The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD and the Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD is the longer of the two lenses at 143mm. The Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD with a length of 117mm is 26mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD also has a larger diameter of 82mm compared to Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD's 77mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD weighs 435g, 43% (330g) lighter than the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD's weight of 765g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Nikon F (FX) Mount for size comparison purposes.
Telephoto Zoom Lenses in Nikon F (FX) Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD and Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD has the same Nikon F (FX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Nikon F (FX) lenses are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500.
Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 VC USD is also available in Canon EF mount.
Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6 LD is also available in Canon EF , Sony Alpha and Pentax KAF mounts.
Focal Range
Both lenses have the same focal range of 70-300mm and the fastest aperture of F4.0 - F5.6.