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What is your opinion about Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC lens?

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Justme

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I have been reading a number of reviews on this Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC (the original, not the new G2 model) lens and it has gotten a lot of positive reviews. People usually talk about its centre sharpness, the VC, how less expensive it is compared to say, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II - which is a great lens.

On the other-hand, at 24mm wide open it has quite a bit of vignetting in the corners and lens correction is usually needed in post-processing. I suppose it all depends on the type of photos you take as to whether it will be an issue or not.

I suppose people are willing to overlook these issues as most probably use the lens more at moderate focal lengths where vignetting and other issues are less noticeable.

I plan to use it on a full-frame Canon camera. How has your experience been like using this lens on a full-frame camera?
 
Justme said:
I have been reading a number of reviews on this Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC (the original, not the new G2 model) lens and it has gotten a lot of positive reviews. People usually talk about its centre sharpness, the VC, how less expensive it is compared to say, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II - which is a great lens.

On the other-hand, at 24mm wide open it has quite a bit of vignetting in the corners and lens correction is usually needed in post-processing. I suppose it all depends on the type of photos you take as to whether it will be an issue or not.

I suppose people are willing to overlook these issues as most probably use the lens more at moderate focal lengths where vignetting and other issues are less noticeable.

I plan to use it on a full-frame Canon camera. How has your experience been like using this lens on a full-frame camera?
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If you shoot in RAW and use Adobe Bridge you can use lens correction on automatic to get rid of vignetting. Most lenses vignette and I did not notice anything more about this lens than usual. I used it at 24-35mm range 50% of the time. But I was using it on Nikon so I have no idea how it performs on Canon.

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SushiEater said:
Justme said:
I have been reading a number of reviews on this Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC (the original, not the new G2 model) lens and it has gotten a lot of positive reviews. People usually talk about its centre sharpness, the VC, how less expensive it is compared to say, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II - which is a great lens.

On the other-hand, at 24mm wide open it has quite a bit of vignetting in the corners and lens correction is usually needed in post-processing. I suppose it all depends on the type of photos you take as to whether it will be an issue or not.

I suppose people are willing to overlook these issues as most probably use the lens more at moderate focal lengths where vignetting and other issues are less noticeable.

I plan to use it on a full-frame Canon camera. How has your experience been like using this lens on a full-frame camera?
Click to expand...
If you shoot in RAW and use Adobe Bridge you can use lens correction on automatic to get rid of vignetting. Most lenses vignette and I did not notice anything more about this lens than usual. I used it at 24-35mm range 50% of the time. But I was using it on Nikon so I have no idea how it performs on Canon.
Click to expand...
Full-frame Nikon? I have LR which has lens correction profiles too.
 
It sounds good on paper (on the internet rather). 24-70 f2.8 is apparently difficult- there are very few available that are uniformly good without issues of some sort, and the good ones such as the new Nikon 24-70E are very expensive. So the Tamron does pretty well by comparison. But even though it got good reviews, I've read recommendations to sell your first generation version and buy the G2 version. However the G2 version new sells for twice what the original version does used. If money is no object, then buy the latest Nikon or Canon version. If money is an issue then the Tamron first gen may be the best choice. That's my opinion and I'm in the process of buying a used one myself. I suppose I'll have to have it in my hands for testing before I can really answer the question for myself.
 
bjn70 said:
It sounds good on paper (on the internet rather). 24-70 f2.8 is apparently difficult- there are very few available that are uniformly good without issues of some sort, and the good ones such as the new Nikon 24-70E are very expensive. So the Tamron does pretty well by comparison. But even though it got good reviews, I've read recommendations to sell your first generation version and buy the G2 version. However the G2 version new sells for twice what the original version does used. If money is no object, then buy the latest Nikon or Canon version. If money is an issue then the Tamron first gen may be the best choice. That's my opinion and I'm in the process of buying a used one myself. I suppose I'll have to have it in my hands for testing before I can really answer the question for myself.
Click to expand...
How do you know that the used one will be any good? There is a reason why the used one is for sale. It could that like me I wanted to upgrade or it could be that it is no good copy and original owner wants to get rid of it. Right now G1 is still available new with full Tamron warranty for $799. Maybe less.
 
Member said:
How do you know that the used one will be any good? There is a reason why the used one is for sale. It could that like me I wanted to upgrade or it could be that it is no good copy and original owner wants to get rid of it. Right now G1 is still available new with full Tamron warranty for $799.
Click to expand...
That is a good question and nobody really knows when buying a used lens. I've read that the sample to sample variation is small in this particular Tamron model so there is that going for me. And used I saved a lot over the potential new price. When it arrives I will test it but until then I just hold my breath. If I had to pay new price for it I probably would have bought a different lens.
 
bjn70 said:
bjn70 said:
How do you know that the used one will be any good? There is a reason why the used one is for sale. It could that like me I wanted to upgrade or it could be that it is no good copy and original owner wants to get rid of it. Right now G1 is still available new with full Tamron warranty for $799.
Click to expand...
That is a good question and nobody really knows when buying a used lens. I've read that the sample to sample variation is small in this particular Tamron model so there is that going for me. And used I saved a lot over the potential new price. When it arrives I will test it but until then I just hold my breath. If I had to pay new price for it I probably would have bought a different lens.
Click to expand...
So how much did you pay?

I just sold my for $600 on the Craigslist. It was in almost new condition even though it had like few hundred thousands shutter clicks on it. Original box was included.
 
