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

[Drizzt321]

Dustin, have you run this through any AF testing? I just got mine for X-mas and was running foCal on it, getting a -5 at 24mm and +5 at 70mm -- I've got to re-run when I have time because I stupidly forgot to shut off the VC, but I was sort of surprised that it was off in that manner.

I'm a prime-fiend, but this was supposed to win my heart back to the zoom side of things, so my hopes are high; I have gotten ZERO real world chance to use this as everyone (myself included) is sick.

Do you do MFA on any of your zooms?

I MFA'ed my rental copy with FoCal, although I feel I would have redone it a couple of times with better distances if I had time, I was rushed and it was the night before so I had to do it in my apartment (not that big). The values ended up being +14 wide, -1 tele. When I finally purchase this lens, I'll have to do some extensive tests to try and check that I get a good copy of the lens. Hmm...time to see if Neuro has a guide up somewhere on a good way to self-test in non-lab conditions for sharpness.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin, have you run this through any AF testing? I just got mine for X-mas and was running foCal on it, getting a -5 at 24mm and +5 at 70mm -- I've got to re-run when I have time because I stupidly forgot to shut off the VC, but I was sort of surprised that it was off in that manner.

I'm a prime-fiend, but this was supposed to win my heart back to the zoom side of things, so my hopes are high; I have gotten ZERO real world chance to use this as everyone (myself included) is sick.

Do you do MFA on any of your zooms?

I MFA'd the lens (although on MK2 I can only do focal length, which I did at at 70mm). I ended up setting mine at a +5. I will be picking up a MK3 in this calendar year and look forward to being able to dial it at a couple of settings. I've been happy with the sharpness after the adjustment.

 

[Efka76]

Dustin, your review was extremely helpful. Outstanding pictures in review!!!!!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin, your review was extremely helpful. Outstanding pictures in review!!!!!

Thanks, it's something I plan to do more of. The problem is, that other than the shorty forty, none of my lenses qualify as new enough (in terms of release) to review. I may do a series of reviews on some of my vintage glass, however, as there aren't many detailed reviews on them as they predate the internet.

 

[dstppy]

Dustin, have you run this through any AF testing? I just got mine for X-mas and was running foCal on it, getting a -5 at 24mm and +5 at 70mm -- I've got to re-run when I have time because I stupidly forgot to shut off the VC, but I was sort of surprised that it was off in that manner.

I'm a prime-fiend, but this was supposed to win my heart back to the zoom side of things, so my hopes are high; I have gotten ZERO real world chance to use this as everyone (myself included) is sick.

Do you do MFA on any of your zooms?

I MFA'd the lens (although on MK2 I can only do focal length, which I did at at 70mm). I ended up setting mine at a +5. I will be picking up a MK3 in this calendar year and look forward to being able to dial it at a couple of settings. I've been happy with the sharpness after the adjustment.

Can the MK3 do MFA by focal length/lens or do you just mean that it should be more accurate out of the box?

Thanks again.

 

[Drizzt321]

Dustin, have you run this through any AF testing? I just got mine for X-mas and was running foCal on it, getting a -5 at 24mm and +5 at 70mm -- I've got to re-run when I have time because I stupidly forgot to shut off the VC, but I was sort of surprised that it was off in that manner.

I'm a prime-fiend, but this was supposed to win my heart back to the zoom side of things, so my hopes are high; I have gotten ZERO real world chance to use this as everyone (myself included) is sick.

Do you do MFA on any of your zooms?

I MFA'd the lens (although on MK2 I can only do focal length, which I did at at 70mm). I ended up setting mine at a +5. I will be picking up a MK3 in this calendar year and look forward to being able to dial it at a couple of settings. I've been happy with the sharpness after the adjustment.

Can the MK3 do MFA by focal length/lens or do you just mean that it should be more accurate out of the box?

Thanks again.

The 5d3 can have separate MFA values for the wide end and tele end, and it can extrapolate somewhat for the middle range. Since wide vs tele can cause some focus shift sometimes, you can get more accurate focusing.

 

[Random Orbits]

Dustin, have you run this through any AF testing? I just got mine for X-mas and was running foCal on it, getting a -5 at 24mm and +5 at 70mm -- I've got to re-run when I have time because I stupidly forgot to shut off the VC, but I was sort of surprised that it was off in that manner.

I'm a prime-fiend, but this was supposed to win my heart back to the zoom side of things, so my hopes are high; I have gotten ZERO real world chance to use this as everyone (myself included) is sick.

Do you do MFA on any of your zooms?

I MFA'd the lens (although on MK2 I can only do focal length, which I did at at 70mm). I ended up setting mine at a +5. I will be picking up a MK3 in this calendar year and look forward to being able to dial it at a couple of settings. I've been happy with the sharpness after the adjustment.

Can the MK3 do MFA by focal length/lens or do you just mean that it should be more accurate out of the box?

Thanks again.

For zooms, it has two adjustment values: one for the wide end and the other for the tele end.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

What they said ;D

 

[dstppy]

For zooms, it has two adjustment values: one for the wide end and the other for the tele end.

