Tamron Lens Review News Report News & Deals

The full Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review is now available.
 
I'll be adding this lens to the Canon general purpose lens recommendations page. I had trouble getting a good copy, but the lens I now have lens delivers excellent image quality.

The full Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD Lens Review is now available.

If you have been following this blog/new page, you know that I have been making a big effort to get good image quality results from the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens. This is currently the only full frame-compatible lens available in the 24-70mm focal length range with both an f/2.8 max aperture and Vibration Control - a combination that many of us find very attractive.
 
Evaluating this lens, as I hinted, has been very problematic. The first lens I bought had a serious image quality issue - Tamron wanted it back for analysis.
 
The second lens I bought performed well, but was noticeably softer on the right side - the side that shows in the site's ISO 12233 image quality tool. I suspected decentering and sent the lens to Tamron for repair/adjustment.
 
The lens came back from repair performing worse than before I sent it in. Tamron sent me a shipping label to take a second try at the repair.
 
The results from the second repair, the fourth test, are now found on the Tamron 24-70mm VC Lens Image Quality page. And, <drumroll>, they look very good!
 
We spent over a full week testing this lens model for the ISO 12233 chart test alone, but persistence has paid off ... I think we have an as-good-as-it-gets copy in our hands now. This process has not said good things about the quality control for this lens model, but again, the image quality looks very nice to me.
 
What is not looking good is this lens' AI Servo AF performance. This lens has not been able to accurately focus on subjects moving toward or away from the camera. One Shot AF has been working fine, so this lens has plenty of great uses available for it. More to come.
 
B&H has the Tamron 24-70mm VC Lens in stock.

A new set of ISO 12233 resolution chart test results are now available in the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review. These results are lens sample "2".
 
I was not satisfied that the right side of my Tamron 24-70 VC lens-captured images was softer than the left. Since the right side is displayed in the site's ISO 12233 chart tool, I decided that Tamron should be given the chance to make the lens perform as I expected (some of you also requested this). Unfortunately, the lens performed better before I sent it to Tamron for tuning.
 
Here is the before and after comparison.
 
The first Tamron 24-70 VC I purchased performed so poorly that Tamron asked to have the lens returned to them. The second (retail-purchased) lens, while good, still had an issue (likely decentering). Now, after an attempt to correct the issue, the second lens performs slightly worse than it initially performed.
 
What to do now? I'll probably send the lens back to Tamron for a second repair attempt. I wouldn't be happy using it and wouldn't want anyone else to buy it on the used market. I will likely re-test the lens after the second repair. This testing process is very time consuming and therefore, very costly. This experience makes it hard to recommend buying this potentially very good lens to anyone.

ISO 12233 resolution chart results have been added to the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review page.
 
The new Tamron 70-200 VC delivers very impressive image quality - rivaling that from the much-higher-priced Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens - until the Canon easily bests the Tamron at 200mm f/2.8. The 200mm comparison is much closer at f/5.6.

Lens vignetting, distortion and measurement results have been added to the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review page.
 
Flare testing is on hold pending a clear sky.

ISO 12233 resolution chart results have been added to the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review page.
 
I have two of these lenses right now. Unfortunately, the first lens I received needs to go back.
 
After spending 10 hours or so completing testing the lens on the ISO chart, it became clear that the lens was not working properly at the longer focal lengths. Image quality was unacceptable at 70mm. Tamron confirmed that the results were not as they expected.
 
The second lens performs much better optically. These are the results now presented on the 24-70 VC review page.
 
Before making your purchase decision, I encourage you to wait for me to spend more time evaluating the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens' AF performance. Neither of the two lenses I have autofocus accurately on the test chart using a Canon-calibrated EOS 1Ds Mark III. I will minimally test the second lens behind a second calibrated 1Ds III and a 5D III.
 
Stay tuned for more information.

The Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens is now shipping in the USA. I have a ship notice from B&H.
 
I would like to create a full Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review, but will minimally commit to capturing a full set of standard test results from it.