Justme said:
I have been reading a number of reviews on this Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC (the original, not the new G2 model) lens and it has gotten a lot of positive reviews. People usually talk about its centre sharpness, the VC, how less expensive it is compared to say, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II - which is a great lens.

On the other-hand, at 24mm wide open it has quite a bit of vignetting in the corners and lens correction is usually needed in post-processing. I suppose it all depends on the type of photos you take as to whether it will be an issue or not.

I suppose people are willing to overlook these issues as most probably use the lens more at moderate focal lengths where vignetting and other issues are less noticeable.

I plan to use it on a full-frame Canon camera. How has your experience been like using this lens on a full-frame camera?

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Go for first party lenses, I learnt lesson from third party lenses, it was annoying. You can try your luck if you like to. But remember you get what you pay for. If money is an issue, go buy from Ebay at worth trust sellers like Adorama, Cameta Camera and check out by PayPal credit, they offer 24 months payments with little interest charged. Or buy from Amazon and pay by Amazon store card 12 payments without interest charged.
 
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SushiEater said:
How do you know that the used one will be any good? There is a reason why the used one is for sale. It could that like me I wanted to upgrade or it could be that it is no good copy and original owner wants to get rid of it.
Click to expand...
My luck with ebay private sellers has been 1/2 lenses with faults, before we even get to IQ, and that's why I rarely use it. My favorite is a joker who tries to sell "sold as seen" where he takes a photo of everything but the fault.

From dealers my record is rather better, maybe 10% with faults generally due to the retailer not specialising solely in photography and lacking some knowledge in buying I think, and then maybe I reject another 10% as being optically clearly out of whack. Then maybe there's another 10%+ that seem to need focus correction or simply aren't good enough.

I mean over a sample size of scores of lenses that I got real time with, not just looking at them for two minutes in a shop.
 
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Justme said:
I have been reading a number of reviews on this Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC (the original, not the new G2 model) lens and it has gotten a lot of positive reviews. People usually talk about its centre sharpness, the VC, how less expensive it is compared to say, the Canon 24-70 2.8 II - which is a great lens.

On the other-hand, at 24mm wide open it has quite a bit of vignetting in the corners and lens correction is usually needed in post-processing. I suppose it all depends on the type of photos you take as to whether it will be an issue or not.

I suppose people are willing to overlook these issues as most probably use the lens more at moderate focal lengths where vignetting and other issues are less noticeable.

I plan to use it on a full-frame Canon camera. How has your experience been like using this lens on a full-frame camera?
Click to expand...
 
Member said:
So how much did you pay?

I just sold my for $600 on the Craigslist. It was in almost new condition even though it had like few hundred thousands shutter clicks on it. Original box was included.
Click to expand...
Right now on ebay and FM they seem to go for 90-100% of the price you quoted. I paid closer to 90%.
 
bjn70 said:
bjn70 said:
So how much did you pay?

I just sold my for $600 on the Craigslist. It was in almost new condition even though it had like few hundred thousands shutter clicks on it. Original box was included.
Click to expand...
Right now on ebay and FM they seem to go for 90-100% of the price you quoted. I paid closer to 90%.
Click to expand...
I don't mean to make you feel bad but if Adorama sells for $799 I bet you can get Greentoe to get you a much better price. I think stores have huge amount of stock left on the old lenses. I paid $400 less for 24-70mm G2 and 70-200mm G2 for both even without a rebate.
 
I would love to hear more about your green toe experience. I sent you a pm!
 
I love this lens. I bought the 24-70 f/2.8 Di VC USD in 2013 when I got a refurbished Nikon D600. I also bought the 70-200 f/2.8 Di VC USD. Both have gotten regular use, over the last 4+ years. They've lasted longer than the D600 :)

I use the 24-70 mostly for landscapes and group portrait photography. I've shot some court sports with it. The 70-200 gets use for sports, portraits and landscapes. Both lenses are still under warranty. (The Tamron 6-year warranty is a big incentive to buy, new.) I had the 24-70 serviced in 2016. Tamron adjusted focusing and VC performance.
 
Anyone that has one of these, does the front of it rattle a bit? I.e. the zoom action is a bit loose? I’ve seen this in some AF lenses before but not in the zoom.

i just received a used one and it seems to work fine otherwise. For now I can only test it with a D300 and against a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which it is close to or better than in sharpness.
 
bjn70 said:
Anyone that has one of these, does the front of it rattle a bit? I.e. the zoom action is a bit loose? I’ve seen this in some AF lenses before but not in the zoom.

i just received a used one and it seems to work fine otherwise. For now I can only test it with a D300 and against a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which it is close to or better than in sharpness.
Click to expand...
I shoot on the red carpet so I use 24-35mm range for full body and then 70mm for close up on every person. After several hundred thousands shots I put on the lens the zoom was very smooth. If you hear rattling and zoom is too loose I think the lens was dropped. May have been repaired but they did not tighten the zoom.
 
bjn70 said:
Anyone that has one of these, does the front of it rattle a bit? I.e. the zoom action is a bit loose? I’ve seen this in some AF lenses before but not in the zoom.

i just received a used one and it seems to work fine otherwise. For now I can only test it with a D300 and against a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which it is close to or better than in sharpness.
Click to expand...
I had one where the front had a little wobble. My canon 24-105 does also. Doesn’t affect image quality but I sent it in under Warranty to be repaired anyway
 
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