Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 OSD (A037) Review

Dustin Abbott

November 21st, 2018

There have been a variety of high end wide-angle zooms and primes released over the past 4-5 years, but very few in an important demographic – the affordable end of the full frame spectrum. Tamron is looking to address that with their new 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD lens. It sports a nicely weather-sealed body in their mid-grade design along with a solid optical performance. The 17-35mm (A037 is Tamron’s code for the lens, so I’ll refer to it as that mostly in this review) sports a nice size and weight as well, and should definitely be of interest for those with a full-frame camera that are either on a budget or looking for a more compact zoom with a wider maximum aperture than most. I reviewed it alongside the new Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC G2 and discovered that there were a lot of viewers and readers that were very interested in this lens as a budget alternative to some of the first party zoom lenses. They liked the price, size, and weight of the lens, but wanted to know if it lived up to its potential. That’s what we are here to discover together in this review, so let’s jump in and find out!

Prefer to watch your reviews? I’ve got you covered with my detailed video review here:

Tamron A037 Build Quality

I would recommend that you watch this video to get a hands-on, interactive look at the build and design of the lens.

The A037 receives what has become Tamron’s standard design for its mid-grade zoom lenses – similar to the build on the 70-210mm F4 and the 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 VC zooms. There is a similar look to the G2 zooms and SP primes, but the mid-grade zooms substitute engineered plastics for the metal alloys of the G2 zooms. This helps contribute to the lighter weight of these lenses, but it does result in a less premium feel to them.

On an encouraging note, though, this lens has not only a rear gasket for moisture resistance, but also has both internal seals along with a fluorine coating on the front element, which adds up to a fairly robust weather sealing. I think this is particularly important for wide angle lenses that will often be used outdoors.

The 17-35 OSD weights in at 459 grams (about 1 pound), which is slightly lighter than the Canon 17-40mm F4L (500g) or the Canon 16-35mm f/4L IS (615g). Nikon’s 16-35mm F/4G VR lens weighs in at a heftier 680g. It’s important to remember that while the Tamron sports a slightly smaller zoom range than any of these, it also has a larger maximum aperture at most focal lengths. On the wide the maximum aperture of F2.8 lets in twice as much light at the maximum aperture of F4 on the other lenses.

The A037 is also the most compact lens of the group. It is 3.29″ (83.6mm) in diameter and 3.65″ (92.5mm) in length. It employs a common 77mm front filter thread (all four of these wide angle zooms share that filter size).

One area that the Tamron loses is when it comes to maximum magnification/reproduction. Minimum focus distance is 11″ (27.94mm), which is actually a hair better than the other lenses), but the magnification is 0.20x, a bit behind the 0.23-0.25x figures the other lenses come up with respectively. When I see that, it makes me think that there is a little focus breathing taking place at close focus distances, and that the lens behaves as one with a shorter focal length at close focus. This is a fairly unimportant metric on a wide angle lens like this, however. The 0.20x figure is useful enough to give you some creative options for framing like these:

The lens is not internally zooming; it extends a small amount (4-5mm) when at the 17mm position, though it also extends a small bit (maybe 3mm) when at 35mm. The fully retracted position is about 26mm. The amount of extension is actually very small, but you will note a “dipping” in and out as you go through the zoom range. This makes “zoom creep” essentially a non-issue, because the lens neither extends much nor zooms in a linear direction. There is no “zoom lock” on the lens, nor is one needed. The image below shows the maximum extension at 17mm – not much, to be sure.

The zoom ring is closest to the camera and operates smoothly. It should be noted that both rings rotate in the “Nikon” rather than the “Canon” direction. I’ll touch more on the behavior of the focus ring in the OSD section below. There is a single switch located at about the 10 o’clock position that switches between AF and MF.

All in all this lens gets the job done with the build. It’s not a pro-grade build, but neither is there anything actually wrong with it, either. It comes with an included, petal-shaped lens hood. What it doesn’t come with is Tamron’s VC, or vibration compensation, a decision that, frankly, surprised me.

Optimized Silent Drive

Tamron has debuted yet another new focus motor on the A037. This one is called Optimized Silent Drive (OSD). This focus motor has both some strengths and weaknesses. While not completely silent (you can hear a faint scratching noise as the elements move if you listen closely), it is quiet and quick in operation. I found autofocus confident on my Canon 5D Mark IV test body, quickly locking onto the subject without pulsing. All focus happens internally without any external changes in length or rotation (no issues with circular polarizers). There’s not really a whole lot to criticize in terms of the autofocus itself, though there are a few other issues.

The first is that OSD (surprisingly) does not offer full time manual override. There is a lot of drag on the focus ring if you try to use it with AF engaged, which is a clear sign that you would be fighting against the clutch mechanism of the autofocus motor to try to use it that way. If you turn the AF switch to the MF position, the focus ring goes to the opposite extreme, with almost no resistance at all. It doesn’t really damped at all, and, while it moves extremely easily, there isn’t enough friction on it to make it particularly useful for precision manual focus. A Zeiss manual focus ring this is not!

There also isn’t any kind of distance window on the lens. When I first saw this, I surmised that this was some type of stepping motor, but that isn’t actually the case. With a stepping motor, input on the focus ring with the lens disconnected or the camera powered off does nothing to move the elements, but that clearly isn’t the case here. I’m left to conclude that the lack of a distance window is more of a design element, and very likely a cost saving one.

I essentially think of this focus motor as being a rich man’s version of the older, cheaper micro motors. It lacks the sophisticated manual focus override of the better USD (UltraSonic Drive) motors, and the manual focus ring lacks essentially any kind of positive tactile feedback, but it also focuses quickly and quietly. It isn’t buzzy or coarse like those older motors. The “optimized” part of the name may refer to the behavior in Live View mode or video Servo AF, where the motor seems to make fairly smooth transitions without pulsing or “nervousness”. It works well in Live View, though focus speed is clearly slower and more “optimized” for gradual, smooth transitions rather than the abrupt ones that work better for traditional focus.

