The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro and the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro is the longer of the two lenses at 166mm. The Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro with a length of 82mm, is 84mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro also has a larger diameter of 85mm compared to the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro's 56mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro weighs 186g, 79% (734g) lighter than the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro's weight of 920g.
Filter Threads
The Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro has a filter size of 72mm whereas the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro has a 46mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 72mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro:
And these are the 46mm filters that we recommend for the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro:
Lens Mounts
The Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro has the Nikon F (FX) lens mount whereas the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro has the Micro Four Thirds lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500 for the Nikon F (FX) Mount and OM System OM-3 Astro, OM System OM-5 II and OM System OM-3 for the Micro Four Thirds Mount.
Tamron 180mm f3.5 LD Macro is also available in the Canon EF and Sony Alpha mounts.
Focal Range
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 a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
270mm.
On the other hand, the Olympus ED 60mm f2.8 Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 60mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 120mm when used on a FourThirds format camera.
