Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Image Quality Examination

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I did an in depth breakdown of the image quality from the new Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 VC lens with a number of crops and examination of what it all means.

I don't think that I am letting the cat out of the bag by saying that this is a very compelling lens. My full review is yet to come, but for those of you looking for some early info, take a look at the article here: http://bit.ly/1E5uvqD

P.S. Here is a photo of me taken with the lens this morning as the sun rose out on a frozen river. It was about 40 below...and my trigger finger is still a bit numb 5 hours later!

 

[mackguyver]

40 below - you're crazy!!! Thanks for sharing this, and it looks like Tamron continues to really step up their game. Those crops at f/11 look really good for a lens this wide. How does it compare to the quality wide open?

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

40 below - you're crazy!!! Thanks for sharing this, and it looks like Tamron continues to really step up their game. Those crops at f/11 look really good for a lens this wide. How does it compare to the quality wide open?

I'll attach a good size wide open image here for people to pixel peep. Another that I took in the crazy cold this morning. This was shot in RAW, but has been converted with a Lightroom sharpness setting of 60 at 1 pixel width. You can see there is some vignetting, but it's actually not bad (wait until you see it compared to my Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 - now THERE is some vignetting!). Depth of field is smaller, obviously, but resolution is still excellent.

 

[mackguyver]

Thanks, Dustin, and that's very impressive at f/2.8. The vignetting is small and still no CA. I can't tell much about the edge sharpness as it's either sky or out of focus (due to the aperture). I was thinking it might be one of those lenses that gets a whole lot better stopped down (like the Rokinon), but this looks really impressive all around. I look forward to seeing your completed review.

P.S. Try to keep those fingers - you'll need them this summer as well

 

[StudentOfLight]

Thanks Dustin,
I've been looking to trade in my EF 16-35 f/2.8L II USM but wasn't sold on the 16-35/4 IS or the upcoming 11-24/4. This new Tamron however looks promising... Can't wait for your review. The 15-30mm is due to be released here in South Africa at the end of the Feb, probably only beginning of March. I'd appreciate your insight on whether to trade in the 16-35 or hold off.

 

[m8547]

There has been absolutely no correction for chromatic aberrations to this image, and yet I don’t see fringing in the transition from dark to light in the branches, nor do I see them in the crops of the snow (which would also really show off CA).

I see a bit of CA in both of these crops. It's not bad, but it's definitely there. Luckily it's easy to correct even without a lens profile.

I'm still waiting for the perfect wide angle lens. I want f/2.8 and low coma for night sky shots, and I want excellent image quality. I have a Tokina 11-16 now, and it's almost perfect, but I want to switch to full frame for some extra high ISO performance. I'm pushing the limit of my T3i doing night shots with the 11-16. Longer exposures give me star trails, and higher ISO has too much noise. I want a full frame lens that does at least as well as the 11-16. The Canon 16-35 f/2.8 ii and Tokina 16-28 are close, but it's hard to tell if they would be better. The 16-35 f/4 is looks good, but without f/4 I lose most of the low light advantage of a full frame sensor.

 

[andrewflo]

Very nice thanks for sharing. Whoa 40 below that's insane! Sounds like that VC might come in handy for handheld

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Very nice thanks for sharing. Whoa 40 below that's insane! Sounds like that VC might come in handy for handheld

That is definitely true. The lens seemed to perform fine in the extreme cold, though...so that's a positive.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Thanks Dustin,
I've been looking to trade in my EF 16-35 f/2.8L II USM but wasn't sold on the 16-35/4 IS or the upcoming 11-24/4.

Unless you shoot action, there isn't any UWA zoom lens as good as the 16-35mm f4L IS. It's sharp across the whole frame fron edge to edge. I traded my 16-35mm f/2.8L II for the newest f4L IS version.
If the Tammy is as good as the canon 16-35mm f4L IS in terms of sharpness, contrast and IQ and, with the f2.8 & VC it will be a killer.

 

[donn]

Thanks for your insight Dustin, love your reviews! I myself is very satisfied with Tamron SP lineup lately. If I haven't recently bought my 16-35 F4, I would have definitely went for this one.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Thanks for your insight Dustin, love your reviews! I myself is very satisfied with Tamron SP lineup lately. If I haven't recently bought my 16-35 F4, I would have definitely went for this one.

