Tamron SP AF 28-75/2,8 XR Di: What´s the catch?

Arvan

Hey.

Im thinking of getting myself a nice normalzoom lens for my pentax K10D.

For now the tamron 28-75 looks like the best choice for me. But still...It dosn´t cost much but delivers nice sharpness and all that. There must be some kind of catch?.

Othervise ive bin looking at the sigma 17-70....But the tamron lens should ( what ive read and seen ) have better sharpness...

Any thoughts about this?. If someone owns a 28-75 please write some pro´s n con´s..

Ive read reviews but i just wanna hear what it´s like from "normal" people.

Thanx // Arvan

cmason

Well I have been very happy with my lens. It is tack sharp and well built, very nice lens.

The only con I can really think of is that this lens isn't ultrasonic focusing motor, so it is somewhat noisy and relatively slow to focus. This is relative to top dollar lenses mind you.

I can't think of a reason not to own this lens.

Arvan

Just got a hold of my uncle who is in tokyo atm. He will buy one for me. Finaly i can throw away that nasty kit lens!

Thanx for the good words

Manfr3d

Congratulation! You'll be very pleased with this lens. I'm using
mine on a 10D and it works very well. My copy is at f5.6 as
sharp as the 50mm/1.4 is. Wide open is also very good. Best
bang for the buck for a standard zoom lens if you ask me.

Richard

Arvan wrote:

. There must be some kind of catch?.

Nope. I have one on a 20D and I am delighted with it. It delivers top-notch image quality at less than half the price of the Canon 24-70L. Weighs a lot less too. The only issue I have ever had is that sometimes it is slow to focus in very low light and you must switch to manual focus before you can use the focus ring. But that doesn't happen often and is not a big problem for me.

Regards,

Scott_Quier

I've had one for a couple of years. I used it on my dRebel. I now use it on my 20D and my 30D - no issues. Love the sharpness. It does tend to hunt just a touch in very, very low light situations. But, aside from that, it's a great lens. I will not be selling it any time soon, I can assure you of that - unless it's to my son who has been using it for the last couple of months!

I like the lens so much, I convinced my brother that he should look into it. He ended up buying himself a copy as well.

You will not be disappointed!

Arvan

This will make me sleep good tonight

2 bad i just got myself a 50 mm 1,4 1,5 months back in time. Well oh well...You can never have 2 many lenses in ur bag

dangin

Arvan wrote:

Any thoughts about this?. If someone owns a 28-75 please write some pro´s n con´s..

Ive read reviews but i just wanna hear what it´s like from "normal" people.

i'm not quite normal, but i'll say that the tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 works great for me on my d200 and s3 bodies. great performance, great price, no VR/IS and not silent, but at the price point you can't beat it. i can't wait to try it out on the d3 (whenever it comes...)

Shane422

I love mine. It only comes off the camera when I need a longer zoom. I saw a list of most owned lenses a while back, and this lens was in 3rd place. 1st place was the kit lens (18-55MM), and second place was the 50MM f1.8. The reason has to be that it is a great value.

pathfinder

My Tamron 28-75f2.88 Di has survived a 10D, a 20D, and now will reside on a 40D. I have praised this lens several times here on dgrin - sharp, with good color, small, light, and relatively inexpensive ( compared to a Canon 24-70f2.8 at least )

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=679&highlight=Tamron+28-75+pathfinder

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=414669&postcount=14

http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=267108&postcount=51

This is with a 20D and the Tamron 28-75 at 28mm, and a little fill flash at Lima Ohio summer 2005




It will have some flare in shooting highlights sometimes, and it is a little slower to focus than the Canon L glass, but it's size, weight and performance seems right at home on an APS sensored camera like the 40D. I have used that lens on a 5D with good results also. Unlike EF-S lenses, the little Tammy does not have to be abandoned if the owner makes the shift to a full frame body

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=43149

Arvan

wow...well im sooo getting one of these..I like to use manual focus so the "slow" autofocus dosnt do that much to me....It can´t be worse then my 18-55 pentax kit lens! And its the only zoom i have atm..So it will be a good replacement.

Thanx for taking ur time guys!

Richard

Arvan wrote:

wow...well im sooo getting one of these..I like to use manual focus so the "slow" autofocus dosnt do that much to me....It can´t be worse then my 18-55 pentax kit lens! And its the only zoom i have atm..So it will be a good replacement.

Thanx for taking ur time guys!

You'll be very happy with it. Auto-focus is only slow in very low light. In normal conditions it is just fine.

OsirisPhoto

Well, I decided I needed a new mid-range zoom to replace the Canon 28-80 and decided on the Tamron 28-75 based on the very positive comments here and elsewhere.. oh, and the price

Ordered it online yesterday.. email arrived today saying 'out of stock'

Called 2 more photo stores in the UK... 'out of stock' (despite websites saying otherwise).

Called 1 more store... '1 in stock, let me run down to the store to grab it for you'.. This lens seems to be quite a popular choice then

Think the price is good (for UK) and comes with a free UV filter. Can't wait!

Chrissiebeez_NL

just bought one second hand and so far loving it!

PineapplePhoto

Just picked one up for sale here at dgrin I will let you know if I like it!

cmason

As i mentioned before, I am really happy wth mine. It is a real delight to pixel-peep with this one and realize you only paid ~$300 for it!

Here is a sample of just a casual shot that is sharp sharp sharp. Check out the eyelashes and hair on the original.
Now, if you look at the linked gallery, (and sorry they are photos of kids mostly for another project), you will find some really sharp and some not so sharp images. If you take care on your focal point, you will be rewarded.

The Tamron can deliver amazingly sharp images, but my L lens does it every time, that is the difference I find.

Joves

Sounds like this will be one of my next lenses. I already have the 28-300 and, like it except it is nosier than my Nikor glass. Also I see they are making the 28-300 in a VR flavor now.

Tee Why

I've had the Tamron 28-75mm lens and it's a great bargain. Tamron's approach seems to be to stuff a great pro grade optics with a consumer grade build and charge a consumer grade lens price.

Optics are great as I said, but the barrel is plastic, the MF ring rotates while autofocusing, and the AF is a touch louder and slower than the fastest Canon lenses out there with USM.

If the focal range is good with you, then it's a grea bargain. Another one to consider is a Sigma 24-70. It's a touch wider (especially nice on a cropped body) than the Tamron and in a similar price range.

Good luck.

Sprout Crumble

Lot of people swear by the equally fine 17-50/2.8 as well. Thats also a much nicer walkabout range on an APS-C camera.
Never found 28mm to be wide enough personally, but thats no criticism of this lens optical performance.
Sigmas 24-70 is also great but its a much heavier beast to lug about.

James S

Just thought I would chime in as well. The Tamron 28-75 is on my camera most of the time. I own a 30D and the wife has a 20D. She liked the lens so much I had to buy her one.

Chrissiebeez_NL

update:after a few days i've finally got to work a bit with this lens and... Loving this lens! its crack sharp!