minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure excellent sharpness and contrast even at fully open aperture. Compared with optical glass, fluorite lenses have a considerably lower refraction index, low dispersion and extraordinary partial dispersion, and high transmission of infrared and ultraviolet light. They are also significantly lighter than optical glass.

According to Nikon, fluorite easily cracks and is sensitive to temperature changes that can adversely affect focusing by altering the lens' refractive index. To avoid this, Canon, as the manufacturer most widely using fluorite in its telephoto lenses, never uses fluorite in the front and rear lens elements, and the white coating is applied to the lens barrels to reflect light and prevent the lens from overheating.

Short-wavelength refractive elements

High and specialized-dispersion elements (SR) refract light with wavelengths shorter than that of blue to achieve highly precise chromatic aberration compensation. This technology also results in smaller and lighter lenses.

Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics

Organic Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics material (BR Optics) placed between convex and concave elements made from conventional optical glass provides more efficient correction of longitudinal chromatic aberrations in comparison with conventional technology.

Diffraction elements

Diffraction elements (DO, PF) cancel chromatic aberrations at various wavelengths. This technology results in smaller and lighter lenses in comparison with traditional designs with no compromise in image quality.

High refractive index elements

High refractive index elements (HR, HRI, XR etc) minimize field curvature and spherical aberration. High refractive index element can substitute one or several regular elements to achieve similar or better optical results, which allows to develop more compact and lightweight lenses.

Apodization element

Apodization element (APD) is in fact a radial gradient filter. It practically does not change the characteristics of light beam passing through its central part but absorbs the light at the periphery. It sort of softens the edges of the aperture making the transition from foreground to background zone very smooth and results in very attractive, natural looking and silky smooth bokeh.

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Image stabilizer

A technology used for reducing or even eliminating the effects of camera shake. Gyro sensors inside the lens detect camera shake and pass the data to a microcomputer. Then an image stabilization group of elements controlled by the microcomputer moves inside the lens and compensates camera shake in order to keep the image static on the imaging sensor or film.

The technology allows to increase the shutter speed by several stops and shoot handheld in such lighting conditions and at such focal lengths where without image stabilizer you have to use tripod, decrease the shutter speed and/or increase the ISO setting which can lead to blurry and noisy images.

Original name

Lens name as indicated on the lens barrel (usually on the front ring). With lenses from film era, may vary slightly from batch to batch.

Format

Format refers to the shape and size of film or image sensor.

35mm is the common name of the 36x24mm film format or image sensor format. It has an aspect ratio of 3:2, and a diagonal measurement of approximately 43mm. The name originates with the total width of the 135 film which was the primary medium of the format prior to the invention of the full frame digital SLR. Historically the 35mm format was sometimes called small format to distinguish it from the medium and large formats.

APS-C is an image sensor format approximately equivalent in size to the film negatives of 25.1x16.7mm with an aspect ratio of 3:2.

Medium format is a film format or image sensor format larger than 36x24mm (35mm) but smaller than 4x5in (large format).

Angle of view

Angle of view describes the angular extent of a given scene that is imaged by a camera. It is used interchangeably with the more general term field of view.

As the focal length changes, the angle of view also changes. The shorter the focal length (eg 18mm), the wider the angle of view. Conversely, the longer the focal length (eg 55mm), the smaller the angle of view.

A camera's angle of view depends not only on the lens, but also on the sensor. Imaging sensors are sometimes smaller than 35mm film frame, and this causes the lens to have a narrower angle of view than with 35mm film, by a certain factor for each sensor (called the crop factor).

This website does not use the angles of view provided by lens manufacturers, but calculates them automatically by the following formula: 114.6 * arctan (21.622 / CF * FL),

where:

CF – crop-factor of a sensor,
FL – focal length of a lens.

Mount

A lens mount is an interface — mechanical and often also electrical — between a camera body and a lens.

A lens mount may be a screw-threaded type, a bayonet-type, or a breech-lock type. Modern camera lens mounts are of the bayonet type, because the bayonet mechanism precisely aligns mechanical and electrical features between lens and body, unlike screw-threaded mounts.

Lens mounts of competing manufacturers (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony etc.) are always incompatible. In addition to the mechanical and electrical interface variations, the flange focal distance can also be different.

The flange focal distance (FFD) is the distance from the mechanical rear end surface of the lens mount to the focal plane.

Lens construction

Lens construction – a specific arrangement of elements and groups that make up the optical design, including type and size of elements, type of used materials etc.

Element - an individual piece of glass which makes up one component of a photographic lens. Photographic lenses are nearly always built up of multiple such elements.

Group – a cemented together pieces of glass which form a single unit or an individual piece of glass. The advantage is that there is no glass-air surfaces between cemented together pieces of glass, which reduces reflections.

Focal length

The focal length is the factor that determines the size of the image reproduced on the focal plane, picture angle which covers the area of the subject to be photographed, depth of field, etc.

Speed

The largest opening or stop at which a lens can be used is referred to as the speed of the lens. The larger the maximum aperture is, the faster the lens is considered to be. Lenses that offer a large maximum aperture are commonly referred to as fast lenses, and lenses with smaller maximum aperture are regarded as slow.

In low-light situations, having a wider maximum aperture means that you can shoot at a faster shutter speed or work at a lower ISO, or both.

Closest focusing distance

The minimum distance from the focal plane (film or sensor) to the subject where the lens is still able to focus.

