Pics w/the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8

[wenrob]

*angels singing*

DH came home with a new (expensive!) sound board so of course I used that as leverage to get my lens.

The way it twists to focus is kind of weird but I'm sure I'll get used to it. So far I'm really liking it. Love the color and it's pretty dam* sharp even at f 2.8. I had no idea what I was missing!
Please ignore my WB issues, I just didn't feel like messing with it. All shot at F2.8:

 

[Evad]

Very nice and very sharp!! I'm sure you will have lots of fun with this new lens!! Great subject matter too!!!!!!

 

[My2Girls66]

Nice! I was just looking into the Sigma 28-70 2.8 for inside the gym. Maybe I'll check the Tamron, too.

 

[Groucho]

*angels singing*

DH came home with a new (expensive!) sound board so of course I used that as leverage to get my lens.

Sounds like my wife - I keep telling her that it's not a competition to see who can spend more money.

Nice! I was just looking into the Sigma 28-70 2.8 for inside the gym. Maybe I'll check the Tamron, too.

IIRC, most reviews seem to give the Tamron the edge in image quality and sharpness, plus it's lighter, Build quality is probably similar (the Tamron is decent but not stellar, it's got a bit of zoom creep, even Tamron knows that so they included a latch to lock it at 28mm.)

Gotta find the instructions for mine so I can officially put it on sale...

 

[wenrob]

Very nice and very sharp!! I'm sure you will have lots of fun with this new lens!! Great subject matter too!!!!!!

Aw, thanks Dave. They drive me nuts but I love 'em!

Nice! I was just looking into the Sigma 28-70 2.8 for inside the gym. Maybe I'll check the Tamron, too.

I had both in my cart forever going back and forth. Some said the Tamron was slow to focus and some said the Sigma wasn't really sharp until f11 or so.
In the end I went with the one that seemed most popular, lol. For the record the focus doesn't seem slow to me, noisy but not slow.

Sounds like my wife - I keep telling her that it's not a competition to see who can spend more money.

Of course it's a competition!

Gotta find the instructions for mine so I can officially put it on sale...

Can I ask why you're selling yours?

 

[Groucho]

Can I ask why you're selling yours?

Well, I bought a Pentax 16-50mm F2.8 lens, which has some advantages. Keep in mind - it better have some advantages, since it usually costs about 2x (at least) as much as the Tamron. (Still cheap compared to other comparable OEM lenses!)

The extra focal length was a big factor... 28mm is just not wide enough for some situations. An obvious example is a character meal at Disney. I'd have a character and my son across the table from me and 28mm cut off a lot of stuff. Before I had the 16-50mm, I actually ended up borrowing the kit 18-55mm lens off my wife's DSLR at character meals.

Overall image quality is higher... the Tamron is no slouch but with a high mp camera, if you start looking at the fine details, the OEM lens is just a bit sharper, and is more flare-resistant, and I think a little better with bokeh, color, etc. But again, the Tamron is no junk lens in these regards.

Build quality... no zoom creep in the OEM lens, and more importantly - it's weathersealed! Combined with my 50-135mm, that gives me a pretty full range to use in rain, snow, hail, whatever. I really like that.

Silent in-lens focus motor... not a big deal but nice.

The extra wide focal length and weathersealing were really the big factors for me. The Tamron scores high on the image quality front so I really wasn't disappointed there. Going to 75mm is nice - but for me, going wide was more important: I can always crop a 50mm shot but I can't make a 28mm shot wider.

A downside to the switch - the 16-50mm is notably wider (more room in the camera bag), and takes a big 77mm filter! The Tamron takes the same 67mm filter as my 50-135mm, so I was able to share a CP filter between them. I bought a new 77mm CP before my last trip then ended up rarely using it. Sigh!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Build quality... no zoom creep in the OEM lens, and more importantly - it's weathersealed! Combined with my 50-135mm, that gives me a pretty full range to use in rain, snow, hail, whatever. I really like that.

Hail!!!!! Now that's weathersealing!!!! Or is the weathersealing happening when Groucho is knocked unconscious and falls on his camera thus protecting it?

 

[Groucho]

Hail!!!!! Now that's weathersealing!!!! Or is the weathersealing happening when Groucho is knocked unconscious and falls on his camera thus protecting it?

Nah, I don't work on protecting the camera... I've used the camera with each of the weathersealed lenses on the big drop in Splash Mt, including the splash at the bottom, with no issues. (Not too wet last time, but with the 50-135mm, it got soaked!) I'd be willing to use it on Kali or Grizzly River Run. I've heard of people putting them under running water with no ill effects. The weathersealing is very effective. The only concern I'd have about hail is if they're particularly nasty, to protect the LCD on the top. Other than that - bring it on!

 

[bnorm27]

I have been leaning towards the Tamron myself. I did just rent a Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS lens, and that is some nice glass, but definitely not in the budget right now. I think the Tamron would be a great walk around lens, and would definitely put my kit lens up for sale!

 

[Groucho]

Hail!!!!! Now that's weathersealing!!!! Or is the weathersealing happening when Groucho is knocked unconscious and falls on his camera thus protecting it?

Actually, I forgot but I did shoot in the hail last summer... At the time, my other weathersealed lens was the 50-135mm so I couldn't go as wide as I wanted, and obviously I wouldn't want to use the Tamron.

Don't get me wrong, though, the Tamron is quite a nice lens. If weathersealing wasn't a concern, I would have seriously considered their 17-50mm F2.8 as an alternative to what I bought.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Actually, I forgot but I did shoot in the hail last summer... At the time, my other weathersealed lens was the 50-135mm so I couldn't go as wide as I wanted, and obviously I wouldn't want to use the Tamron.

I should have figured! I just don't like to be out in anything that dents cars - even with weathersealing! Wimpy aren't I?!

 

[My2Girls66]

Wow! Not that I think I'd ever actually go out and shoot in that kind of weather but how cool not to have to worry about rain and water rides!

 

[Groucho]

If the hail is big enough to dent cars, then I am going inside! Most hail isn't that bad. The stuff in the pics was all smaller than marbles, I'd say, and my car remained undented.

I even have a closeup of the hail!