Review of Tamron 14-150 and comparison to other m43 super zooms

I didn't really intend to write a review here, but got carried away in another post on tis  lens so making it a review.

I presently have 2 EM10s (also EM1) an Olympus 14-150 and Tamron 14-150. I've also had 2 different copies of the Panasonic 14-140 and both suffered from significant shutter shock on either EM10 or EM1. I was quite disappointed in this as I liked the handling and build quality of the 14-140. On one shoot w/ the 1st 14-140, out of about 400-500 photos, way more than 1/2 showed significant shutter shock-- same w/ the 2nd. I sold both, hopefully to Panasonic owners. It's a lens I wanted to like but in the 1/30 to 1/500 sec range (an important SS range IMO) neither was even close to acceptable-- that includes both copies.

I've had the Oly 14-150 (bought it refurbished) for a couple years and consider it a good decently sharp lens (for this class of lens). The Oly is well built and nice to handle and to shoot with, and It's a very versatile lens that shows no evidence of shutter shock. I bought the Tamron recently, and more out of curiosity than anything else, but I like it's appearance a lot better than the Oly-- bright black and industrial looking-- though they are about the same price at around $600. new cost.

The Tamron 14-150 is also decently sharp and nice to shoot with in good light. Personally, I consider the Oly and Tamron about equal optically and it would likely take rigorous testing to determine differences. They are both a bit soft at max zoom, but that is normal for this class of lens and the files sharpen up pretty well-- I use PSP X7. Both can be made to flare under severe conditions but I consider both to have fairly good flare resistance to flaring. I don't pay much attention to CA but would notice it if serious, and I don't think it is though I've seen some at WA in high contrast areas. Both have nice smooth well damped zoom action w/o being to loose or too tight, and they're really close in size and weight. Barrel distortion must be corrected in the EM10 as it doesn't really show up with either.

The only reason I like the Tamron better is simply appearance. Personally, I would recommend either the Olympus or Tamron 14-150 for general purpose shooting in decent lighting, and understanding their limitations e.g they're not prime sharp, nor even good zoom sharp, but I wouldn't hesitate to carry either if I wanted to pack light and didn't want to hassle with changing lenses. Both of mine are adequately sharp. I'm also going to try posting this as a Tamron 14-150 review-- sort of got carried away here.

JL

Good post. It will be interesting to see if the Tamron gains a following. It was a very strange focal length to choose for their first lens.

I have the 12-50mm Oly and quite enjoy it. I am satisfied with the IQ of this lens. Just wondering if you have shot with it, and is the Oly 14-150 about the same IQ? They are selling used quite affordably right now.

I've got both myself and my conclusions are similar to yours. If somebody is looking at purchasing one of these then the Tamron would be a candidate, especially since it's cheaper (here in Europe anyway). Surprisingly, I have tested this lens on several cameras and my best results came from the Panasonic GX7. The images seemed to be sharper from that camera. Strange but true. I've got some images on my blog if anyone is interested (just click on my signature for the link).

Dil

I did have the Oly 12-50, and while "adequate", mine was fairly soft in the 90-105 range and that's when I got the refurb Oly 14-150.  I just preferred the longer range though missed the 12mm and pretty good macro.  Maybe odd, but I now often carry the 14-150,  12-40, and 8mm fish-eye.  I think the Tamron will replace the Oly in my bag, but I'll keep the Oly as well-- I got it pretty reasonably and it's optically fairly good.

JL

I've had the Tamron as well, I just think this is better

Martin.au wrote:

Good post. It will be interesting to see if the Tamron gains a following. It was a very strange focal length to choose for their first lens.

Actually, reading this review, it looks like Tamron has done a really nice job on that lens.

http://www.photoreview.com.au/reviews/lenses/m4-3/tamron-14-150mm-f-3.5-5.8-di-iii-m4-3-lens

Martin.au wrote:

Martin.au wrote:

Good post. It will be interesting to see if the Tamron gains a following. It was a very strange focal length to choose for their first lens.

Actually, reading this review, it looks like Tamron has done a really nice job on that lens.

http://www.photoreview.com.au/reviews/lenses/m4-3/tamron-14-150mm-f-3.5-5.8-di-iii-m4-3-lens

Martin;  I agree, that's a nice review of the Tamron, thanks for the link.  I also agree that the Tamron 14-150 was an odd choice for a 1st m43 lens, but I'm glad they did it as I think it upped the bar over the Oly 14-150 a bit.  I didn't say it before, but I do think the Oly "looks a bit cheap" when compared to either the OLy or the Panasonic 14-140.  Functionally and optically the Oly is good for this class of zoom.

I'd just add that while AF in both are fast enough for most purposes, neither would win an AF speed contest.

John

I posted the original question of user experience with the Tamron 14-150mm or the Panasonic 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 on the E-M10. I did not ask about the Olympus 14-150mm because it did not get the greatest reviews. I was surprised that most of the responders spoke highly of the Olympus 14-150. JL did not like the results of the Panasonic 14-140 but there are two versions; the older 14-140mm f/4-5.8 and the newer 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6. Opinions of the older Panasonic seem to indicate it was a real dog which is probably why Panasonic released the new lens. He didn't indicate which one he used. The new lens is a complete rebuild and was released around the same time as the Tamron.

