Tamron vs Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 for D750

[shutteredImages]

Okay you probably have seen me bugging members here about building f/4 or f/2.8 system followed by 2-3 weeks of using me using D750 with all things that I intend to do. Let me do this bugging one more time

Long story short.. I'm happy with (and settled on) standard zoom range, which is

24-120 f/4 VR

85 f/1.8 D

Tamron 90 2.8 DI VC Macro (yes picked up this week @ adorama as they had a demo version on sale)

24-120 will be my walkaround on good-light and indoors with flash. My event photos are usually with 85mm, plus I did test it last couple of weeks on basketball and ice-hockey. Happy with results. Tammy will have its use for portraits and macro.

With that said, decided on moving forward with f/2.8 range for telephoto zoom. Obviously considering the Nikon VRII version till I ran into a fellow photographer at a basketball event who has been using Tammy 70-200 2.8. Did some online research and DXOMark says that it's the top lens for the fast telephoto range on D750. Link below

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www.dxomark.com

Surprised that the Nikkor is not even on their top 3.

My question is, is it really as good as it is mentioned there? How does it perform with 1.4x tele-convertor? Any visible degradation in IQ or auto-focus?

If all things equal, I'll thinking about saving some money choosing Tammy and putting aside that money to replace my backup camera (ageing D90) with a D500 or even D7200. Apart from being a backup body it will also serve my newfound birding / wildlife interest (70-200 with 1.4x teleconverter and 1.5 crop-factor will give 420mm reach on crop body and I don't have to immediately invest on mega-zoom birding lenses

Inputs please

 

[hrpiii3]

I can agree with your research on the Tamron 70-200. I too am looking to upgrade to a faster 70-200mm 2.8 for my D750, and everything keeps going back to it being better than the Nikon VRII. Hopefully others will chime in with some real world results/experiences. I want to hear them also.

 

[chipmaster]

The non OEM offer great value. I remember when I first started shooting sports and needed the bread and butter 70-200 2.8. At the time only the V1 70-200 Nikkor and ditto sigma/tamron were offered. I read all the test results and actually saw the work of a few people shooting the Tamron/Sigma. IQ wasn’t ever the question it was focus speed and durability. In the end bought a used Nikkor V1 and after a year of use sold it for more than I bought it. The reason I sold it was shooting FX and the edge softness while not critical was apparent in some shots so upgraded to the very pricey V2 nikkor. Have had that for 5 years plus, got it at launch and probably have shot countless ( 100K+ ) indoor/outdoor activities from indoor to outdoors drizzle to freezing snow. That nikkor still going strong, and I think I can still sell it used for 1400 bucks in a day, 1600-1800 probably with patience.

I’ve read how the Tamron/Sigma have upped their game and the new VC IQ and focus are improved. The thing to test if you are into indoor sports, how fast will it track your fast moving subjects. I doubt the IQ will be what disappoints you but focus. Be sure to test that carefully in real shooting environment. I’d strongly have you reconsider the tradeoff between buying a used VII for 1400-1600 versus the Tamron. Testing focus is very different than putting up a lens on some rig and measuring resolution across a field.

I’m no gold ring fanboi as I’ve also had my share of frustration with some overpriced Nikon lens ;-)

--
"Today's Pictures Are Tomorrow's Memories"

 

[FuhTeng]

Have you considered renting them to do your own comparison? That seems like a lot of money going on others opinions. I agree, I think AF speed could be different and that would drive me nuts with the Tamron, but I don't know.

 

[shutteredImages]

Yeah guess I definitely have to rent it before buying. But just want to run it through other people experiences with and without teleconverter (1.4x to be precise, I don't intend to go above it)

Customer reviews on Adorama & B&H indicates fast focus as a Pro

 

[shutteredImages]

Is buying just a 180mm /2.8 AF-D in place of 70-200 /2.8 a crazy idea? Just thinking out loud

 

[cdrross]

I did a lot of research into the 70-200 2.8 thing. I was not comfortable with the price point of the Nikon as I would have to save my pennies for quite a longer time and I was also deciding if it worth the extra price for me so I wanted to see what alternatives were available. Long story short, I ended up with the Tamron. While I can't compare it to Nikon or Sigma, I can say that it works great (very sharp and I find the AF quick) on the D750 (previously the D7100). The only downside is that it will not AF with a teleconvertor - you will have to resort to manual focus for these occasions. Being I rarely use a TC, it is not really an issue for me however for others - maybe. I think I also read somewhere that Nikon's TCs due to their design might not actually fit on the Tamron.

This is the concluding video of a 3 part series that compared Nikon, Tamron and Canon:

 

[FuhTeng]

Does Tamron offer TCs for use with their lenses? I know Sigma does.

 

[shutteredImages]

Appears like they do. But not sure if they AF

 

[Tuonov2]

I purchased the Tamron, the AF was slower and less reliable on my D700 than my 80-200 AFD screwdrive.

Sold it within a fortnight and bought the Nikon Vr11, the difference in focusing was night and day.

If you don't need fast and reliable focus get the Tamron, the image quality is very good.

 

[Timur Born]

On the D750 the difference is not day and night, if you even notice it (especially when not going from one end of the focus range to the other).

Main drawbacks of the Tamron are the difficulty to find a copy that has both smooth focus and zoom rings. Same problem when I bought my Tamron 24-70, where in the end I choose the copy with stiff(er) zoom in exchange for not having a resistance point in the zoom range (around 40 mm on two other copies I checked).

Additionally both Tamrons can cause interference noise on the sensor at high ISOs. This takes the form of horizontal stripes (some call it "banding") which start at the upper edge of the sensor and then go more or less further into the picture. The source seems to be the focus motor, so it happens mostly with AF-C, can happen with AF-S and doesn't happen with manual focus. Mostly a problem for sports/moving kids shooters.

While I kept the 24-70 for several reasons, I did return the 70-200. I hope/expect that Nikon will come out with a new 70-200 E version this year, then I can compare at Photokina again.