There’s a number of positive things about this focus motor, but neither am I deceived into thinking that it is a premium focus system. It may be more practical for modern photography than the older USM motor of, say, the Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L, however, despite that lens’ ability to do full time manual override.

Yes, I did use the Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 OSD lens via adapter on both the brand-new Canon EOS R mirrorless system along with my Sony a7R3 (via the Sigma MC-11 mount converter). It should be noted that the lens was neither developed for either system nor has Tamron worked at specifically testing and developing for those platforms with the A037, but I was pleasantly surprised in both cases. On the EOS R the lens essentially performed as well as it did on the 5D Mark IV. Autofocus was quick, accurate, and image quality was excellent. I also found that continual AF in video capture was surprisingly good. Transitions were smooth, and the lens was not “jittery” or pulsing during continuous AF. I did note with major focus changes that there was some clearly audible focus noises, though smaller changes are essentially silent. The focal length works pretty well for video work on the EOS R, and the light weight of the lens itself makes it a natural pairing there for stills, too. You can see some video footage from the combination in the video review, and here’s a few EOS R/EF Adapter/A037 sample photos:

I essentially expected this (at least for stills) on the EOS R, but I was more surprised with the a7R3/MC-11 combination with both new Tamron lenses, where the performance was generally excellent for stills photography. As a rule, I don’t find that any lenses outside of some Sigma ART series lens do very good in AF-C mode during video with the MC-11, so I didn’t really focus on that. But for stills photography I was pleasantly surprised, as the lens didn’t really give me any hiccups in either AF-S or AF-C modes. While I didn’t use it extensively on that platform, I did try the combo for a hike, and I had no observable issues.

So, while this focus motor does not feel like a premium focus system, it gets the job done with little to complain about…unless you need to do manual focus.

Tamron A037 Image Quality

The best way to get a sense of the behavior of this lens is by watching this detailed image quality breakdown video. It will take you in closer and is a better medium for sharing that information.

In my reviews, I break image quality down under two main headings: Resolution and Rendering. Under resolution I deal with things like sharpness, contrast, and show the vignette/distortion characteristics of the lens. But I recognize that there is more to image quality than just how “sharp” a lens is, so I also break down the rendering, including the color rendition, bokeh quality, coma performance, flare resistance, and ability to control chromatic aberrations.

A037 Resolution

The good news is that this is a very sharp lens across the focal range, and that sharpness is largely accessible at wider apertures. There essentially two optical shortcomings with the A037: a fairly heavy vignette (not quite as bad as the Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L III, but definitely worse than the Tamron 15-30mm F2.8 G2) and a pronounced barrel distortion at 17mm in particular. You can see both on display here, but also the fact that the standard profile in Lightroom does an effective job of correcting for both:

There are two potential things to watch out for despite this. The first is that if you are a JPEG shooter, this Tamron lens is not compatible with aberration correction on Canon or Nikon bodies, which means that the camera will not clean up the distortion or vignette in camera for JPEGs like it will for first party (Canon or Nikon) lenses. The second potential issue is with correcting vignette at high ISO values. There is a risk of introducing noise into the image as a result of lifting corners significantly. A prime example will be when shooting astrophotography, something the lens is otherwise quite good at. The comparison below shows how that applying the Lightroom profile on an ISO 6400 night sky image definitely introduces some destructive noise where it has corrected for the vignette:

To be fair, however, I do think the profile overcorrects the vignette in this case, so I would recommend manually backing the vignette correction slider back a bit and allowing for a more natural looking result like this (I have the Lightroom vignette slider at 68, if you’re interested).

At 17mm and F2.8 the lens delivers a very sharp center with good sharpness extending to everywhere save the extreme edges/corners. The heavy vignette somewhat obscures the edge sharpness, but it is definitely there:

I also saw good evidence of centering, with both edges looking roughly similar.

Stopping down to F4 shows that now even the extreme corners are sharp, something you are definitely NOT going to see with the Canon 17-40mm at F4. Here are both extreme upper corners, which also shows the good centering performance of the lens:

Stopping down to F5.6 or F8 produces highly detailed landscape images, though some vignette persists through F5.6. Real world images look great, though:

At 20mm there is still some barrel distortion, though it is reduced by the less extreme focal length. Vignette continues to be an issue, however. Resolution (particularly on the edges) is noticeably improved, however, with near peak performance available at F2.8:

I’m also delighted by the fact that the lens is still F2.8. Some variable aperture zooms hold their larger aperture values very briefly. The 17-35mm doesn’t hit F4 as the maximum aperture until around 31mm, which is a nice change of pace. F3.2 arrives around 21mm and F3.5 at roughly 25mm.

Stopping the lens down to F5.6 reduces vignette (though not completely), but if you look past that you can see that the edges are essentially as sharp at F2.8 and they are at F5.6, which is to say excellent:

As expected, real world 20mm results look brilliant:

At 24mm the distortion is gone but the vignette remains. What is also true is that sharpness profile across the frame is almost perfectly consistent. The lens is deadly sharp at 24mm F3.2 and compares favorably here with all the more expensive zooms.

You can squeeze a bit more sharpness out it when you stop down to landscape apertures, though what you will mostly see is a lift of the vignette that allows the textures to appear crisper.

As expected, real world shots look great considering the optical performance at 24mm:

At the end of the focal range (35mm), the maximum aperture is only F4, but sharpness remains strong. There is a very mild amount of pincushion distortion, but enough to make a real world impact. Vignette is also less pronounced. There is little difference between center and edge sharpness; both are excellent:

At landscape apertures like F5.6 you have great sharpness across the frame, as the edge crop from this landscape image shows:

It’s not difficult to produce stunning landscape images with this lens. Here’s one that I did a little processing on:

A037 Rendering

We’ve essentially already detailed the shortcomings of the A037. The lens delivers very nice color. Perhaps not the extreme excellence of some Zeiss lenses, but certainly very nice:

The lens does show a little bit of ghosting with the sun at certain positions in the frame, but contrast holds up and I never found the lens’ flare debilitating to the capture of images.

