Tamron 15-30 G2 - any reviews??

Gazza Wilson · Oct 12, 2018

I had the original Tamron 15-30 f/2.8, and I was very pleased with its performance. I preferred it to my 14-24 Nikon because of the extra reach at the long end and especially because of the effective vibration control. However I dropped the Tamron in the Southern Ocean while on a location shoot and it died. I wish to replace the lens, but in Australia both the "G1" version and G2 version are both on sale with the newer lens priced $500 more than the original, and $500 more than the Sigma 14-24 Art. I would like to see a review of the newer G2 Tamron to see if it is significantly better than the original, especially because of its higher price. Any information on this would be much appreciated.

Gary.

mensch plus kamera · Oct 15, 2018

I'd also be interested in how it (the G2) fares compared to the Sigma 14-24 Art.

m+k

Brazo · Oct 15, 2018

I’m too keen on reviews!

i suspect it’s a bit better than the original but doubt it’s significantly better as the original was so good.

Gazza Wilson · Oct 15, 2018

I'm hoping that the G2 15-30 upgrade is a similar step up in quality that the G2 versions of Tamron's 70-200 f/2.8 and 24-70 f/2.8 display.

Satyaa · Oct 15, 2018

The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

IQ wise, I have not seen any significant improvement from 70-200/2.8 to its G2 version. I am guessing that it is the same case with the 15-30/2.8

Chuvarsky · Oct 17, 2018

Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Review

John Riley reviews the new Tamron 24-70mm G2 lens, for full-frame Canon and Nikon DSLRs, with Vibration Correction.

www.ephotozine.com

Chuvarsky · Oct 17, 2018

Sorry, picked the wrong review

DtEW · Oct 17, 2018

Satyaa said:
The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

There is also the Tamron TAP-in console compatibility.

Brazo · Oct 17, 2018

DtEW said:
Satyaa said:

The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

Click to expand...

There is also the Tamron TAP-in console compatibility.

and better vr, improved coatings and in some cases such as this one additional elements so a different lens really!

briantilley · Oct 17, 2018

Brazo said:
DtEW said:

Satyaa said:

The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

Click to expand...

There is also the Tamron TAP-in console compatibility.

Click to expand...

and better vr, improved coatings and in some cases such as this one additional elements so a different lens really!

There are no additional elements involved - both G1 and G2 versions of Tamron's 15-30mm have the same basic optical formula, with 18 elements in 13 groups.

Satyaa · Oct 17, 2018

briantilley said:
Brazo said:

DtEW said:

Satyaa said:

The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

Click to expand...

There is also the Tamron TAP-in console compatibility.

Click to expand...

and better vr, improved coatings and in some cases such as this one additional elements so a different lens really!

Click to expand...

There are no additional elements involved - both G1 and G2 versions of Tamron's 15-30mm have the same basic optical formula, with 18 elements in 13 groups.

My main point to the question in OP was that there are these usability improvements from 70-200/2.8 original to G2 and not any visible IQ increase.

I was trying to draw a parallel and say how the new 15-30/2.8 G2 might be different from the original, which was a very good lens to start with. I do not have direct experience with the 15-30 lenses.

Thanks.

Brazo · Oct 17, 2018

briantilley said:
Brazo said:

DtEW said:

Satyaa said:

The G2 versions of the other f/2.8 zooms are generally better built (composite material) and have the new improved AF motors.

Click to expand...

There is also the Tamron TAP-in console compatibility.

Click to expand...

and better vr, improved coatings and in some cases such as this one additional elements so a different lens really!

Click to expand...

There are no additional elements involved - both G1 and G2 versions of Tamron's 15-30mm have the same basic optical formula, with 18 elements in 13 groups.

Perhaps my wording but I was referring to the new XGM element.

fishy wishy · Oct 17, 2018

Did you realise the Tamron starts out at more like 16mm according to test measurements?

I quite like the Tamron but I don't find it at the very highest IQ level.

I'm not denying it's a very handy lens but I would be too tempted by that Sigma Art if it's $500 less. Even AUD. Where I am the selling prices are effectively reversed probably because the G2 hasn't fully percolated through yet.

For the stabilisation I'm more picky about sharpness standards on landscapes so it helps me by maybe only one stop in the daytime (IIRC)

Brunokb · Oct 18, 2018

I don't know about the G2 version – but I do use the G1 of the 15-30 a lot. And it is unbeliveable good! In any respect. Not many 2.8-Nikons (when talking about zooms) are as sharp as the Tamron is in any light at 2.8. Also coulors do deligth me and it nearly does not produce any ghosts/flares like most uw-zooms do.