Oh crap, and here I'd just decided to be content with what I have.

;D It must be mine!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

For zooms, it has two adjustment values: one for the wide end and the other for the tele end.

Oh crap, and here I'd just decided to be content with what I have.

;D It must be mine!

This was something that I discovered not long ago. It isn't a feature that I've really heard marketed, but I have definitely read that the MKIII helps you maximize the potential of your lenses (and that is particularly true of older, cheap lenses according to Ken Rockwell).

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

So more goodness from this lens. It's nice sharpness, relatively low vignetting, and far less distortion than the 24-105L make it a very nice landscape lens - better than I originally thought.


What Comes Next? (Thanks for 200,000 views) by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[Scarpz13]

So more goodness from this lens. It's nice sharpness, relatively low vignetting, and far less distortion than the 24-105L make it a very nice landscape lens - better than I originally thought.


What Comes Next? (Thanks for 200,000 views) by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

I have really enjoyed your review of this lens, Dustin. As a fellow Canuck, I hope that you have been using it indoors rather than outside these past couple days! I had a Tamron 17-50 non VC I was happy with until I started concentrating on collecting full frame compatible lenses... I think you have convinced me to put this newest Tamron on my list of "Wants". Guess I will have to get used to the reverse zoom ring again!

Not sure if anyone has asked this already, but are you planning on trying the new Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC, since you are so pleased with this one? Hopefully it is just as good.

cheers,

Scarpz

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

So more goodness from this lens. It's nice sharpness, relatively low vignetting, and far less distortion than the 24-105L make it a very nice landscape lens - better than I originally thought.


What Comes Next? (Thanks for 200,000 views) by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

I have really enjoyed your review of this lens, Dustin. As a fellow Canuck, I hope that you have been using it indoors rather than outside these past couple days! I had a Tamron 17-50 non VC I was happy with until I started concentrating on collecting full frame compatible lenses... I think you have convinced me to put this newest Tamron on my list of "Wants". Guess I will have to get used to the reverse zoom ring again!

Not sure if anyone has asked this already, but are you planning on trying the new Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC, since you are so pleased with this one? Hopefully it is just as good.

cheers,

Scarpz

I actually did go out shooting some yesterday and froze!! I am taking delivery of a new 6D today, so I will get out there, cold or not.

I am very interested in the Tamron 70-200mm VC. I will hold off a bit, as I feel that somewhere around the $1200 mark is the right price for the lens. The image quality looks great, although I am little disappointed by the findings by LensRentals here that the focal length is a fair bit shorter than the competitors. I shot the non-VC version for a short period and was pleased with the image quality but found that the focus speed was just insufficient for event work. That seems to be solved with this new version.

 

[crasher8]

Dustin have you used or do you own the Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD? I would love to hear your take on it. With the Canon rebates ending I might be picking one up as opposed to the Canon version Mkii. (($800 USD less)

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin have you used or do you own the Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD? I would love to hear your take on it. With the Canon rebates ending I might be picking one up as opposed to the Canon version Mkii. (($800 USD less)

I don't have one, although I am strongly considering purchasing one. I think my limit for the lens is $1300 before tax, though, a price point I expect the lens to hit within four to six months. I volunteered to the PhotoNews guys to do a review (one of their employees was on here and questioned about a reviewer) but got no response.

If (when) I do get my hands on one, I will do a full review.

 

[crasher8]

Dustin have you used or do you own the Tamron 70-200 2.8 Di VC USD? I would love to hear your take on it. With the Canon rebates ending I might be picking one up as opposed to the Canon version Mkii. (($800 USD less)

I don't have one, although I am strongly considering purchasing one. I think my limit for the lens is $1300 before tax, though, a price point I expect the lens to hit within four to six months. I volunteered to the PhotoNews guys to do a review (one of their employees was on here and questioned about a reviewer) but got no response.

If (when) I do get my hands on one, I will do a full review.

I'm making the 70-200 purchase by early March and with the rebates going away I'm sure it will be the Tammy for me. I just wish I could get my hands on one locally. I may just rent one for a weekend to solidify my decision. If I do I'll add my 2cents here.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

That would be great! I still haven't seen as many reviews as what I would like, yet. Ditto for the new 35mm f/2 IS lens.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Here's a picture that wouldn't have been possible without Tamron's great VC:


Watch for Pedestrians by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

To get the movement of the snow I had to drag the shutter somewhat (1/15th of a second here - @ 70mm). The image is perfectly crisp even at 100%.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Here's another shot taken at 70mm and 1/15th of a second. I would say that my keeper rate at that type of shutter speed is pretty much 100%. I only start to get some blurred/some sharp rates at 1/6th or lower.


Natural Texture by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I still wouldn't pick the Tamron over my 17-40L as a landscape lens, but it has proven a very worthy performer at the 24mm end because of great color rendition, relatively low vignetting, and far less distortion than something like my 24-105L:


As the Ice Forms by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr