Tamron 24-70 discussion.

heartyfisher

Couldn't find any on the new forum but old Tamron 24-70 discussions
here.
* "My Tamron 24-70 2.8 shipped!" http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=6687
* "Tamron 24-70 vs Nikon 24-120" http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=15709

heartyfisher

After looking for a long time at various wide options ( only about a dozen :-) ) I finally decided between the nikkor 28mmF1.8 and the Tamron 24-70mm F2.8 VC.
My main criteria was it needed to complement my 70-200 F4 which has become my main lense. If possible making it a 2 lense kit. Therefore it needed to cover for the main weaknesses of the 70-200 F4.
1) wide.
2) large aperture.
These 2 lenses are sharp !

Considering the criteria individually.
1) Wide - 28mm is wide enough for me I am not a Wide angle person, though at times 28mm is just a little bit not wide enough. But I have the 12-24 DX F4 for when I need Ultra-wide. the 24-70 covers the wide range nicely and although the tests say that from 50-70 its not super sharp I am not too fussed as I only want it for wide. Getting down to 24mm is a nice bonus !
2) large aperture - the F1.8 was really attractive. Astro photgraphy which I have always wanted to try has been mostly out of reach for me with my DX cameras small aperture lenses and my mostly longer focal length lenses. That 28mm F1.8 would be a great lense for that application. What help be decide for the 24-70 was a photo of the milkyway taken with the 24-70 by an experienced nightscape photographer on a canon 6D.

So now with the 24-70 Tamron VC I have my lense for indoor photography !! and sharp enough for landscapes !

PS : thanks @Golf007sd for helping with last min. decisions ! :-)

heartyfisher

Quick snap mostly OOC (curves to brighten I always shoot -0.7 to make sure highlights are preserved)


100% Crop of the image above.


.. Hmm dunno why it doest look as sharp here.. oh well.. it looks sharp on my PC :-)

heartyfisher

Actually there are good reasons to buy Nikon. eg: the tamron has been shown to be less than 70mm at the longest. and due to focus breathing maybe even less so at close distances. Some say it only goes to 60mm. I am not sure will check it out against my 70-200 and see how it compares. Some say its wider than 24 at the short end. So it may be a 22-60mm lense in reality. Which is fine by me ! :-)

One thing I noticed is that the images taken are brighter by a wee bit than my other lenses. not sure if its just a problem with the metering or the lense T Stop is better. or the aperture setting is a bit different. still its only a small thing.

One more thing I noticed is Field curvature is quite severe at the edges. So the reports of "weak" edges can be explained by that. but that also means that in real scenarios the edges can be very sharp if the objects are closer than the center objects ! Just have to keep that in mind :-)

Photobug

Both the local camera dealer and the Tamron sales representative highly recommend the Tamron 24-70 over the Nikon. The Tamron is $1299 minus a $100 rebate and the Nikon is $1889.95. Both are eligible for a 2% rebate from B&H.

The Tamron rep told me that if I am making big prints to buy the Nikon and if I don't make prints larger than 8x10 or 12/16 to buy the Tamron and save almost $600. Use that money to buy a prime lens.

Interesting that the Tamron rep has convince the dealers sales staff to "push" the Tamron lens over Nikon's 24-70mm lens.

heartyfisher

Just had another look at the DXO for the Tamron. The TStop is T3.2, so that's not it. Maybe its just the aperture blades being a bit different. but no biggie.

kenadams

Could this partially depend on the mount? Saw a video on youtube (think it was for the Sigma 35 1.4 by DigitialRev) that had differences between Canon and Nikon on the T-stops as well..

spraynpray

Both the local camera dealer and the Tamron sales representative highly recommend the Tamron 24-70 over the Nikon. Interesting that the Tamron rep has convince the dealers sales staff to "push" the Tamron lens over Nikon's 24-70mm lens.

@-) Really? A Tamron sales rep recommending his products over another? Shock! :-j

heartyfisher

How strange... I was looking at it on a Canon camera. Very, very, weird that it would be different. Maybe one is a typo.

http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Tamron/Tamron-SP-24-70mm-F28-Di-VC-USD-Canon

It is weird .. The "measured" T stops results substantiate the F2.8. I suspect that there may be some "exaggeration" going on in the Canon side of things?

I cant see how its possible physically to not have the T Stop being different(larger) from the FStop. More so that they are the exact same lense.

If its the mount that is different then we surely cant have T stops of much less than T3.2 but we have the F1.4 lenses so that probably means its not the mount openings? It would seem to point to a fault in the measuring equipment used by DXO.

spraynpray

Not wanting to stir a hornets nest, but I would say that if anything, DxO are biased for Nikon and against Canon.

Photobug

Both the local camera dealer and the Tamron sales representative highly recommend the Tamron 24-70 over the Nikon. Interesting that the Tamron rep has convince the dealers sales staff to "push" the Tamron lens over Nikon's 24-70mm lens.

@-) Really? A Tamron sales rep recommending his products over another? Shock! :-j

@spraynpray - I knew someone was gong to quote that comment. He backed it up by referring people to the DxO site to see the difference and then make a decision. Got to admit that I have not done that so I hav eno idea what the results were. For a sales representative, he is a pretty decent guy. No hard sell; he just asks what do you shoot and points out the difference between their lens and Nikon or Canon depending upon what you shoot.

spraynpray

Both the local camera dealer and the Tamron sales representative highly recommend the Tamron 24-70 over the Nikon. Interesting that the Tamron rep has convince the dealers sales staff to "push" the Tamron lens over Nikon's 24-70mm lens.

