Maybe good for events. Maybe.

[Dimitris Servis]

This lens is quite a disappointment as it is neither useful for landscapes on the short end nor for portraits on the long end. It's not really sharp and may be only useful for events. I actually only used it successfully in such an occasion.

 

[James Larsen]

Can we see some examples? I've heard otherwise from others.

 

[SushiEater]

Go troll somewhere else. The lens is excellent and one of the best lenses I have ever used. It lives permanently on my main camera.

 

[Dimitris Servis]

Can we see some examples? I've heard otherwise from others.

 

[briantilley]

Here are a couple of examples I consider bad

https://flic.kr/p/t5gqmR

https://flic.kr/p/K63jDQ

Thanks for posting some examples.

Looking at the second one in particular, to me it seems pretty decent. What exactly do you think is "bad" about it? Front-to-back sharpness would be even better if it had been shot at a smaller aperture - you had plenty of light judging by the 1/1600th shutter speed at ISO 100.

 

[Dimitris Servis]

Here are a couple of examples I consider bad

https://flic.kr/p/t5gqmR

https://flic.kr/p/K63jDQ

Thanks for posting some examples.

Looking at the second one in particular, to me it seems pretty decent. What exactly do you think is "bad" about it? Front-to-back sharpness would be even better if it had been shot at a smaller aperture - you had plenty of light judging by the 1/1600th shutter speed at ISO 100.

It's a test picture. I particularly dislike the top right corner: the distortion and aberrations. Although the focus was on the door at the far end, it is clearly front focusing. The door is simply not sharp and IMHO so are the in-focus areas closer to the camera. So to me, it lacks sharpness, definition, contrast, corners are bad... I would say that stopping down does not make things much better. I might be spoiled by primes but this lens is nowhere close.

In general: focus is definitely an issue with my D750. Either front or back focuses and in an inconsistent manner. To be honest I've heard Canon users have much better success with this lens.

 

[SushiEater]

Here are a couple of examples I consider bad

https://flic.kr/p/t5gqmR

https://flic.kr/p/K63jDQ

Thanks for posting some examples.

Looking at the second one in particular, to me it seems pretty decent. What exactly do you think is "bad" about it? Front-to-back sharpness would be even better if it had been shot at a smaller aperture - you had plenty of light judging by the 1/1600th shutter speed at ISO 100.

It's a test picture. I particularly dislike the top right corner: the distortion and aberrations. Although the focus was on the door at the far end, it is clearly front focusing. The door is simply not sharp and IMHO so are the in-focus areas closer to the camera. So to me, it lacks sharpness, definition, contrast, corners are bad... I would say that stopping down does not make things much better. I might be spoiled by primes but this lens is nowhere close.

In general: focus is definitely an issue with my D750. Either front or back focuses and in an inconsistent manner. To be honest I've heard Canon users have much better success with this lens.

You are at 24mm where all lenses have light drop off and you are at F2.8 while all corners are not even in DOF at F2.8. What do you want, a miracle?

 

[lonewolf1983]

maybe you have a bad copy, or not using the right settings for what you're trying to achieve?

Of course its not going to match a prime's image quality, this is the price you pay for a zoom (of any sort)

I find it works great for many things, including landscapes and portraits

One of my dog (nikon) 70mm F2.8

and on sony (30mm, F11)

 

[Dimitris Servis]

So, so far we know:

• It is worse than primes
• It is no better than other 24-70

OK it produces pictures but that's easy, smartphones do too. My copy, and I know this is true for others, has a hard time with focussing and honestly I have seen sharper zooms. At the end of the day, it's a mediocre lens so 2.5 stars is what it's worth. I understand that for event photographers it was the holy grail because of the VR but that does not make it a good 24-70.

For example at 50mm 2.8 it's much softer than the 50

https://flic.kr/p/QtVYET

https://flic.kr/p/PqJdQZ

At about 70mm it is much softer than the Olympus 40-150 2.8

https://flic.kr/p/Qrc6P1

https://flic.kr/p/PqJe5g

And in the real world, at 24mm much worse than the Olympus 12-40 2.8 for comparable DOF and focused to infinity

https://flic.kr/p/QtVYzc

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dimitrisservis/31821205441/in/datetaken-public/

I have also made comparisons with the 70-200 f4 @70 and it is much softer. So most lenses I use, are better to much better than this one.

 

[lonewolf1983]

what we know from your tests are

you cant compare primes to zooms
you cant compare lenses on different systems
you cant compare lenses on different systems, with different focal lengths

 

[Dimitris Servis]

what we know from your tests are

you cant compare primes to zooms
you cant compare lenses on different systems
you cant compare lenses on different systems, with different focal lengths

I disagree. What we know is that there are much better and satisfying picture taking setups than this Tamron which is what I care about and what my review is about. All I care is what I see in my printed pictures. And this lens is simply not there.

 

[briantilley]

Of course, your review (and your opinions of the lens) are as valid as anyone else's. People will look at the sample images you've posted and consider the comparisons you've chosen to make, and draw their own conclusions - which will be just as valid as yours

 

[Dimitris Servis]

Of course, your review (and your opinions of the lens) are as valid as anyone else's. People will look at the sample images you've posted and consider the comparisons you've chosen to make, and draw their own conclusions - which will be just as valid as yours

Quite right. That's the purpose of user reviews.

 

[SushiEater]

what we know from your tests are

you cant compare primes to zooms
you cant compare lenses on different systems
you cant compare lenses on different systems, with different focal lengths

We also just found out that VR/VC/IS is very important for event photographers somehow. :-D