Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens price announced

Tamron has officially announced the release date and price details of its new 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro lens.

When you think about all-in-one lenses, the first company that comes to mind is Tamron. The Japanese company has a long history with lenses for photographers who travel a lot and want to carry around only one such product for portability purposes.

The manufacturer has been pushing the boundaries of zoom lenses by providing optics with a wider focal range, while reducing the weight. Prices are also lower when it comes to its Nikon and Canon rivals, adding an extra incentive for the users.

Tamron has not failed to meet the expectations with the 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro lens. This model has become official in early 2014 and, after Nikon has announced its new 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 lens, Tamron has decided to reveal the price and release date of its equivalent.

Tamron announces availability details of the 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 lens

The Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro now has a release date and a price. It’s coming on May 15 for $629.

The first lens in the world to offer a zoom ratio of 18.8x will be released as of May 15 in the US. The company’s partners will ask for $629 in exchange for the Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro lens.

This “all-round” optic features Vibration Compensation technology to neutralize camera shakes. Additionally, the Piezo Drive motor will provide smooth and silent autofocus.

It will be aimed at SLR cameras with APS-C image sensors from Canon, Nikon, and Sony, with the mention that the latter will not sport VC technology.

When mounted on an APS-C camera, the 16-300mm lens will provide a 35mm focal length equivalent of approximately 24-450mm, said Tamron.

If you want to buy the Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens, then it is available for pre-order at Adorama and B&H PhotoVideo for the aforementioned price.

Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro vs AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR

Tamron’s 16-300mm is in direct competition with Nikon’s new 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G lens. The third-party version has some advantages over the Nikon model, such as a “splashproof construction”.

Additionally, it offers a wider focal length of 16mm, helpful for landscape shooting. Next comes the minimum focusing distance of 39 centimeters, smaller than the 48-centimeter focusing distance of the Nikon 18-300mm lens.

Furthermore, the Tamron unit offers a magnification ratio of 0.34x, hence the “Macro” designation. The Nikon model is pretty close with a 0.32x magnification ratio, but no “Macro” classification.

As for the size, the 16-300mm has a 75mm diameter, while the 18-300mm features a 78.5mm diameter. Tamron’s lens is also lighter, weighing 540 grams, while Nikon’s optic weighs 550 grams.

If this is not enough, there is a distance scale on the Tamron unit, while the Nikon does not have such thing.

Last but not least, this lens costs $629, while the Nikon version is available for $896.95 at Adorama, Amazon, and B&H PhotoVideo. Which one should you buy? Well, we will leave this up to you.