Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 VC USD Lens for CANON EF Mount Cameras w/ Advanced Photo and Travel Bundle

I ordered this lens as a potential upgrade to the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. I have been pretty happy with image quality of the Tokina, but it focuses very slowly, rendering it less appropriate for some of the other uses (like general portrait situations where you want to capture the moment). Additionally, I felt that this lens may be an upgrade because Tamron has been doing a great job lately, and some of other other favorite lenses are from them.I did a full fledged macro shoot-out this weekend, and I feel that the lens has turned out to be what I hoped. Same or better image quality, with infinitely faster focus (if you've used the Tokina, you know what I mean -- you could get a periscope up on a submarine faster than that lens grabs focus). I took more photos with the Tamron than the Tokina, but even so, my "keeper rate" of top-rated images was higher for the Tamron (I probably took twice as many photos with the Tamron in my experiment, but had three times as many "winners").The vibration control is the one area I am not sure about. I have a sense that VC might be messing up the focus on macro shots by inducing some sort of movement of its own. I can't really speak to this for sure, but in the situation I was shooting in, I had lots of light and was shooting at 1/200th or faster anyway, so VC was not really needed, and I found that my results were better without it. That said, for portrait shots where your working distance is much greater, the VC seems to work great. If I am going to really inundate you with details, I felt that the VC was only messing things up when I shot on a Nikon D750. When shooting on a D7200, it seemed to be fine for macro. It is entirely possible that this was user error and my learning curve with the gear.If you are new to macro shooting, please be patient. Every time I have bought a new lens and tried shooting up close, my first impression has been "there is something wrong with this lens" and invariably, I learn that the problem is that I need to learn what the heck I am doing. For macro shooting, if your subject is moving, you need a very fast shutter speed (at least 1/200th), e.g. for things like bees. Anything slower, and the motion blur is the subject, not you. But even if your subject is still, you probably should try to stay at 1/200th with this lens (though one could imagine with VC it should be possible to shoot a stationary object at 1/30th or 1/50th... give it a try but don't be too disappointed if it's not as sharp as you want).Also, if you're shooting macro and you want any sort of depth of field (i.e. your entire subject in focus), you need to use a very small aperture (f/16, f/32). Make sure you practice and read some articles and watch some videos before you decide the problem is the gear.Back to the lens... this was as good as I would expect from the new Tamron gear. Very happy, and it is likely that we will only use the Tamron, going forward, unless my girlfriend and I both want to shoot macro at the same time (and even then, she'll probably use her Tamron 35mm, which also does macro!).I attached a couple of images for your reference.

I have a Canon T6i, and decided on this lens, over others, after doing much research...Couldn't have made a better choice. The lens is everything they claim it to be and more. Photos are super sharp and the close-ups are as advertised. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great macro lens. I should mention, that not only do you get great macro capabilities, but you also have a a lens that captures superb everyday shots as well. The lens came through Digital Goja, and I couldn't be more pleased with them. The lens came very securely packaged with all of the items promised. The extras are very nice quality, not just some left over items thrown in. All of the paper work was there as well. I was also contacted by email to make sure everything was as it should be. I will definitely deal directly with them in the future for other photographic needs.

Love this lens. I've already taken amazing photos of a bee, flowers, and pets. I'm just an amateur so I'll leave the techie evals to others. All of the items came as described. The bag is as good or better than my lowpro bag of the same design. If I stuff just right I can get the Canon 70-200 f 2.8 in it along with EOS 80D with standard kit lens attached. Cleaning supplies are standard stuff. Neoprene lens case is thin but does offer some protection especially from rubbing. I tend to carry the camera in my hand instead of wearing it around my neck so the wrist strap is great for safety. I was surprised to get the lens and all of the quality items for the same price as others sell just the lens.