A 17-35mm variable aperture lens is hardly going to be a world champ for producing bokeh, but neither did I see anything off-putting about the defocused areas that I could produce. Bokeh looks pretty decent:

The Tamron 15-30mm F2.8 G2 does suffer from some lateral chromatic aberrations, but I saw no chromatic aberrations of either the lateral or longitudinal varieties in any of my tests. You can see no lateral CA in these bare branches against a bright sky:

Another strength of the lens is an extremely low incidence of coma. Comatic aberrations cause a deformation of distant bright points of light (like stars), causing them to elongate, grow “wings”, or become football shaped. The A037 actually does an exceptional job with this and shows as low of levels of coma as I’ve seen. As I mentioned previously, the vignette of the lens is a liability for the lens in shooting the night sky, but coma is definitely not! Here’s a “nightscape” along with some crops to show the crisp center of frame star points along with extreme upper corner points that still look very good.

This is one distinctive advantage over the F4 lenses, as having twice the light transmission at 17mm makes this a much more interesting option for astrophotography.

All in all, this lens is really solid optically. I wish it had less vignette, but that’s the compromise of building a more compact lens. I share a few more random shots below, and you can catch even more by visiting the image gallery here.

Conclusion

The Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD is a lens that initially left me wondering, “why?” when I was sent the announcement of its development. Tamron has been putting their VC (Vibration Compensation) in almost every new lens release, and I was surprised that they would release this lens without it. I was also surprised that this wasn’t a lens for mirrorless, as Tamron had both full frame and APS-C covered with their 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2 and 10-24mm VC lenses – both of which have been very well received. A lens without VC made for Sony FE, for example, makes sense (like the 28-75mm F2.8 RXD lens), as does the compact nature of this lens (and I do hope that Tamron develops something similar for Sony where it might be even more compact and could be supported with lens correction profiles in-camera).

But as I thought about it further, this lens began to make more sense. I began to view it more as a competitor to the lenses I’ve mentioned in this review, and realize that many full frame photographers have few quality options at this price point. The Canon 17-40mm F/4L is both old and optically outdated at this point, and the 16-35mm F/4 options from Canon and Nikon are considerably more expensive. The A037 comes to market at a $599 USD MSRP and has the smallest, lightest build while also giving a wider maximum aperture over most of the focal range. In the future occasional sales will almost certainly bring that price closer to $500, which is a true bargain for the optical performance of this lens. I don’t love the focus motor, though it gets the job done, and I don’t love the vignette of the A037, but that’s hardly unique to this lens. I do love the resolution, low coma and chromatic aberrations, and good color rendition. You get a lot of the performance of the 15-30 G2 in a much less extreme package. Don’t get me wrong – the 15-30 G2 is the superior lens, but not everyone needs its more extreme strengths and bulk. If you are looking for a moderately priced, high performing wide angle zoom for your Canon or Nikon DSLR, this lens is well worth a look. It also works well on the Canon EOS R and (after firmware update) Nikon Z bodies via their respective adapters.

Pros:

Very strong sharpness across focal range and image frame
Very low levels of coma
Larger maximum aperture at most focal lengths than competing zooms
Chromatic aberrations well controlled
Good color rendition and contrast
Nice consumer grade build with thorough weather sealing
Lighter weight and more compact than competing lenses
Excellent price

Cons:

Heavy vignette
Some strong barrel distortion at 17mm
No full time manual override and lifeless manual focus
No VC

Gear Used:

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Keywords: Tamron 17-35 OSD, A037, Tamron 17-35, Tamron 17-35 Review, Tamron 17-35 OSD Review, Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD, Tamron OSD, 17-35, 17-35mm, OSD, F2.8-4, Review, Dustin Abbott, Photography, Video Test, Comparison, Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Chromatic Aberration, Autofocus, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 5DIV

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Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2 (A041) Review

Dustin Abbott

November 14th, 2018

The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD entered my collection a few months after my review of the lens in February 2015. It resonated to me as a lens that, while large and heavy, really delivered a fantastic optical performance. It was also the only wide angle zoom at the time to hit 15mm while having both a wide F2.8 aperture (which lets in twice as much light as the F4 competitors) and an optical image stabilizer (Tamron’s VC, or Vibration Compensation). Since that point nearly four years ago I’ve pitted it against many other wide angle primes and zooms, and it has always shown well in those comparisons. It certainly does not win in every metric, but neither has it been completely outclassed by any other wide angle option regardless of price. I got a hint a few months ago that this new G2 (A041) version was coming to market, and I was excited for the release as the G2 (Second Generation) series have brought minor optical improvements along with vastly improved build, autofocus, and VC (Vibration Compensation) performance.

The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is coded by Tamron as A041, so I’ll utilize that identifier to avoid confusion with the first generation lens, which Tamron identifies as A012. Tamron’s advantage with the G2 lenses is that they are able to deliver a more polished lens than many competitors since they are on their second generation of stabilized zoom lenses over zoom ranges like 15-30mm or 24-70mm where most lens makers are on their first generation (or not as all). My observation has been with each of the G2 lenses that the optical improvements are real, but are overshadowed by improvements in other areas like build, autofocus, and the performance of the Vibration Compensation. As we will see in this review, the same remains true here. What is indisputable, however, is that the finished product of the A041 is definitely a more polished, mature lens that is easily competitive with the best wide angle zoom lenses on the Canon and Nikon platforms.

Prefer to watch your reviews? You can see my detailed video review below, complete with hands-on sample images, video clips, and real-world observations for a real photographer.