The 16-35 f/4L IS is a great lens. I held off because I knew this lens was coming and I wanted to test it first. Having use a number of wide angle options in the past six months (Zeiss 15, Rokinon 12mm (mirrorless), Canon 16-35L, Samyang 24mm T/S and now this Tamron, I can safely say this Tamron is my new pick for a w/a option. Literally the only thing that I can find wrong with it is the fact that it is large (and it is really big!) and doesn't take traditional filters. I've not minded using square filters with my Samyang/Rokinon 14mm, so I can handle that with this lens.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I've got a new video where I interactively look closely at the resolution at major apertures (f/2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, and 11) in a direct comparison between the new Tamron, the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, and the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC on the wide end. The results are pretty amazing.

Take a look: http://bit.ly/1Aac03H

 

[BeenThere]

Looking at the corner crops at f11' one can see some elongation of the specular highlights in the snow (coma). No wings though. Is coma the same at f2.8? Thanks for the preview!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Looking at the corner crops at f11' one can see some elongation of the specular highlights in the snow (coma). No wings though. Is coma the same at f2.8? Thanks for the preview!

Take a look at the new video and judge for yourself. I haven't been able to shoot at night yet, unfortunately, because it has been snowing here pretty much non-stop and there hasn't been any clear skies. I will be posting a new article somewhere in the next 24 hours with a lot more crops from another series along with comparisons to other lenses.

If I get a look at the night sky (I only have two more nights with the lens before it moves on to another reviewer, unfortunately), I will definitely be looking at coma. I was just written to by another photographer who has the lens in hand and he stated that the lens is awesome at night. Low coma and very crisp points of light. My new resolution comparison with the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (my current astraphotography lens) makes me think that he's probably right. http://bit.ly/1Aac03H

 

[Lawliet]

If I get a look at the night sky (I only have two more nights with the lens before it moves on to another reviewer, unfortunately), I will definitely be looking at coma.

Backup plan: use a LED, from across the room the smaller ones should come reasonable close to being a point source.
A pinhole in front of a larger light source would work as well, just don't set anything on fire.

 

[donn]

I've got a new video where I interactively look closely at the resolution at major apertures (f/2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, and 11) in a direct comparison between the new Tamron, the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, and the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC on the wide end. The results are pretty amazing.

Take a look: http://bit.ly/1Aac03H

Nice video. The tamron seemed to perform very well!

 

[old-pr-pix]

Wow! 40 below - was that degrees C or F? (Oh wait, it doesn't matter!) It's only -7F here today with wind chill around -25F. I probably won't be out shooting. In film days I used to do shots like that often; but, now I prefer to follow the manufacturer's recommendation on camera operating temperatures - I stay warmer that way. Any issues with your 6D at those temperatures?

Great Sunday morning inspiration however. And, the lens looks interesting as well. Looking forward to full review. Thanks.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Wow! 40 below - was that degrees C or F? (Oh wait, it doesn't matter!) It's only -7F here today with wind chill around -25F. I probably won't be out shooting. In film days I used to do shots like that often; but, now I prefer to follow the manufacturer's recommendation on camera operating temperatures - I stay warmer that way. Any issues with your 6D at those temperatures?

Great Sunday morning inspiration however. And, the lens looks interesting as well. Looking forward to full review. Thanks.

My 6D has never balked at me in any kind of weather conditions. It really is an excellent camera.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Finally got a peak at the sky last night. So cold, though, that I didn't linger too long and wasn't in the best of conditions. Still, I'm pretty impressed with the low coma and the very nice performance for a night sky shot. I've processed this to make up for the light pollution and allow the stars to shine, but I would say this lens is probably doing as well as the Rokinon other than not having as dramatically wide a field of view.

Frozen Stars - Tamron 15-30 VC by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

I've got a few more that I will share shortly. The specs: ISO 1600, f/3.2, 15 seconds. The aperture wasn't to add sharpness so much as trying to get the exposure I wanted.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I went into my catalog and compared some nightscapes from the Rokinon and the 16-35 f/4. The Tamron has less distortion towards the edges, and that caused more stretching on the Rokinon. The performance from that Tamron is good enough that I feel I could let the Rokinon go in favor of the Tamron and not lose anything.

The 16-35 f/4L was simply not as good for astraphotography, in my opinion. I never got the starpoints to render as sharply, and, of course, you have only half the available light to work with.

One big plus is that the focus window is accurate on the Tamron. I just put it on infinity before going out to shoot and got a very sharp result.