topic Tamron Lens? in EF & RF Lenses

Tamron Lens?

hangymt — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:03:01 GMT

Has anyone tried using a Tamron? I have a 60D and I'm thinking about getting one but I don't no if it is recommended?

Re: Tamron Lens?

cicopo — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:12:40 GMT

Tamron, Tokina & Sigma have several very good lenses, but they also have some duds. I strongly recommend that you be very specific on what lens you're shopping for & how you intend to use it. (IE landscapes, action, low light etc). The more info you supply the better.

Re: Tamron Lens?

JoeDavid — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:19:08 GMT

Like most lens manufacturers, it depends on which lens you are looking at. I have a friend that has one of their SP 70-300mm VC USD zooms that is pretty sharp. He hasn't had any problems with it and is very happy with the image quality. On the other hand, I have one of their AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC that I purchased as an alternative to the Canon 28-300mm f3.5-5.6L IS that I also own for when I want to travel light. The Tamron is much smaller and lighter but the image quality suffers quite a bit compared to the Canon L lens. Of course the Tamron is probably 1/4 the price and weight so it's a tradeoff. The VC (image stabilization) on the lens works very well but the images are soft if printed or viewed at a large magnification. The Tamron is amazingly slow to focus with a Canon 5D Mark III once the aperture gets to f6.3. Even at f5.6 the lens is no match for the more expensive Canon where focusing is concerned.

Re: Tamron Lens?

hangymt — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:23:12 GMT

Thanks! I shoot everything around me, so I'm thinking about an all-in-one tamron but I just dn't know which one will work best for the 60D.

Re: Tamron Lens?

cicopo — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 04:05:22 GMT

As a general rule the greater the range the lower the IQ (image quality) & the more it costs the better the IQ, but there are exceptions. Superzooms like the 18-200 & greater are a compromise, BUT many are very happy with them, myself included when it fits my needs (which can be cost or size / weight). I have the original version of their 18-270 VC & used it last year as my travel lens on a 7D; AND when I went on my annual vacation to Cozumel Mexico I found out there was going to be an air show a few days after my arrival. I used what I had & i'm happy with the results as would most people, but when you look carefully the IQ on the wide end is a bit soft. Very few people would notice or complain about thatsoftness and I won't either but I have better gear & a lot of experience shooting air shows, but they are radio control events using smaller & faster (considering the scaled down sizes).

The newer version of the 18-270 VC is supposed to be better, but I don't know whether it's the IQ or AF that's better or both, but this is the link to my results using the original version on a 7D (18 mpixels, fast AF system).

https://picasaweb.google.com/TCPRCphotos/AirShowCozumel2012

If you'd be happy with similar results & are looking for a 1 lens solution then a bit more research should confirm whether or not it's worth a try.

Re: Tamron Lens?

ScottyP — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:25:21 GMT

I was just reading a photo magazine at lunch today, and it was testing "affordable telephoto" lenses. The Tamron 70-300 came out on top in that "contest".

What lens were you looking at?

Re: Tamron Lens?

ebiggs1 — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:41:18 GMT

I can't vouch for any of the Tamrons but I can say some very good things about the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM APO and it's cousin the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM.

Right up front neither of these lens' are “L” level or quality. But they are pretty darn good.

I know of some problems with certain off-brand lens' so make sure the one you choose works with your camera. Sometimes you can send it back to the manufacturer and have it re-chipped to work but who wants to do that?

Stick with Canon if you are able to but in my case Canon does not make a 50-150mm lens for crop cameras.

Re: Tamron Lens?

RLPhoto — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:55:38 GMT

The New Tamron 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8 VC's are pretty good from what I've seen and heard. Throw in a Sigma 35mm 1.4 and you've got a sweet 3rd party kit.