Roses in Old Road

I used a Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR lens on a Nikon D3s for this picture. I have been trying to compare it to the elderly Tamron AF 70-210mm f/2.8 SP LD 67D that I picked up for a song on eBay almost four years ago. The Nikon zoom is lighter in weight (plastic vs. metal), has half as much again in telephoto reach (300mm vs. 210mm), and provides image stabilisation to spare camera shake blushes. But it is a loser in respect of wide aperture work when depth of field is wanted.
For the record: lens at 70mm, ISO 200. 1/160th at f/6.3.