I have added comparisons to the following review pages:
 
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens Review - Added a focal length comparison
 
Tamron SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro Lens Review - Added a 180mm aperture comparison
 
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS Lens Review - Added a 17mm aperture comparison

I added some sample pictures to the Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC Lens Review.
 
Sorry for the lack of wider angle shots. When selecting down the pictures to include with this review, I apparently was not liking the wider angle compositions I was making while working with this lens. Most of the shots I had to work with were in the over-200mm range. Hopefully you will at least enjoy those.

Just posted: Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC Lens Review

Lens flare test results have been added to the following review pages:
 
Tamron 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens Review
Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di Macro Lens Review
Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di Macro Lens Review
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Lens Review
Tokina 17-35mm f/4 AT-X Pro FX Lens Review

Some sample pictures have been added to the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II Lens Review.

By popular request, ISO 12233 resolution chart samples for the Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC Lens have been added to the site.
 
While I hope to get a full review of this lens (along with many others) on the site at some point, the ISO chart results tell us a lot about the image quality of a lens. And in this case, the Tamron 70-300 performs very impressively well for it's price point. Corners degrade as the focal length increases and 300mm performance is not so great, but again, this image-stabilized lens is currently selling for less than $400.00 delivered after rebate at B&H.
 
However, I need to add a possible warning that these results do not tell the complete story in this case. I had to spend a more-than-usual amount of time focus testing this lens - just to confirm what I was seeing. And my initial (still early) determination is that my Tamron 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC Lens is very inconsistent in the focus accuracy department. Life is good when it gets focus right, but a sharp lens does not deliver sharp subjects if not focused accurately.
 
 
I am also getting a lot of requests for a Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens Review. To bring you at least the standardized results from the Sigma 85, I have to date, purchased and returned two of these lenses. The first was consistently front focusing. The second was focusing so inconsistently that I wished for the first one back. Roger at LensRentals.com is having the same problems - he has even posted a warning on his Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens rental page.
 
Third party lens focus accuracy problems have consumed far more of my time than I care to remember. I'll probably get over it enough to order the third copy of this lens after Christmas. Stay tuned.
 
 
B&H has just announced free overnight shipping on Canon and Nikon cameras. You can have one in time to use Christmas morning. B&H also notes that today is the last day for standard shipping for delivery in time for Christmas.

Tamron Announces Release of a Full Size Premium Telephoto Zoom – The Tamron Superior Performance SP 70-300mm Di VC USD (Model A005) for Nikon mount
 
An Extra Low Dispersion (XLD) lens made from high-grade materials delivers best-in-class resolution while Tamron’s own Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) and Vibration Compensation (VC) make the lens fast, quiet and easy to use
 
August 10, 2010, Commack, NY – Tamron announced another advance in the company's pursuit of high resolution images in the telephoto lens category with the release of its anniversary model SP 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens featuring VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization and an ultrasonic auto-focus drive –– USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive). The SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) high-resolution DSLR telephoto zoom lens is available for the Nikon mount on August 26, 2010, with the launch of mounts for Canon and Sony to follow.
 
Read the original Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC US Lens Press Release for more information.

ISO 12233 Resolution Chart Crops have been added to the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DI II Lens Review page.
 
The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 DI II Lens and I are off to a rocky start. The first copy backfocused at all focal lengths. The second copy backfocused at 24mm. And by backfocusing, I'm talking about the lens focusing behind the subject by an unacceptable amount (not just a tiny distance) on both a 50D and a Rebel T2i. The third purchased-retail lens appears to be focusing accurately.
 
I have added ISO 12233 Chart results from the last two lenses (select the specific lens results to view using the drop-down box) - I was hoping the wide open results from the first-tested lens were an anomaly, but ... they apparently were not. You will not want to use this lens wide open very often.

ISO 12233 Chart results have been added to the Tamron 60mm f/2 Di II Macro Lens Lens Review placeholder page.

Just posted: Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC Lens Review

Tamron celebrates their 60th anniversary by announcing the Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD Lens (press release).
 
Notable features of this lens include image stabilization (VC - Vibration Control), ultrasonic focus drive (USD) with full-time manual focusing and a fixed lens size.