Well, and I can't imagine the G2 could be worse.

RMcL · Nov 12, 2018

I ordered the 15-30 G2 from B&H last week and it is due to show up on Wednesday. I will be pairing it with a D850, so we'll see.

I was also suprised by how few reviews there are, given that it has been available for a few weeks now, but on the basis of the G1 reviews I decided to go ahead and order it anyway. On Tamron's own website the MTF curves appear to be idenitical to the G1 lens. Dustin Abbot does have some U-tube video reviews for the Canon mount version of the lens. So far he is claiming that the G2 is a bit brighter at f2.8 and is slightly sharper at the edges/corners, but difference is not huge. I wonder how much sample to sample variation might play into his comparison? He did show some pretty convincing images where the G2 was definately doing a better job of suppressing flare compared to the G1 model.

I was in fact close to buying the Nikkor 14-24mm, but finally decided that the extra 6mm at the long end and the VR were too appealing to resist. Will report on my findings.

RMcL · Nov 13, 2018

RMcL said:
I ordered the 15-30 G2 from B&H last week and it is due to show up on Wednesday. I will be pairing it with a D850, so we'll see.

I was also suprised by how few reviews there are, given that it has been available for a few weeks now, but on the basis of the G1 reviews I decided to go ahead and order it anyway. On Tamron's own website the MTF curves appear to be idenitical to the G1 lens. Dustin Abbot does have some U-tube video reviews for the Canon mount version of the lens. So far he is claiming that the G2 is a bit brighter at f2.8 and is slightly sharper at the edges/corners, but difference is not huge. I wonder how much sample to sample variation might play into his comparison? He did show some pretty convincing images where the G2 was definately doing a better job of suppressing flare compared to the G1 model.

I was in fact close to buying the Nikkor 14-24mm, but finally decided that the extra 6mm at the long end and the VR were too appealing to resist. Will report on my findings.

Took some test shots with my new 15-30 G2 early this evening, not ideal as it was just at sunset with a lot of shadow detail. What I can say is that flare performance with sun in frame looks pretty damn decent. Can also report that vingetting at f/2.8 is probably less than the G1. How do I know this? The profile for the G2 is not available in Lightroom yet, so I tried to apply the G1 profile. When I did this I got an inverted vignette with significantly brighter corners suggesting that G1 profile was overcompensating the actual vignette level on the G2. Distortion also looks very well managed on the G2. My shots at 15mm tonight appeared very rectilinear out of the box. Again when applying G1 profile in Lightroom I got impression it was overcompensating actual distortion of the G2. Still haven’t made up my mind about sharpness/AF. I got a couple of noticeable focus misses tonight, but remaining 49 images were sharp. I need to do more testing in daylight to satisfy myself, but so far I believe things are looking good.

fishy wishy · Nov 14, 2018

RMcL said:
I was also suprised by how few reviews there are, given that it has been available for a few weeks now, but on the basis of the G1 reviews I decided to go ahead and order it anyway. On Tamron's own website the MTF curves appear to be idenitical to the G1 lens. Dustin Abbot does have some U-tube video reviews for the Canon mount version of the lens. So far he is claiming that the G2 is a bit brighter at f2.8 and is slightly sharper at the edges/corners, but difference is not huge. I wonder how much sample to sample variation might play into his comparison

That's just Dustin Abbot for you...

RMcL · Nov 17, 2018

After full day daylight testing I’m pretty satisfied. My copy has no decentering and no autofocus issues that I can tell. Color, rendering, sharpness superb.

I’ll post some images soon.

RMcL · Nov 18, 2018

RMcL said:
After full day daylight testing I’m pretty satisfied. My copy has no decentering and no autofocus issues that I can tell. Color, rendering, sharpness superb.

I’ll post some images soon.

Or maybe I wont. Dont seem to be so many paying attention to this anyway....

SushiEater · Nov 18, 2018

RMcL said:
RMcL said:

After full day daylight testing I’m pretty satisfied. My copy has no decentering and no autofocus issues that I can tell. Color, rendering, sharpness superb.

I’ll post some images soon.

Click to expand...

Or maybe I wont. Dont seem to be so many paying attention to this anyway....

What I would like to see is the test picture that I can reproduce myself. For example a multiple of $1 bills taped to the wall for center and corners sharpness. I have G1 and I think it is very sharp. I had 24-70mm G1 and 70-200mm G1 and I thought they were very sharp too until I got G2s.

Tamron 15-30 G2 - any reviews??

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