Did anyone notice Tamron just made the sharpest 70-200mm lens?

[Jonathan F/2]

Out of random research, Tamron's latest 70-200mm f/2.8 VC USD lens scored the highest DXO score for this class of lens over Nikon's 70-200 2.8 VR-II and 70-200 f/4 VR lenses on the D800 with only slightly more vignetting:

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Tamron-Lens-SP-70-200mm-F-2.8-Di-VC-USD-Nikon-mount-review-High-performance-and-excellent-value/Tamron-Lens-SP-70-200mm-F-2.8-Di-VC-USD-versus-competition

On top of that Tamron has a new 6 year warranty with a very fast 3 day turn around repair time according to LensRentals recent repair analysis:

http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/08/lensrentals-repair-data-2012-2013

Tamron announce(ed) with their ’3 day guarantee repair’ turnaround time

User reports also seem to indicate that Tamron isn't voiding warranty on impact damage if item is serviceable and even after paying for such repairs, will still honor the warranty from date of purchase.

A comment made on the LensRentals blog:

On the Tamron side, AMAZING Service. Turnaround time is always less than a week. And, with a 6 year warranty, I have only had to pay for one repair.
I have a 28-75mm f/2.8 that I dropped and broke 8 months into ownership. They charged me $180 and replaced 2 elements and the focus assembly. It came back in 6 days and worked better than new.
With most companies that’s it for the warranty, or they only give you 30-60 days. But Tamron continued the 6 year warranty.

Reports seem to be positive with very fast AF, great sharpness and an excellent $1499 price tag at B&H! Tamron sounds to be stepping up to the plate. The days of sticking with 1st party glass as being top quality, might be coming to an end. :smile:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/892849-REG/Tamron_20_200mm_F_2_8_DI_VC.html

 

[wizzard0003]

Yep, I was very impressed with what I was hearing about that lens and Tamron
in general lately... Sigma also seems to be making a push for better quality and
customer service...

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I'm actually quite impressed with their warranty service. 6 years is nothing to scoff about. Also 1 week turn around time is equal to NPS level service.

 

[rick_reno]

And they haven't adopted the Nikon repair center mantra of "impact damage"

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Anyone own this lens can comment? I've heard it sell brand new for $1299 with rebates. That's pretty good.

 

[trenchmonkey]

Hmmm...."best" sharpness is at f2.8 and 100mm :frown:
I shoot 135mm-200mm 90% of the time w/ my trusty VR II
Be interested to see photozones take on this Tamron offering...
pretty sure I'll be staying pat with MY moneymaker, thx. :biggrin:

 

[wizzard0003]

The resolution charts at LensTip show the Nikon and Tamron pretty dang close... The Nikon may
best it by a tiny bit but the Tamron is MUCH cheaper...

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
http://www.lenstip.com/258.4-Lens_r...-200_mm_f_2.8G_ED_VR_II_Image_resolution.html

Tamron SP 70-200 mm f/2.8 Di VC USD
http://www.lenstip.com/375.4-Lens_review-Tamron_SP_70-200_mm_f_2.8_Di_VC_USD_Image_resolution.html

May not be what the professional buys but for the amature trying to get "pretty near as good for
a lot less money" it is definately an option... :wink:

 

[Jonathan F/2]

The resolution charts at LensTip show the Nikon and Tamron pretty dang close... The Nikon may
best it by a tiny bit but the Tamron is MUCH cheaper...

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
http://www.lenstip.com/258.4-Lens_r...-200_mm_f_2.8G_ED_VR_II_Image_resolution.html

Tamron SP 70-200 mm f/2.8 Di VC USD
http://www.lenstip.com/375.4-Lens_review-Tamron_SP_70-200_mm_f_2.8_Di_VC_USD_Image_resolution.html

May not be what the professional buys but for the amature trying to get "pretty near as good for
a lot less money" it is definately an option... :wink:

According to the Lenstip graph, they're not too far apart at 200mm 2.8 and pretty much close at all focal lengths by f/4. The only weakness seems to be at 70mm wide open where the Tamron is a slightly weaker. I bet in real world use, it'd be barely noticeable.

Hmmm...."best" sharpness is at f2.8 and 100mm :frown:
I shoot 135mm-200mm 90% of the time w/ my trusty VR II
Be interested to see photozones take on this Tamron offering...
pretty sure I'll be staying pat with MY moneymaker, thx. :biggrin:

I'm not buying it either since I already own a 70-200 VR-II, but you gotta admit for the price, performance and warranty coverage Tamron is seriously upping their game. I was doing research because my buddy has been looking to get a mid-telephoto zoom for his D800 without breaking the bank and I referred him to this lens.

