Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Review

frtorres87

Senior Member
So I'm taking the plunge. Today I bought my first third party lens. I've been dying to purchase a 70-200 f2.8 and after reading a few good reviews and seeing Matt Granger talk very highly of it, I purchased the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 VC. Is it as good as they say it is? I have decide to post my thoughts on this page. Tomorrow I will be shooting a party and taking a lot of sample images, so if your interested in this lens, stay tuned!

yqe6azas.jpg
 

87mstng

Senior Member
Nice

I just bought the same one on Friday. I haven't had any time to use it yet though.

Feels nice, well built with a bit of weight to it.
 

Dave_W

The Dude
But seriously, congratulations, it's supposed to be one of the best lenses Sigma has ever made. I'm thinking it'll spur Nikon into added VR to their 24-70mm
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
Tamron?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

Yea he def must've meant Tamron.
ybymugud.jpg


Today was such a busy day for me that I didn't have a moment to really test this lens out. First impressions are that it is SOLIDLY built. It is not a light lens. Seems to be mostly metal with only some small bits in plastic. The lens mounted onto my D7100 without any problems. Auto focus was very fast, probably faster than any other of my lenses. More pictures to come.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
But seriously, congratulations, it's supposed to be one of the best lenses Sigma has ever made. I'm thinking it'll spur Nikon into added VR to their 24-70mm

Thanks Dave. I actually purchased a Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 today too since I'm in a DX body I thought it would be better then getting the 24-70. But I would like the 24-70 and if Nikon adds VR to there version that would be incredible. The Tamron version with VC has gotten great reviews.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
So yesterday I took some shots that I want to share. To test out the sharpness I shot at a brick wall. The first image was shot at 70mm at 1/200 f2.8 and ISO 100
bemavatu.jpg


Now this second shot was taken at 100mm 1/200 f2.8 and ISO 100
eny8e7yj.jpg


Third image was taken at 135mm, 1/200 f2.8, and ISO 100
2e3amy7y.jpg


This forth image was taken at 200mm, 1/200 f2.8, ISO 100
ruhu6anu.jpg


I'm pleased with the results of the sharpness against a brick way.

I also took this pictures of a cat that was posing for me, this picture I am not pleased with. I think the cat could've been much sharper. I do think it was my error rather then the lens though. Taken at 200mm, 1/200 F2.8, and ISO 100
e9yda9ap.jpg
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
Here is a portrait I took at a wedding yesterday. No edits, shot at 116mm, ISO 1000, and 1/250 f4
a8una7yz.jpg


I'm very happy with this image, it's very nice and sharp.
 

fhibbs12

Senior Member
This, the sigma 35 1.4, and the Nikkor 105 vr macro are on my wish list. I got $1000 adorama gift card and with indoor sports and football season coming up I am having a hard time deciding!!!!!

Let's see some more samples!
 

NVSteve

Senior Member
I have one on its way to me now. I doubt I will have it in time for an event this weekend, but there will be another event the following weekend that I'll try it out at. Hoping to post up some comparison shots between it, the Nikon 70-200 f4 and the Tamron 70-300 VC. If the OP doesn't object, I'll throw my findings in this thread also. It's so nice to have one thread that deals with one specific lens, rather than multiple threads about the same thing.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
I have one on its way to me now. I doubt I will have it in time for an event this weekend, but there will be another event the following weekend that I'll try it out at. Hoping to post up some comparison shots between it, the Nikon 70-200 f4 and the Tamron 70-300 VC. If the OP doesn't object, I'll throw my findings in this thread also. It's so nice to have one thread that deals with one specific lens, rather than multiple threads about the same thing.

By all means! Please do. I think that would be very helpful.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
I decided to test the lens some more. Here are the sample pictures.
qamyty9u.jpg

habe4udy.jpg

ymegaqys.jpg

eja9ypam.jpg

uhuhu7az.jpg

8yty9a9a.jpg


All these images were very sharp, in fact all the images I took today were very sharp and impressive.
 

NVSteve

Senior Member
Looks like mine will be here tomorrow, so I'll get to try it out this weekend. One question still remains & is important if I find the lens to be a keeper: has anyone found a good lens case for it yet?
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
I also took this pictures of a cat that was posing for me, this picture I am not pleased with. I think the cat could've been much sharper. I do think it was my error rather then the lens though. Taken at 200mm, 1/200 F2.8, and ISO 100

Agreed about operator error. You're focused on the grass on that one, not that cat.

I've been using this lens for awhile now, and it's phenomenal. Most 3rd party lenses are decent for what they are: cheaper alternatives. Some are darn good. On occasion, there's a lens that's just as good as the Nikkor counterpart...and this is one of those lenses.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
Agreed about operator error. You're focused on the grass on that one, not that cat.

I've been using this lens for awhile now, and it's phenomenal. Most 3rd party lenses are decent for what they are: cheaper alternatives. Some are darn good. On occasion, there's a lens that's just as good as the Nikkor counterpart...and this is one of those lenses.

Thanks Browncoat, I've never used the Nikon version, but I am so pleased with this lens. One of my friends has the Nikon Version 1 with VR, I'm going to try to do a comparison.
 
Top