The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro and the Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses. Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro is the longer of the two lenses at 99mm. The Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro with a length of 80mm, is 19mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro also has a larger diameter of 75mm compared to the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro's 73mm diameter.
The 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 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro weighs 400g, which means it is 105g (20%) lighter than the Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro which has a weight of 505g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Macro Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for size comparison purposes.
Macro Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro and the Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A68, Sony A77 II and Sony A58.
Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro is also available in Canon EF and Nikon F (DX) mounts.
Focal Range
Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 60mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 90mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera. Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 150mm.