Some people have asked me about the “why?” of this lens. “Do they not have any fresh ideas at Tamron?” I think this it to miss the point of the 15-30 G2. Tamron’s bread and butter is their professional zoom lenses which have netted them a lot of critical and commercial success. It’s easy to see their intent by their marketing materials, which emphasize the completion of the “trinity” of the 15-30, 24-70, and 70-200 F2.8 G2 lenses. The release of the A041 is about standardizing Tamron’s pro-grade zooms to a common build design, feature set, and performance. Most reviews agreed that the last generation of Tamron’s pro-grade zooms was competitive optically but sometimes lagged in some of the other metrics like build and autofocus. The G2 series represents an opportunity for Tamron to leverage their investment in optical development (with some minor improvements and tweaks) by pairing the optics with more modern, competitive lens designs and focus motors.

Another key component is compatibility with Tamron’s Tap In Console, which allows Tamron to future-proof their lenses by being able to roll out firmware updates to users quickly and efficiently while also giving users the ability to both customize and maximize the performance of their lens to their individual needs. A full autofocus calibration, for example, is a time-consuming process given that you can insert values at three different focus distances for a number of focal lengths. Once it is done, however, you can be assured of having more accurate autofocus than what was previously possible, as the lens has been optimized for focus at that particular focal length and focus distance.

A041 Autofocus Performance

Tamron has achieved better autofocus performance (noticeably improved focus speed, for one) along with better VC performance by going from a single processing unit in the older lenses to dual processors in the newer lenses. That allows one processor to be tasked to autofocus and the other to vibration compensation. The net benefit seems to be more torque for autofocus (better speed) along with more processing power to run focus algorithms (better focus accuracy). I’ve tested each of the G2 lenses and compared them to the pro-grade Canon lenses and found that the Tamrons could focus as quickly and accurately. That’s a significant achievement, and the idea from 5-10 years ago that third party lenses were inferior in their focus ability is largely erased in this current generation. Tamron’s USD (UltraSonic Drive) motors have continued to get more and more refined.

I got consistently good autofocus results during my review. Out of the box I noted a bit of a front-focus bias at 30mm and distant subjects, but I input an AFMA tweak that easily solved the issue. The most practical test of this came while shooting an event, and after the focus adjustment I consistently got accurate focus on the speaker.

I’ve often noted that wide angle lenses put less stress on autofocus systems in terms of accuracy than telephoto lenses as the depth of field is much larger (and thus more forgiving) at wider focal lengths. What can be an issue for some wide angle lenses is a tendency to pulse back and forth at times. There was no such issue with the A041. I used it in a variety of lighting conditions, even in essentially a dark room (proper exposure required a 2 second exposure at ISO 6400!)

I was able to lock focus more quickly with the A041 via adapter in these lighting conditions than the Canon RF 24-105mm F4L IS on the Canon EOS R, which is saying something. The A041 has a maximum aperture advantage, but it is also a third party lens being used via adapter. There was a little hunting in that type of condition, but in less extreme situations the lens also locked focus quickly and confidently.

Yes, I did use the Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2 lens via adapter on both the brand-new Canon EOS R mirrorless system along with my Sony a7R3 (via the Sigma MC-11 mount converter). It should be noted that the lens was neither developed for either system nor has Tamron worked at specifically testing and developing for those platforms with the A041, but I was pleasantly surprised in both cases. On the EOS R the lens essentially performed natively, and, as I’ll reference in the segment on the VC, I actually was able to get better handheld results due to lower vibration on the mirrorless shutter. Autofocus was quick, accurate, and image quality was excellent. I also found that continual AF in video capture was surprisingly good. Transitions were smooth, and the lens was not “jittery” or pulsing during continuous AF. It’s a nice pairing there as the wide focal length helps offset the significant crop factor of the EOS R in 4K capture. You can see some footage from the combination in the video review. Here’s a few EOS R/EF Adapter/A041 samples:

I essentially expected this (at least for stills) on the EOS R, but I was more surprised with the a7R3/MC-11 combination with both new Tamron lenses, where the performance was generally excellent for stills photography. As a rule, I don’t find that any lenses outside of some Sigma ART series lens do very good in AF-C mode during video with the MC-11, so I didn’t really focus on that. But for stills photography I was pleasantly surprised, as the lens didn’t really give me any hiccups in either AF-S or AF-C modes. While I didn’t use it extensively on that platform, I did try the combo for a hike, and I had no observable issues.

Bottom line is that the dual processor approach of the A041 delivers a better autofocus performance than what the A012 (G1) is capable of. There’s genuine progress there.

A041 Vibration Compensation (VC) Performance

It is also easy to see the significant improvements to their VC performance. Each of the G2 lenses has shown smoother performance (quieter VC performance along with smoother transitions on and off). Some lenses allow you to choose different VC modes as well, and while that is not the case with the A041, you do have the ability to customize the VC performance in three different modes via the Tap In Console. Mode 1 is the standard balanced profile that attempts to stabilize both the viewfinder and the final result. Mode 2 emphasizes viewfinder stability and is the preferred mode for handheld video as it keeps vibration compensation on longer. Mode 3 does little to stabilize the viewfinder but focuses all the processing power on stabilizing the image at capture. Typically Mode 3 delivers the highest rating of “stops” of compensation. The 15-30 G2 is the highest rated wide angle zoom stabilizer by CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association of Japan) at a very impressive 4.5 stops (the A012 sported only a 2.5 stop rating by comparison). Here’s a solid example at 1/6th of a second and 30mm, handheld, without VC on:

If we turn the VC on, however, this is what we get:

An informal conversation with a Tamron insider revealed that the stabilizer is actually even more effective than the rating, but the rating represents the limit of where the testing standard is right now. They also noted that while the first generation stabilizers could negatively impact optical performance (something I have noted with some products in a few of my reviews), the new generation of VC motors is able to provide stability without an optical cost. The VC in the A041 functions essentially just as you would desire. It stabilizes everything well, is utterly silent, and is incredibly smooth in operation.

