The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 90mm F2.8 VC Macro and the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro 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 180mm f3.5 LD Macro is the longer of the two lenses at 166mm. The Tamron 90mm F2.8 VC Macro with a length of 117mm is 49mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro also has a larger diameter of 85mm compared to Tamron 90mm F2.8 VC Macro's 79mm 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 90mm F2.8 VC Macro weighs 609g, which means it is 311g (33%) lighter than the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro which has a weight of 920g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Macro Prime Lenses in Nikon F (FX) Mount for size comparison purposes.
Macro Prime Lenses in Nikon F (FX) Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Tamron 90mm F2.8 VC Macro and Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro 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 90mm F2.8 VC Macro is also available in Sony Alpha and Canon EF mounts.
Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro is also available in Canon EF and Sony Alpha mounts.
Focal Range
Tamron 90mm F2.8 VC Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 90mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 135mm.
Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 180mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 270mm.