 

[Big Daddy]

Most impressive. While there's more to a lens than sharpness, the Tamron looks like it's sharper at 200mm 2/8 than the Nikon.

I'd be curious to see if its AF matches the Nikon's. I love my 70-200/2.8 II. Wouldn't sell it to get the Tamron, but if the Tamron is otherwise good, I'd recommend it to my friends (who are also hobbyists).

 

[Jonathan F/2]

Most impressive. While there's more to a lens than sharpness, the Tamron looks like it's sharper at 200mm 2/8 than the Nikon.

I'd be curious to see if its AF matches the Nikon's. I love my 70-200/2.8 II. Wouldn't sell it to get the Tamron, but if the Tamron is otherwise good, I'd recommend it to my friends (who are also hobbyists).

I'm not too familiar with Tamron's USD motor, but I'm guessing it should be more than adequate. The other 2.8 option would be to get the older two ring 80-200, but that uses the camera AF drive. I think their warranty gives a little piece of mind.

 

[sir oliver]

AF accuracy & speed is the big question here. Even the old Tamron non-VC had top-class optics, accompanied with unreliable AF performance, especially for moving subjects.

For a telephoto fast aperture lens, with thin DOF, AF reliability is as important as the quality of the optics.

 

[trenchmonkey]

the Tamron looks like it's sharper at 200mm 2/8 than the Nikon.

Huh?! Tamron's 33 vs 35 Ipmm for the Nikon and at f4 that grows to 42 vs 46...
so how is THAT sharper @ 200

 

[Mr. Graceful]

AF accuracy is key. I've had issues in that respect with every Tamron lens I've owned except the 17-50 and 28-75. Especially with moving subjects.

 

[Takeda]

It looks like Camera Labs had problems with the Tamron VC on 2 copies:


Tamron 70-200mm SP f2.8 VC verdict

Testing the Tamron SP 70-200/2.8 VC left me with mixed feelings. It looks like a respectable design delivering very good to excellent performance in many cases, but my first sample suffered from some glitches. Thus I got a second copy of this lens to find out whether these problems were a one-off and could be written off to coincidence. Unfortunately both copies showed the same mis-behavior:
- Both lenses showed clear signs of decentering.
- Both copies showed disappointing haloing in the center at 200mm at f2.8.
- Both copies required several seconds for the image stabilization to warm-up which almost certainly will ruin some of your shots.
Now one bad apple might be a coincidence but two lenses with the same problems hint at either a design problem or at least an issue with this particular manufacturing batch. So honestly I cannot recommend this lens to you. If it were only for the decentering the lens could have earned a Recommended. The decentering was not too strong and could be alleviated with some stopping down. If it were only for the haloing at 200mm f2.8 I could still give a recommendation, because stopping down to f4 completely heals the problem. But the image stabilization is another problem altogether: the danger of potentially ruining your shots by using VC would be too great for me to keep this lens. This coupled with the decentering and haloing issues on two copies means no recommendation this time. Feel free though to try this lens out at a dealer though to see whether you can get a better copy.

 

[wizzard0003]

That don't sound good...!

But, until more reviews come in everything good/bad should be taken
with a grain of salt... :wink:

 

[longzoom]

That is what I am saying - no test there is relevant to me, personally, due to sample variations. Just take it and try. Learning a MTF charts is a nice hobby, why not. LZ.

 

[wizzard0003]

Here's what Roger from LensRentals had to say:

I call this one The Napoleon – it’s a bit short (of 200mm) but still kicks butt. The Tamron is very sharp throughout
the zoom range, autofocuses much, much quicker than the older Tamron superzooms did, and the Vibration Control
is excellent.

Is it as good as the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR II? No, not quite. But it’s close to that and less expensive. The Tamron
can save you some money and you won’t be disappointed in it; it’s excellent.

March 2013

Source: http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/telephoto/tamron-70-200mm-f2.8-sp-di-vc-usd-for-nikon

 

[Jonathan F/2]

That don't sound good...!

But, until more reviews come in everything good/bad should be taken
with a grain of salt... :wink:

It's probably one of those lenses you should buy locally to make sure you get a good copy. :wink:

 

[Big Daddy]

Huh?! Tamron's 33 vs 35 Ipmm for the Nikon and at f4 that grows to 42 vs 46...
so how is THAT sharper @ 200

I was referring to the DxOMark tests that claim their sample of the Tamron is sharper at 200/2.8 than the Nikon sample they had.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Supposedly this is with a D800 too. Lenstip's tests of the Tamron was on a 1Ds MkIII, the Nikon on a D3X.

 

[truronion]

Buy cheap buy twice.