The Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens is gives the user true 1:1 magnification at 90mm F2.8. Is the lens worth the relatively cheap price tag – Read the review to find out.

No lens is made for a more specific task than the macro lens. Often they are optically perfected for their focal length.
True macro lenses often starts from  50mm up to around 200mm and are very seldom zoom lenses.

Being primes their optical performance are top notch. I´ve previously reviewed the 105mm Sigma macro lens which was a wonderful lens, sharp wide open and with a reasonable price tag.

The Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro lens is a great tool. Besides the lengthy name the small 90mm has a lot more to offer.
Starting with the solid build quality. Not the hefty material, water sealed type of lens from the typical OEM manufacturer but rather good and dependable.
The lens extends a lot the closer you focus on your subject as with the Sigma 105mm. It´s not a big deal and although 90mm might to too short for insect photography I found it surprisingly usable. Often most insects won´t react to the lens coming closer but rather a quick shade of the incoming sunlight. At 90mm you have to be very close to your subject in order to achieve true 1:1 magnification.

Close to double the lens with the focus all the way to to 29cm´s and with the protruding lens hood mounted.

Often with macro photography you rely on manual focusing rather than the built in focus engine.
On this Tamron macro lens the focus engine works pretty fast for a macro lens. It´s definitely faster than the Sigma I´ve previously reviewed and although it´s somewhat noisy it´s miles ahead of the cheaper 70-300 lenses.

You have the option to limit focusing between infinity and 44cm and between 44cm and 29cm. It certainly help focusing if you´re using autofocus.
But as functional as the autofocus is I was turning to manual focus when ever the situation demanded it, which meant pretty much every time.

Similar to the Sigma 105mm this Tamron 90mm F2.8 features an instant manual focus switch. Just pull the focusing ring backwards and bingo manual focus enabled. Need to switch back to autofocus? Push the ring forward.  You do not need to hit any more switches – Super simple and functions as well as it sounds, perfect!

In use the  Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro is a true joy.
It weighs very little, in fact only 405grams giving you more maneuverability compared to a heavier lens making ackwards positions less cumbersome to shot from.
As stated before I used manual focus in pretty much any situations and I was very pleased with the results.
Partially due to slow breathing, luck, lots of light and a respect for the subjects I photographed  I shot all my shots handheld and got as close as I could get yet without scaring away the insect I had in the viewfinder.

I´m using the 1d Mark II which doesn´t feature a big viewfinder so with any newer pro targeted camera it should be even easier to focus. I had no problem determine where the sharpness was but if I was a glass user, I would probably use an angle finder or a camera with a larger viewfinder. Live-view could also be quite beneficial although a strong sun shining on the screen could hinder a great shoot.

As with any lens sharpness plays a great to for a purchase and as I wrote earlier macro lenses are perfected for their focal length.

The Tamron SP AF90mm F/2.8 Di 1:1 Macro is no different. In fact to lens is very sharp wide open and gains only a little stopping down.
Easily the sharpness lens I´ve ever tried for the price. – I felt it was sharper the 105mm Sigma macro and sharper than the 20mm F1.7 pancake lens from the Panasonic GF1 review.
When shooting macro it´s you can never get too much dept of field. It´s therefore vice verse from what you would aim for using a telephoto lens. Even at F11 dept of field is still very shallow especially when you´re close to the subject. F2.8 is nice to have but not too usable in real life.

The bokeh is very smooth, best at F2.8 and in certain situations the bokeh makes the picture rather than the subject itself.
I found the sharpness to be very similar across the frame typical for a tele prime and found the pictures requires less sharpening than other lenses.

Downloadable samples straight from RAW files (right click and choose save as..)
Sample 1
Sample 2

Conclusion
I was wondering before using the lens how it was performing. Having knowledge with Tamron products before I knew they have some true gems in the repertoire. This is one of them!
As sharp as they come wide open, fast in use, small and compact and for a price everyone can afford. The only thing negative is that I have to send it back. Superb Macro lens!

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