In addition, the November issue of Shutterbug has a review of the Tamron 14-150 and most of the testing was done on an E-M10. Since I get a digital copy, it's hard to really tell how good the images are and the reviewers rarely have any bad comments about anything the magazine is reviewing. One thing he did say, is that the lens is much better suited for the E-M10 than the two Panasonic bodies he also used because the E-M10 has IBIS and the lens has no OIS. Another interesting comment was that Tamron has a long history of building super zooms, so its not that surprising that this is their first M43 lens.

Thanks for your review, John.  But I have a question.  My understanding is that the Panasonic shutter shock issue is completely solved on the E-M10 if you set the camera to zero second anti-shock and this would be true for any lens including the Panasonic 14-140.  Did you try this and still somehow get shutter shock?

Also wondered whether you used the older Panasonic or the newer one?

Thanks again.

Cathy H.

Really wish they'd built this lens with IS though, I'm shooting mostly Panasonic these days.

I should have stated in my comments that the two Panasonic lens I had shutter shock problems were both the new version e.g. II.  Also, I do, and have had my EM1 and EM10s set to IBIS rather than use OIS, and I also have 0 second shock set.

A couple years ago I did have the original Pana 14-140, and it was kind of a "dog"-- much bigger and heavier and I never really bonded with that lens but I didn't have problems with shutter shock.  But then I was using it on Panasonic bodies.

JL

cathyph1 wrote:

Thanks for your review, John. But I have a question. My understanding is that the Panasonic shutter shock issue is completely solved on the E-M10 if you set the camera to zero second anti-shock and this would be true for any lens including the Panasonic 14-140. Did you try this and still somehow get shutter shock?

Also wondered whether you used the older Panasonic or the newer one?

Thanks again.

Cathy H.

I have always had my EM10s set to zero second anti-shock (also EM1 when it became available)  and my experience was as stated-- they both produced unacceptable shutter shock.  What I didn't do was turn off in camera IBIS and try it with the Pana 14-140 IIs OIS activated.  I have 4 other Panasonic lenses that do not produce shutter shock when used on either EM10 or EM1, specifically the Panasonic:  12-35 f2.8, 8mm f3.5 fish-eye, 45-175, and 45mm f2.8 macro.

To tell the truth, this is the first and only time I have encountered shutter shock, but have found no other explanation for the distinct blurring.  I have, or have had, quite a few different m43 lenses-- both Oly and Panasonic-- w/o this issue.  Neither the Oly or Tamron 14-150 produce this type of blurring with my OM-D cameras.

Just to be clear, I bought and tried two different 14-140 mk II lenses and they both produced many blurred images.

JL

bs1946 wrote:

I posted the original question of user experience with the Tamron 14-150mm or the Panasonic 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 on the E-M10. I did not ask about the Olympus 14-150mm because it did not get the greatest reviews. I was surprised that most of the responders spoke highly of the Olympus 14-150. JL did not like the results of the Panasonic 14-140 but there are two versions; the older 14-140mm f/4-5.8 and the newer 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6. Opinions of the older Panasonic seem to indicate it was a real dog which is probably why Panasonic released the new lens.

Original 14-140mm " real dog" where did you get this from? In fact on slgear.com the original performs better than the the new one at several focal lengths.

New  f/5.6@70mm                                                       Old f/5.8 @70mm

This is a quote from slrgear.com on alternatives to the new model:

"The most obvious alternative to this lens is the previous model, the Panasonic 14-140mm ƒ/4-5.8 ASPH MEGA OIS LUMIX G VARIO HD. It provides the same focal range and very similar image quality with extremely low distortion, however you do have slightly slower apertures. Oddly, Panasonic is still selling this older lens for a much higher price than the new model -- $850 versus $630 for the new model."

Hi

I have the GX7 and just bought this lens after being put off by a number of reviews re the pana 14-140mm Mk2 and shutter shock.

I hope somebody can confirm that the GX7 in body IS will work with the Tamron 14-150mm. All the websites I have looked at say it can but this may be specualtion .The GX7 user manual seems to intimate it can as well.

However, there was a user on here that said to have this camera and lens and did not get in body IS to work?!

Thanks in advance.

GW

Shutter shock will affect all lenses. Reports suggest (Camera Labs) that the GX7 only gives approx one stop stabilization. The panny lenes OIS should give you more when set to OIS. Quality wise I posted some pics taken with the panny on this forum, I also think it is better than the Tamron

Glen K Wells wrote:

Hi

I have the GX7 and just bought this lens after being put off by a number of reviews re the pana 14-140mm Mk2 and shutter shock.

I hope somebody can confirm that the GX7 in body IS will work with the Tamron 14-150mm. All the websites I have looked at say it can but this may be specualtion .The GX7 user manual seems to intimate it can as well.

However, there was a user on here that said to have this camera and lens and did not get in body IS to work?!

Thanks in advance.

GW

I also decided on the Tamron 14-150mm and will get it tomorrow. It should have been today, but the UPS stuck a not home notice on the front door, rang the bell and ran back to his truck before I could reach the door. Mine will go on my E-M10 which has both IBIS and their anti-shock update.