Closest working distance

The distance from the front edge of the lens to the subject at the maximum magnification.

Magnification ratio

Determines how large the subject will appear in the final image. For example, a magnification ratio of 1:1 means that the image of the subject formed on the film or sensor will be the same size as the subject in real life. For this reason, a 1:1 ratio is often called "life-size".

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Manual focus override in autofocus mode

Allows to perform final focusing manually after the camera has locked the focus automatically. Note that you don't have to switch camera and/or lens to manual focus mode.

Electronic manual focus override is performed in the following way: half-press the shutter button, wait until the camera has finished the autofocusing and then focus manually without releasing the shutter button using the focusing ring.

Manual diaphragm

The diaphragm must be stopped down manually by rotating the detent aperture ring.

Preset diaphragm

The lens has two rings, one is for pre-setting, while the other is for normal diaphragm adjustment. The first ring must be set at the desired aperture, the second ring then should be fully opened for focusing, and turned back for stop down to the pre-set value.

Semi-automatic diaphragm

The lens features spring mechanism in the diaphragm, triggered by the shutter release, which stops down the diaphragm to the pre-set value. The spring needs to be reset manually after each exposure to re-open diaphragm to its maximum value.

Automatic diaphragm

The camera automatically closes the diaphragm down during the shutter operation. On completion of the exposure, the diaphragm re-opens to its maximum value.

Fixed diaphragm

The aperture setting is fixed at F/4 on this lens, and cannot be adjusted.

Automatic aperture control

For Programmed Auto or Shutter-priority Auto shooting, set the lens aperture ring to the "A" position.

Number of blades

As a general rule, the more blades that are used to create the aperture opening in the lens, the rounder the out-of-focus highlights will be.

Some lenses are designed with curved diaphragm blades, so the roundness of the aperture comes not from the number of blades, but from their shape. However, the fewer blades the diaphragm has, the more difficult it is to form a circle, regardless of rounded edges.

At maximum aperture, the opening will be circular regardless of the number of blades.

Weight

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

Maximum diameter x Length

Excluding case or pouch, caps and other detachable accessories (lens hood, close-up adapter, tripod adapter etc.).

For lenses with collapsible design, the length is indicated for the working (retracted) state.

Weather sealing

A rubber material which is inserted in between each externally exposed part (manual focus and zoom rings, buttons, switch panels etc.) to ensure it is properly sealed against dust and moisture.

Lenses that accept front mounted filters typically do not have gaskets behind the filter mount. It is recommended to use a filter for complete weather resistance when desired.

Fluorine coating

Helps keep lenses clean by reducing the possibility of dust and dirt adhering to the lens and by facilitating cleaning should the need arise. Applied to the outer surface of the front and/or rear lens elements over multi-coatings.

Filters

Lens filters are accessories that can protect lenses from dirt and damage, enhance colors, minimize glare and reflections, and add creative effects to images.

Lens hood

A lens hood or lens shade is a device used on the end of a lens to block the sun or other light source in order to prevent glare and lens flare. Flare occurs when stray light strikes the front element of a lens and then bounces around within the lens. This stray light often comes from very bright light sources, such as the sun, bright studio lights, or a bright white background.

The geometry of the lens hood can vary from a plain cylindrical or conical section to a more complex shape, sometimes called a petal, tulip, or flower hood. This allows the lens hood to block stray light with the higher portions of the lens hood, while allowing more light into the corners of the image through the lowered portions of the hood.

Lens hoods are more prominent in long focus lenses because they have a smaller viewing angle than that of wide-angle lenses. For wide angle lenses, the length of the hood cannot be as long as those for telephoto lenses, as a longer hood would enter the wider field of view of the lens.

Lens hoods are often designed to fit onto the matching lens facing either forward, for normal use, or backwards, so that the hood may be stored with the lens without occupying much additional space. In addition, lens hoods can offer some degree of physical protection for the lens due to the hood extending farther than the lens itself.

Teleconverters

Teleconverters increase the effective focal length of lenses. They also usually maintain the closest focusing distance of lenses, thus increasing the magnification significantly. A lens combined with a teleconverter is normally smaller, lighter and cheaper than a "direct" telephoto lens of the same focal length and speed.

Teleconverters are a convenient way of enhancing telephoto capability, but it comes at a cost − reduced maximum aperture. Also, since teleconverters magnify every detail in the image, they logically also magnify residual aberrations of the lens.

Lens caps

Scratched lens surfaces can spoil the definition and contrast of even the finest lenses. Lens covers are the best and most inexpensive protection available against dust, moisture and abrasion. Safeguard lens elements - both front and rear - whenever the lens is not in use.

Rotary zoom

The change of focal length is achieved by turning the zoom ring and the manual focusing - by turning the separate focusing ring.

Push/pull zooming allows for faster change of focal length, however conventional method based on the rotation of the zoom ring provides more accurate and smooth zooming.

Push/pull zoom

The change of focal length happens when the photographer moves the ring towards the mount or backwards.

Push/pull zooming allows for faster change of focal length, however conventional method based on the rotation of the zoom ring provides more accurate and smooth zooming.

Zoom lock

The lens features a zoom lock to keep the zoom ring fixed. This function is convenient for carrying a camera with the lens on a strap because it prevents the lens from extending.

Zoom clutch

To set the manual zoom mode, pull the zoom ring towards the camera side until the words "POWER ZOOM" disappear.