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

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin I love your photos. Your photos convinced me to purchase one of these a few months ago. Do you mind sharing what program you used for that wedding photo you recently posted and how you achieved that look? It's gorgeous

I used the Alien Skin Exposure 5 program. I will be doing a review of the software for them shortly.

 

[Erikerodri]

Thanks! Looking forward to it

 

[crasher8]

also, one thing I have to add is I was surprised how heavy this lens is! I sold my 24-70 L because it was such a brick and got the 24-105, full circle! (Better images)

 

[jm977]

I've been following this and other reviews of this lens for some time. I know that you (Dustin) have used it extensively on the 6D but I'm having a hard time finding many people who've paired it with a 5D3. Has anyone with a 5D3 bought this? One of the things I'm most curious about is what "group" the lens falls into. I know it's not an EF lens so technically it isn't in any official group but I wonder what focus points are active. It is similar to the Canon ver.1 or 2? Does it use all cross points along with one or all dual crosses?


BTW, Dustin, I appreciated the reviews not only on this lens but the 6D. If I hadn't had two 5D3 bodies already, I might have been tempted to get a 6D as a second. And the lens review was helpful as all the online tests (eg DXO) are great but a real person using it in real situations (wedding matters to me), is more valuable.

 

[smithy]

Dustin I love your photos. Your photos convinced me to purchase one of these a few months ago. Do you mind sharing what program you used for that wedding photo you recently posted and how you achieved that look? It's gorgeous

I used the Alien Skin Exposure 5 program. I will be doing a review of the software for them shortly.

Can you post a link to the review once it's done? Keen to check it out, although it may be too expensive for me.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I've been following this and other reviews of this lens for some time. I know that you (Dustin) have used it extensively on the 6D but I'm having a hard time finding many people who've paired it with a 5D3. Has anyone with a 5D3 bought this? One of the things I'm most curious about is what "group" the lens falls into. I know it's not an EF lens so technically it isn't in any official group but I wonder what focus points are active. It is similar to the Canon ver.1 or 2? Does it use all cross points along with one or all dual crosses?


BTW, Dustin, I appreciated the reviews not only on this lens but the 6D. If I hadn't had two 5D3 bodies already, I might have been tempted to get a 6D as a second. And the lens review was helpful as all the online tests (eg DXO) are great but a real person using it in real situations (wedding matters to me), is more valuable.

I do know some photographers that are using that combination, but obviously I have not tried the combination. As far as the focus points go - obviously even with a 5D3 the ones that are extra sensitive to f/2.8 are going to work better than extreme outer points.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Dustin I love your photos. Your photos convinced me to purchase one of these a few months ago. Do you mind sharing what program you used for that wedding photo you recently posted and how you achieved that look? It's gorgeous

I used the Alien Skin Exposure 5 program. I will be doing a review of the software for them shortly.

Can you post a link to the review once it's done? Keen to check it out, although it may be too expensive for me.

I will post a link once it is live. I just had an email from them a couple of days ago, so I should be launching into that shortly. I just finished up the Tamron 70-200 VC review, so it will be a few weeks before the review on Alien Skin is live.

 

[jm977]

I do know some photographers that are using that combination, but obviously I have not tried the combination. As far as the focus points go - obviously even with a 5D3 the ones that are extra sensitive to f/2.8 are going to work better than extreme outer points.

I appreciate the reply Dustin. I would expect it to make use of the double cross in the center and suppose it would use the other two above and below as well. Again, thanks for the review as real life is a big difference from the lab.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Still enjoying this lens...


Canvas by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[360_6pack]

Hi Dustin
I have read your good comments about the Tamron 24-70 and am wondering if you have any thoughts on the Tamron 28-300.

I have a 5D_III, Canon 16-35 II, 24-105 and 70-200L 2.8 IS.

I am leaving on a 6 week holiday in Nov from Perth Australia to Venice, then cruising the Med to Turkey & Miami via St Thomas and a few islands then 2 weeks in England.

I am interested in Landscape, old buildings inside & out anything else I see including hopefully the Duxford aircraft museum.

I am worried about the weight of the 24-105 and esp 70-200 so was thinking of just taking the 16-35 for wide angle and buying the Tamron 28-300 as a travelling lens. I have tried the Canon 28-300, great lens but heavy like the 70-200.

I would appreciate your thoughts and advice.

Michael

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Hi Dustin
I have read your good comments about the Tamron 24-70 and am wondering if you have any thoughts on the Tamron 28-300.

I have a 5D_III, Canon 16-35 II, 24-105 and 70-200L 2.8 IS.

I am leaving on a 6 week holiday in Nov from Perth Australia to Venice, then cruising the Med to Turkey & Miami via St Thomas and a few islands then 2 weeks in England.

I am interested in Landscape, old buildings inside & out anything else I see including hopefully the Duxford aircraft museum.

I am worried about the weight of the 24-105 and esp 70-200 so was thinking of just taking the 16-35 for wide angle and buying the Tamron 28-300 as a travelling lens. I have tried the Canon 28-300, great lens but heavy like the 70-200.

I would appreciate your thoughts and advice.

Michael

Michael,

Unfortunately I have no experience with that particular lens. To date there are really very few stellar "superzoom" type lenses because of the extreme compromises made for that focal length. I did use the Tamron 18-270 for a while and found it better than, say, the Canon 18-135mm, but I eventually went to smaller focal lengths with higher IQ. My current travel kit is the 24-70 VC + the 70-300L. It is a reasonably compact travel kit but with very high image quality. Sorry I can't give you more info.

 

[360_6pack]

Thanks Dustin

I will try on a different thread.

Michael

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Still loving the Tamron as a travel lens. The combo of great IQ and the VC ensures that it works in just about every situation.


Lady Liberty's Domain by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Psalm 121 by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

The original of this one has a fabulous amount of detail for being a handheld pano under the circumstance. I zoomed in a bit (33mm) to reduce distortion for merging.


Gotham by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[Marsu42]

I zoomed in a bit (33mm) to reduce distortion for merging.

Great shot!

Is the distortion a problem in your experience? Afaik the panorama software like Autopano should be able to adjust for this, and if not you can first correct the distortion in ACR/DxO? But I'm happy to stand corrected, I've not been shooting a lot of panoramas, and considering the resolution you end up with exporting @~50% is more than enough and conceals tiny merging errors.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I zoomed in a bit (33mm) to reduce distortion for merging.

Great shot!

Is the distortion a problem in your experience? Afaik the panorama software like Autopano should be able to adjust for this, and if not you can first correct the distortion in ACR/DxO? But I'm happy to stand corrected, I've not been shooting a lot of panoramas, and considering the resolution you end up with exporting @~50% is more than enough and conceals tiny merging errors.

Photo merge works fine, but with most zooms zooming in a bit allows you to get a cleaner finished product that doesn't have the distortion at the outer edges. Because you are blending images, you get plenty of width anyway, so you don' need your widest focal length.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Endless Summer by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

For those who wonder - this is still my most used lens. It is good in almost every setting.


From Good to Great by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[Jim O]

I am curious if anyone has noticed problems with peripheral AF points on the 5D3 and this lens like those mentioned at http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/42545234?

Sorry if this has been asked previously.