On a practical level, however, I’ve personally noted that there is a limit to how low of a shutter speed I can personally handhold. The higher ratings are easier for me to match with telephoto lenses. For example, I can consistently get good results with Canon or Tamron’s 100-400mm lenses at 400mm and 1/13th second shutter speeds. That’s five stops of stability. To achieve the equivalent result, one would have to handhold a 30mm shot for 1 second or a 15mm shot for 2 seconds. That is much, much harder. I was able to achieve fairly reliable results at 1/4th second (2 stops) and did get a few usable results at 1 seconds, but not reliably. Here’s one at 1 second, 15mm:

Even the vibration of the mirror box and the drag of the shutter at slow shutter speeds introduces too much movement for me (or any lens) to reliably overcome. I got a little better results with the EOS R, as the lack of a mirror meant that the shutter introduces less vibration. In the previous section on autofocus I shared a photo that I actually handheld for 2 seconds in an essentially dark room (you would have to have had a 2 minute exposure at ISO 100 to achieve a similar result, which tells you how little light was in the room). I could definitely NOT consistently produce the same result, however.

What is definitely true is that you can stand still and easily handhold video footage (which is far more practical). When I turned VC off and stood still, the footage shows constant movement, but when I switched the VC on it is as if a giant fist grabs the scene and holds it in place.

So, the VC is excellent for standard applications and can also work well enough to allow for some creative shots with movement or panning. And frankly, it is the latter that will matter most in real world use of slow shutter speeds. There’s a reason that tripods exist, and trying to substitute handholding for long shutter speeds is a mistake. I should note that Canon and Nikon still make you choose between having an F2.8 aperture or having an image stabilizer; Tamron is the only one to give you both on those platforms.

Tamron 15-30 G2 (A041) Build and Design

I would recommend that you check out this video where I thoroughly detail the build and design of the A041 and compare it to the first generation A012 lens:

Tamron has managed to pack in a number of significant improvements to the build and handling of the lens while managing to hold the weight nearly equal. This is good, as the original was already a bit of a beast, weighing in at 2.43lbs (1100g). The G2 gains a mere 10 grams, and so it tips the scales at 2.44lbs (1110g). You are getting a lot for that additional weight, however, as the new lens sports a more robust build (the housing is primarily metal alloys) and expanded weather sealing. The G2 lenses sport some of the nicest construction of the current zoom lenses, and it is a sign of the times that I say that matter-of-factly about a Tamron lens!

The physical dimensions are identical to the previous generation lens at 3.87″ (98.4) diameter by 5.71″ (145 mm) in length. The great news about this is that if you have invested in an after-market filter solution (I use the Fotodiox WonderPana system), it will fit the new lens perfectly, as you can see here:

The bulbous front element makes using traditional filters impossible, though Tamron has added a rear gel filter holder to the lens mount on the A041 (on the Canon EF version, at least):

Gel filters are better than nothing and inexpensive (you can buy them in sheets and cut them to size), but they are rarely the best option optically (this will depend on the quality of filter, of course). At least Tamron has made efforts to solve a significant issue with the lens, as the inability to use filters have probably been the most common reason cited to me by people that have decided against the 15-30 VC.

Tamron’s new look is sleeker and more modern, with mostly satin-finished anodized metal making up the barrel. There is some engineered plastics near the front of the lens, as there is a fixed lens hood in position there, and the engineered plastic is probably the more durable option for resisting minor dings or deformations. There is actually both an inner fixed lens hood along with an outer one, and at the most forward position of travel (actually at 15mm), the two lens hoods provide something akin to a double-walled layer of protection. At no point does anything protrude past the outer dimensions of the lens.

Tamron has redesigned the switches as well. There are two of them – an AF/MF switch along with the ON/OFF button for the VC. I like the new switches because they feel more definite and precise and are also easier to use while wearing gloves (which I do a lot of living in Canada!!) Some have complained with other G2 lenses of inadvertently hitting them, but I’ve reviewed all the G2 lenses and owned the 70-200 since it’s release and never once had that happen to me.

Also improved is the design of the focus and zoom rings. The focus ring is closer to the camera, and, while it isn’t particularly wide, it has two features that help its ergonomic performance. The first is that it is curved outward in the middle, giving it a different tactile feel from the zoom ring and also making it easier to find. It’s a nice tough. There is also nice beveled portion of the lens barrel above this, which gives a natural position for the finger to find and keeps one from inadvertently engaging the zoom ring.

The zoom ring has a slightly different ribbed pattern from the A012, is quite wide, and is smoother in operation from the first generation lens. It still has slightly firm damping, but a bit lighter and better-operating than the A012. It functions fine, and, like other Tamron lenses, it zooms in the “Nikon” rather than “Canon” direction.

There is a more robust gasket at the lens mount along with a fluorine coating on the front element to help protect against moisture and fingerprints. More internal seals help the lens achieve a new degree of weather sealing. The lens cap fits over the fixed lens hood, and, as a result, is bulkier than a typical lens cap. I find these types of caps a bit of a pain as they don’t fit in a jacket or pants pocket very well.

The copy I reviewed said both “Designed in Japan” and “Made in Japan” on it.

I have one criticism of Tamron’s new finish compared to the older flocked design. The smooth portions of their lenses in plastic (like lens hoods, for example) are much more prone to bag marking. I’ve seen it happen quickly even with review copies of lenses, while the A012 I own still looks basically new. You can see the marks on the lens hood portion of this photo near the front top of the lens.

This criticism aside, the improvements to the autofocus, VC, and build of the lens are real and definite. This has the fit and finish of a professional-grade lens along with a modern, visually aesthetic look.

A041 Image Quality

First of all, let’s be clear about what is happening with the G2 lenses. These are not brand new optical formulas; they are optimized versions of the existing optical formulas that have taken the same basic elements and optical formulas while make minor changes to how they interact. Tamron has further improved performance by employing new and improved coatings. Here’s what I have observed in all four of the G2 zoom reviews that I’ve done: the G2 lenses deliver a slightly more consistent performance across the frame. All of the previous generation Tamron zooms were extremely strong in the center of the frame with some dropoff at the edges of the frame. The G2 zooms sacrifice a tiny bit of that center performance to achieve a more consistent performance across the the frame. Each G2 lens has delivered a stronger edge and corner performance when I’ve compared them to the last generation lens. I would argue that this is most important with the A042, as edge and corner performance on a landscape-oriented lens is deeply important. The A012 was always competitive in the center of the frame with anything I compared it to, but the corners sometimes lagged behind other competitors. I think the 15-30 G2 is ready to compete on the edges.

I break down optical performance into two major categories: Resolution (sharpness, contrast, and longitudinal chromatic aberrations) and Rendering (Color, Bokeh, Flare Resistance, etc…) For a detailed look at some of the things that I will point to in this review, I recommend that you watch my Image Quality Breakdown video here:

A041 Resolution

The A041 largely inherits the strengths and weaknesses of its predecessors. If we look at an uncorrected RAW image at 15mm, we will find that there is a moderate amount vignette that is actually much less than competing zooms along with some noticeable barrel distortion. The barrel distortion is fortunately that of a linear nature and corrects cleanly when the standard profile is applied.

On that note, however, unlike Sigma’s most recent wide angle zoom, the 14-24mm F2.8 ART that I reviewed here, the A041 is not supported by Canon’s Lens Aberration Correction, meaning that JPEG images will not be corrected in camera. This is one advantage that only Sigma enjoys among third party lenses at the moment on Canon systems.

As we look at an uncorrected image at 15mm from both the A012 and the A041, we can see that center performance is roughly equal, while edge and corner performance favor the G2:

As you can see, it’s not by a huge margin, but it is visible (particularly at higher resolutions than shown here). Another observation I made when comparing throughout the focal range is that the A041 has slightly better light transmission wide open. You can see that the center looks a little brighter, and the histogram confirms this by being slightly shifted to the right (higher exposure) when I compare them with equal settings. I’ve demonstrated this below:

Yes, it is slight, but that does give a little more advantage where one needs the extra light. Ironically the reverse is true when you stop down to smaller apertures, where if there is any tiny advantage, it goes to the A012. The point is that where you want better light transmission is at maximum aperture, and, though slight, that’s what the G2 gives you.

The sharpness and resolution advantage persists into smaller apertures. Here at F5.6, for example, it is easy to see that the A041 is delivering better edge performance.

In an absolute sense, this little bit of edge/corner improvement is enough to make the Tamron competitive with the very best. I went back and compared the edge performance of the fantastic Sigma 14-24mm F2.8, and, while I don’t have the lens on hand right now, my similar tests when I did that review show that the A041 is roughly equal in sharpness, which is impressive. When I compared the Irix 15mm F2.4 Blackstone (which I do have on hand), I found the A041 had the advantage at both F2.8 and F5.6 (F2.8 results shown here):

In real world use the Tamron exhibited crisp, detailed results with good color and contrast. Here’s a full (handheld) image along with crops from across the frame – left to right):

For the sake of brevity, I will cover only the middle of the focal range (20mm) and the end of the focal range (30mm) here. You can see more focal lengths in the image quality video. At 20mm both the vignette and distortion are more mild and will cause few issues for anyone. The difference on the edge at F2.8 is milder, but is still observable at a pixel level. I do find that the corner/edge performance at F5.6 favors the A041 a little more obviously.

Real world images at 20mm look good as well.

Finally, at 30mm we find some vignette and an exceptionally mild amount of pincushion distortion. The resolution and contrast in the center looks about the same, but along the edge you can see that the textures are better defined, crisper, and the little bit of veiling on the A012 is improved on the A041. What we also find, however, is that there is a real advantage along the edges/corners even when the lens is stopped down to F5.6.

All of these improvements are mild, to be sure, but remember that this A012 is the same copy that I’ve been using in comparisons with many other of the very wide angle zooms and primes that I’ve reviewed over the past 3 1/2 years that has done so well in those comparisons. That mild bit of improvement is enough to make the A041 very competitive with the very best options on Canon and Nikon. Here’s a real world 30mm landscape image:

One final consideration: most all of the lenses that the A041 are competing with make one choose between maximum aperture and image stabilization. We’ve seen that the improved VC of the A041 allows one to get better real world images handheld because the more modern VC unit doesn’t punish image sharpness. I would say that in an absolute sense I still favor the image punch from the Sigma 14-24 F2.8 ART, but one also makes the trade-off of getting a lens without stabilization.

A041 Rendering

So we’ve seen that Tamron has helped make the A041 even more competitive in terms of resolution and contrast, but are there other improvements as well? In my series of comparisons, I found little difference between the two generations of Tamron lens when it came to distortion and lateral chromatic aberrations. Barrel distortion exists at wider apertures, and I do believe that there are better options if your priority is shooting interiors, architecture, or other work requiring straight lines. The best tool for that kind of job is a tilt/shift lens, though these tend to be very, very expensive. Good alternatives with low distortion include the Laowa 12mm F2.8 Zero D (manual focus only) or the Sigma 12-24mm F4 ART, which does have autofocus. The amount of distortion in the 15-30 G2 is roughly similar to that found in Canon’s 16-35mm zooms.

Tamron stated that there is reduced lateral chromatic aberrations due to improved coatings in the A041. I’m not disputing their claim, but I find in real world use the difference is so minor as to be undetectable in my tests. So yes, lateral chromatic aberrations (these occur along the edges of the frame as both green and magenta fringing simultaneously and are not improved through stopping a lens down to smaller apertures) are there, but fortunately, as this comparison below shows, Lateral CA is the easiest to fix because it manifests consistently. Lightroom or ACR’s one-click “Remove Chromatic Aberrations” will clear it up simply and non-destructively.

So, not necessarily a big deal, but also not really an area of improvement.

Similarly true is the A041’s performance with flare resistance. In this area I can see some improvement due to improved coatings. All of the same vulnerabilities that I’m familiar with from years of use of the A012 are there (particularly from the side), but they are somewhat mitigated by the improved coatings. They are slightly less pronounced, as you can see in the comparison shots below.

Contrast and color rendition has always been a strength for the 15-30 G2. Often when I’m comparing it to other lenses I note how good the microcontrast is (particularly in the center before, but now extending toward the edges). Here are a few images that show off this strength for landscape work.

Bokeh is obviously not a top priority in a lens like this, but used at 30mm and f/2.8 the lens produces a 0.20x magnification figure that is useful. Bokeh doesn’t look bad from the lens:

What’s more important is how the lens deals with coma, a type of distortion that deforms the shapes of distant bright points of light like stars. The A012 has been a lens that I’ve often recommended for astrophotography work, and the A041 is ever-so-slightly better due to that improved light transmission at F2.8. It delivers crisp star points and shows little deformation of shapes even near the edge of the frame. The relatively low vignette helps make this a better choice than many other options, too, as the mild amount of vignette on the A041 can typically be corrected non-destructively (something not as true for the new Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4).

What the Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2 lens delivers is image quality that, while imperfect, has no real fatal flaws. There is some vignette, some distortion, some flare, and some lateral chromatic aberrations, but none of them are significant enough to be a real deterrent. On the positive side, the A041 delivers excellent sharpness and contrast, great color rendition, and low amounts of coma. It’s very good at a lot of things, and not very bad at any of them. I would recommend that you visit the Lens Image Gallery to see more photos and help draw your own conclusions.

Conclusion

Perhaps the single biggest challenge for the Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC USD G2 (A041) lens is that there isn’t anything particularly wrong with the lens that it replaces. There are some real advantages to the A041, from the build, weather sealing, and Tap In compatibility to the improvements to the autofocus and Vibration Compensation systems. The image quality improvement, while mild, helps make the lens even more competitive. But all of these improvements are evolutionary rather than revolutionary, which results in many existing A012 owners not feeling particularly motivated to upgrade. But perhaps the A041 is less for them and more for those who don’t yet own a wide angle lens and are considering the merits of the available options on the market. There is no question that the 15-30 G2 is one of the most attractive wide angle options out there for Canon and Nikon owners, and the price point of $1299 USD is extremely competitive when one considers either the Nikon 14-24mm F2.8 G or the Canon 16-35mm F2.8L III. I think the most compelling alternative is Sigma’s 14-24mm F2.8 ART lens, which, while it lacks stabilization (as do all of these options), offers up a wider focal length and great image quality at an equally compelling price. If you want both F2.8 and stabilization in a wide angle lens, however, the Tamron 15-30mm F2.8 G2 is the best option available and the G2 version is the best version of the lens.

Pros:

Improved, pro-grade build
Improved autofocus speed, confidence, and accuracy
Outstanding VC system
Strong resolution across the zoom range and image frame
Great color and contrast
Good coma control
Relatively low vignette compared to other wide angle lenses

Cons:

Large and heavy
Cannot use traditional front filters
Lateral chromatic aberrations still there
Still vulnerable to some flare

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Keywords: Tamron 15-30 G2, A041, Tamron 15-30mm G2, Tamron 15-30 f2.8 G2, Tamron, SP, G2, 15-30, 15-30mm, 15-30 F2.8, Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2, Tamron 15-30 G2 review, Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 G2 Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, Photography, Video Test, Comparison, Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Chromatic Aberration, Autofocus, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 5DIV

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Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 OSD (A037) Image Galleries

Dustin Abbott

October 29th, 2018

There have been a variety of high end wide-angle zooms and primes released over the past 4-5 years, but very few in an important demographic – the affordable end of the full frame spectrum. Tamron is looking to address that with their new 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD lens. It sports a nicely weather-sealed body in their mid-grade design along with a solid optical performance. The 17-35mm (A037 is Tamron’s code for the lens) sports a nice size and weight as well, and should definitely be of interest for those with a full-frame camera that are either on a budget or looking for a more compact zoom with a wider maximum aperture than most. I’ll be breaking down the design of the lens and its autofocus performance along with a detailed image quality examination in my review, but in the meantime you can check out my hands on breakdown of the build and design below along with checking out the images that I’m taking during the review process. Stay tuned for more content and coverage of the 17-35mm OSD along with the new Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 VC G2!

Images of the Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 OSD (A037)

Images taken with the 17-35mm F2.8-4 OSD (A037)

Images via Adapter on Sony a7R3 and Canon EOS R

Gear Used:

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Keywords: Tamron 17-35 OSD, A037, Tamron 17-35, Tamron 17-35 Review, Tamron 17-35 OSD Review, Tamron 17-35mm F2.8-4 Di OSD, Tamron OSD, 17-35, 17-35mm, OSD, F2.8-4, Review, Dustin Abbott, Photography, Video Test, Comparison, Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Chromatic Aberration, Autofocus, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 5DIV

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Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2 (A041) Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

October 26th, 2018

The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD entered my collection a few months after my review of the lens in February 2015. It resonated to me as a lens that, while large and heavy, really delivered a fantastic optical performance. Since that point nearly four years ago I’ve pitted it against many other wide angle primes and zooms, and it has always shown well in those comparisons. I got a hint a few months ago that this new G2 version was coming to market, and I was excited for the release as the G2 series have brought both optical improvements along with vastly improved build, autofocus, and VC (Vibration Compensation) performance. The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (hereafter 15-30mm G2) seems poised to deliver a mature, polished performance than its predecessor in an era where most competing lenses have still not managed to marry Image Stabilization with this wide focal length. I’ll be breaking down the improvements along with a detailed image quality examination in my review, but in the meantime you can check out my hands on breakdown of the build and design below along with checking out the images that I’m taking during the review process. Stay tuned for more content and coverage of the 15-30mm G2!

