AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3
XR Di LD Aspherical [IF] MACRO
Model A061

One of the world's most compact, lightweight lenses in its class

This lens provides superior convenience in handling in a highly compact design. The front filter fitting is only 62mm, the maximum diameter just 73mm, the length 83.7mm, and the weight a remarkable 420 grams.

Convenience and compactness

The amazing changes in angles of view from a 10.7x zoom lens open up completely new horizons, especially when combined with the fundamental attraction of digital SLR cameras: the ability to confirm on the spot the quality or composition of captured images.

XR technology

Despite the remarkable reduction in size, Tamron 28-300 XR Di provides outstanding optical quality through an improved optical system employing XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass and complex aspherical elements.

Real close-up capability

Amazing macro capabilities are available with a minimum focusing distance of a mere 49cm over the entire zoom range, and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.9 at 300mm. This allows the photographer to fill the frame with objects of 10.5 x 7cm in size, or about the size of a music cassette.

Improved zoom torque

Through the incorporation of new mechanical designs such as a Moving Triple Cam, the lens zooms smoothly and consistently from wide angle to telephoto.

Nine-blade diaphragm for natural blur effects

The number of diaphragm blades affects the "shape" of the blur in out-of-focus areas of the image. This is more important in portraiture, where the aperture setting is often wide open, and macro photography, where the high magnification results in blurred background and foreground even at narrow apertures. When backgrounds are soft and blurred, not only is the effect very pleasing and "photographic", but it also serves to isolate the subject from a distracting background, providing a professional-looking image. A high number of blades provides a rounder shape to the aperture, which in turn makes the shape of the blur more circular and much more natural.

Zoom-lock mechanism

Useful when carrying the lens/camera over the shoulder

Another original Tamron mechanical engineering concept is the zoom-lock mechanism, which prevents the weight of the lens barrel from extending the lens when carried on the camera pointing downward. This eliminates the danger of accidentally knocking the lens while walking around and enhances responsiveness in the field. Simply zoom the lens out to its widest focal length and use the sliding zoom-lock switch to lock the barrel in place.

Flower-shaped hood is supplied with the lens to shield stray light

Included as a standard accessory, the flower-shaped hood matches the rectangular shape of the image sensor to most effectively block the interference of superfluous light rays entering from outside the borders of the image area, helping to ensure sharp, clear, flare-free images with crisp detail in the shadow areas.

High image quality by virtue of "Di" (Digitally integrated) design

The "Di" design is achieved by applying a new optical design to its coated surfaces, in order to reduce the ghosting and flare caused by aberrations, and by further enhancing our already stringent quality control system. The new AF28-300mm Di is reborn as a hig- power zoom lens now ideal for use with interchangeable-lens digital cameras as well as film cameras.

Ideal for both digital and film SLRs

The AF28-300mm Di can be used with both digital SLR cameras and conventional 35mm AF-SLR film cameras. It provides an impressive angle of view equivalent of 42-450mm ultra telephoto when used with a Nikon digital camera, and provides a 28mm wideangle on a 35mm film SLR.

Extra Refractive Index

More compact lenses with superior image quality

XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass can bend light rays at steeper angles, thereby decreasing the physical length of the lens while enhancing imaging performance by minimising optical aberrations. With its superior light-bending power, XR glass makes it possible to design a short-barrel lens with the same light-gathering ability (aperture value) as a long-barrel lens – even with a smaller lens diameter. By using this principle Tamron has been able to shorten the length of the entire optical system and produce lighter, more compact lenses of the same speed, and also to provide greater zoom ranges in lenses that are much more convenient to carry and hand-hold.

XR glass is costlier than conventional glass but it yields enhanced optical power distribution, making the innovative XR lens designs possible.

Internal Focusing

Focusing elements inside the optical design make for better handling

In many lenses, the front elements move back and forth to alter the focus distance. With an internal focusing (IF) mechanism, the focusing elements are inside the optical design. Because the front lens elements remain static, the lens’ actual length does not change. This provides several benefits both to the image and during photography:

• The barrel is not subject to stray light entering from external helicoids that can adversely affect image quality
• A non-rotating front filter thread makes it easier to use filters such as graduated filters and polarisers
• A flower-shaped lens hood will remain in the correct position to most effectively shield the lens from stray light
• Better balance and more predictable handling because the lens length does not change during focusing
• Generally, a much closer minimum focusing distance throughout the zoom range
• Improved optical performance by minimising loss of illumination at the corners of the image field (vignetting)
• Suppression of other aberrations that become more troublesome at different focusing positions.

Integrated focus cam optimises internal focusing

Tamron's Integrated Focus Cam is a precision mechanical component that optimises the co-ordinated movement of the Internal Focusing (IF) system with the Multiple Cam Zoom Mechanism. This ingenious mechanism ensures accurate and seamless positioning of all the internal elements within the lens and coordinates them with the external zoom and focus controls.

Low Dispersion

Sharpens edges by reducing 'colour fringing'

Chromatic aberration occurs when a lens element refracts different wavelengths of a ray of light – its rainbow colours – at very slightly different angles. This results in the 'colour fringing' that reduces the sharpness of an image. LD elements are made from special glass materials with extremely low dispersion indices (i.e. the refraction of a ray of light into rainbow colours is extremely narrow). Thus they effectively compensate for chromatic aberration at the centre of the field (on axis), a particular problem at long focal lengths (the telephoto end of the zoom range), and for lateral chromatic aberration (toward the edges of the field) that often occurs at short (wideangle) focal lengths.

Although costly, LD glass materials result in clear, vivid image quality.

Aspherical

Far superior image quality – while reducing lens size and weight

Tamron uses several hybrid aspherical lens elements in its lenses bearing the Aspherical designation. The benefits are two-fold: first, their non-spherical shapes virtually eliminate spherical aberration and image distortion. Second, as one hybrid aspherical lens element can take the place of multiple elements without compromising performance, they allow the lens to be much more compact.

As a result, these innovative optics have played a crucial role in delivering uniformly high image quality across all apertures and focal lengths of extraordinarily compact ultra-zoom lenses.

Digitally Integrated

Optimal image quality on both digital and film SLRs

Di is a Tamron designation that applies to lenses that have been optimised for digital capture using advanced multi-coating techniques and optical designs that assure excellent image quality across the entire picture field. Because of these characteristics, Di lenses provide outstanding performance on cameras with full-frame and APS-C format sensors as well as on 35mm film.

Tamron's Di range

• SP AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR (Model A09)
• SP 24-70mm Di VC USD (Model A007)
• AF28-300mm F3.5-6.3 XR (Model A061)
• AF28-300mm F3.5-6.3 XR VC (Model A20)
• SP AF70-200mm F/2.8 (Model A001)
• SP AF70-300mm F/4-5.6 VC USD (Model A005)
• AF70-300mm F/4-5.6(Model A17)
• AF200-500mm F/3.5-6.3 (Model A08)
• SP AF90mm F/2.8 Macro (Model 272E)
• SP AF180mm F/3.5 Macro (Model B01)

New classifications for Nikon mounts

Tamron's Nikon-mount lenses featuring an internal AF have until now been designated 'N II'. Lenses using a coupler system* without an internal AF motor were designated as 'N'. As future lens introductions for Nikon will have the internal AF motor as a standard feature, Tamron has simplfiied the designation of all Nikon-mount lenses as 'N', eliminating the 'N II' designation for future models. This change was effective from the 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD (Model B008).

The 'N'-classified lenses with coupler systems are:

• AF55-200mm F/4-5.6 Di II (Model A15)
• AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di (Model A061)
• SP AF200-500mm F/5.6-6.3 Di (Model A08)
• SP AF180mm F/3.5 Di (Model B01)

* Coupler systems use a shaft which connects with the AF motor built into the camera body to operate the lens.