@-) Really? A Tamron sales rep recommending his products over another? Shock! :-j

@spraynpray - I knew someone was gong to quote that comment. He backed it up by referring people to the DxO site to see the difference and then make a decision. Got to admit that I have not done that so I have no idea what the results were. For a sales representative, he is a pretty decent guy. No hard sell; he just asks what do you shoot and points out the difference between their lens and Nikon or Canon depending upon what you shoot.

I was just kidding around!

If I hadn't got a good deal on the D750/24-120 I would have gone for the Tamron most likely. I do slightly regret getting the 24-120 as it doesn't set the world on fire at the wide end, but it's OK at f7/8(!).

Photobug

@spraynpray - I knew you were kidding around. No problem.
I hear you about the D750+24-120. The Tamron is good option for a lower price but I like the current promotion that expires Saturday, $300 instant rebate off the Nikon 24-70mm F2.8 + B&H is tossing in $89 or so in freebies...most of which I would sell on Craig's List.

Photobug

As announced on the main blog, Nikon rebates extended until November 29th. Tamron rebates good until 12/1. Their 16-300 has a $50 rebate, 18-270 is $50, 70-200 is $100, and $100 rebate on the 24-70mm f/2.8.

michael66

Tell the rep that the ONLY thing I dislike about the Tamron, aside from the inherent faults of a zoom lens, is the focus ring stinks. I know this isn't super important for most people, but the damned thing has VR/VC/IS/jumpy-stoppy to make it more useful for video, but you gotta have a great focus ring for video. It really does stink.

Forgive my ignorance, but what stinks about the focus ring? Is it too narrow, not accurate or what I find perplexing about AF lenses in general, is that there isn't much travel. A small nudge makes a big difference.

Granted, I am back to being a novice ( film 25 years ago ) and I really miss the focus hash, but I did get few nice shots with this lens on a D7100 during a recent week in NOLA. This is a severe crop, but it looks okay to me.



And a short video taken aboard a bouncing boat;

heartyfisher

Have been using my tamron 24-70 a bit more... and have noticed a few things.

1) the lack of sharpness from 50mm-70mm as stated on the reviews are not an issue to me !
2) have missed focus more than I hope for. any advice what is the best setting on my D610 for AF focus?
3) Video is really good with the VC. the sound while AF is hardly noticeable.
4) It is quite a "fat" lense(82mm filter) . but is am getting used to it.
5) I am having issues with metering. it may be a combination of me not being used to 24mm or the camera not set properly or I have to get out of P and A mode and use manual with this lense more. Small issue with over exposing sometimes that needs me to switch the -/+ adjustments more than I usually do and try a second or third shot.

FlowtographyBerlin

1) the lack of sharpness from 50mm-70mm as stated on the reviews are not an issue to me !

Do you mean it's not an issue TO YOU, or it's not an issue with your lens in the first place?

heartyfisher

1) the lack of sharpness from 50mm-70mm as stated on the reviews are not an issue to me !

Do you mean it's not an issue TO YOU, or it's not an issue with your lens in the first place?

it is less sharp than at 24-40 but at 50-70 mm I am usually shooting portraits and not landscape which need details from edge to edge. People photos are usually concentrated in the center of the image (which is sharper), and you are usually not that interested in looking for blemishes on the skin of joe average at 100% magnification. It is much sharper than my old 50mm AIS at F1.4 to F2 (which I still like a whole lot, there is just something warm and texturely about the images of that old 50mm AIS ). For people photos the tamron 24-70 is more than sharp enough even wide open(50-70mm) close it down to F4 and its sharp. So for my use its a non issue.
I must state also that I am really not interested in 50-70mm focal lengths. Its just me. I only made a point to shoot at that focal length just for testing. some one else may love that focal length. to them I say, for me it is sharp enough, you should try it yourself to see if it is not sharp enough wide open. note also i belief that the edges are less sharp is due to field curvature ie if the subjects at the edges are closer than the subject in the center it can be sharp too.

FlowtographyBerlin

Short answer: TO you. :-)

Thanks for taking the time to explain.

heartyfisher

Short answer: TO you. :-)

Thanks for taking the time to explain.

LOL of course I can only speak for myself!
Thanks for summarising my long post ! I do tend to waffle on to be clear with what I am trying to get across. Forums do tend to explode when things are not made clear and open for interpretation subjectively and with bias.

The only other thing I want to add is that I was pleased that it is weather sealed. Unlike the other third-party lenses.

heartyfisher

Xmas lights .. so disappointed in the bokeh .. oh well its not for this kinds of shots then, will have to keep that in mind ..

heartyfisher

Its bright and sharp though.. :-)

Hammie

Xmas lights .. so disappointed in the bokeh .. oh well its not for this kinds of shots then, will have to keep that in mind ..

Oooo!!!!! Onions! :-)

Msmoto

Xmas lights .. so disappointed in the bokeh .. oh well its not for this kinds of shots then, will have to keep that in mind ..

So, what is it you do not like about the bokeh? I think bokeh is always seen in a relationship to other elements of the image and cannot really be evaluated for itself unless some special effect is desired.

heartyfisher

The bokeh is actually quite good except for the "onion ring" structure within it, the distribution of light across the circle is really quite uniform. I have tested it a bit more and if the light source is a point source the structure is much clearer (green circle) . However if the light source is a bit bigger as seen in the red circle to the left the bokeh turns out much nicer. I will have to pay attention and be mindful of this if I want this kind of image. Most images you wont see the structure.