Images of the Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2

Images taken with the Tamron SP 15-30mm F2.8 VC G2

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Visit my Amazon page for some of my gear of choice! Thank you for your support.

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Keywords: Tamron 15-30 G2, A041, Tamron 15-30mm G2, Tamron 15-30 f2.8 G2, Tamron, SP, G2, 15-30, 15-30mm, 15-30 F2.8, Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2, Tamron 15-30 G2 review, Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 G2 Review, Review, Dustin Abbott, Photography, Video Test, Comparison, Test, Sample Images, Resolution, Chromatic Aberration, Autofocus, Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Canon 5DIV

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART Review

Dustin Abbott

November 21st, 2017

Sigma has done a fairly amazing job of reinventing themselves as a company in the past five years. It can be easy to forget that Sigma was known as a maker of mostly “cheap” lenses not all that long ago, and often their primary claim to fame was delivering a less expensive product than the first parties. That perception began to slightly shift with the delivery of generally quite good EX 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4 primes, but of course really accelerated with the release of the ART series. A Sigma ART lens has become synonymous with optical excellence and resolution that is generally at or near the top of the class. And with this new success Sigma has also proved to be more daring than the more conservative first parties. They have embraced optical designs outside the traditional scope, and have really “pushed the envelope” with what is possible in maximum aperture in both primes and zoom lenses. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART is another case in point. At f/1.8, the maximum aperture of the 14mm ART is larger than any competing lens, which makes it a very intriguing option…but it comes at a cost.

As we progress through this review, we will discover that the cost comes both on a monetary level (it isn’t cheap!) and also in its size/weight (largest and heaviest in the class). To the first point: the Sigma ART series was, initially, all priced around the $799-999 mark in the US market. Sigma seemed to studiously avoid breaching the thousand dollar price point until last year. Since that point we have seen a number of the newest ART series lenses at price points well above the thousand dollar mark, including the 50-100mm f/1.8 ART zoom ($1199), 85mm f/1.4 ART ($1199), 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART ($1299), 135mm f/1.8 ART ($1399), 12-24mm f/4 ART ($1599), and this lens, the 14mm ART, at $1599 USD. Suffice it to say that this particular “glass ceiling” has been shattered, and the 14mm ART is tied with the 12-24mm as the most expensive options in the ART series. I’ve reviewed all of these lenses, and they are excellent lenses, but I think it is safe to say that the idea of Sigma lenses as “bargains” is past.

The 14mm focal length has a huge range of price points. There is the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, which can often be had for around $300. There is the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II, which is typically north of $2000, and a host of other options in between. I reviewed the excellent Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4 earlier this year, which retails for around $1000 (but is manual focus). My point is that this lens must compete on merit, as the price, while cheaper than the most expensive option (Canon), is more than 5x as expensive as the least expensive option.

There are counterarguments to make for the Sigma 14mm ART, however, including the fact that it offers a larger maximum aperture than all alternatives (1 1/3^rd stop faster than most, and 2/3^rdsstop faster than the Rokinon XP and its f/2.4 max aperture). It has autofocus (several alternatives don’t), and it is now weathersealed (the Samyang/Rokinon options do not). It does offer something unique when compared to alternatives, but it is also a fairly expensive lens that will make potential buyers consider the alternatives before placing their order.

But is it worth the money? Read to help make that decision for yourself.

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Build and Design

The second place that you will “pay” for this lens is in the weight, which is easily at the top of its class. It weighs 2.57lb (1170g), which makes it heavier even than the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 ART zoom lens I reviewed. The only wide angle option that is heavier is the unique Canon 11-24mm f/4L lens, and it is only a measly 10g heavier (though it’s also $1000+ more expensive). It has a very large glass front element and is quite front heavy. I tried to mount it (paired with a Canon 5D Mark IV) on my Moza Air motorized gimbal for some video, and found that it was nearly impossible to balance due to the odd weight distribution. Pushing the envelope of maximum aperture in this lens comes at the cost of some serious weight.

Then again, the ART series has never been known for being light, and this lens will do nothing to reverse that trend! It isn’t small, either, with a diameter of 3.76” (95.4mm) and a length of nearly 5” (126mm). The lens is fairly narrow at the mount but significantly flares out about halfway down the length to house the extremely large curved front element.

The build is extremely familiar, as I have reviewed the majority of the ART series lenses. It is a mixture of metal and “thermal composite” (engineered plastics) based on a brass bayonet mount. The tactile impression is more metal than plastic, which feels reinforced by the significant heft of the lens. The lens profile is extremely similar to that of the 12-24mm f/4, with the one exception that there is one less ring on the 14 ART (no zoom ring). That lone ring (the manual focus ring) is built into the wide front section of the lens which flows right into the fixed (permanent) lens hood. This is unusual compared to most lenses, but very similar in design to the 12-24 ART. The manual focus ring moves nicely and has a nice, grippy rubberized texture to it.

Sigma’s Global Vision design language has aged well, and the lens is very modern and sleek in a squat, rounded kind of way. It mixes various textures and finishes to keep from being too “monochromatic”. There is one switch on the barrel, an AF/MF switch to allow you to go to manual focus (though full time manual override is available through Sigma’s HSM focus motor). There is a distance window with some hyperfocal markings as well.

The lens notes that it was made in Japan as well as the year of manufacturing (2017). The lens (like other ART series lenses) has a nine-rounded blade aperture iris. It can focus down to 10.63” (27cm), but has an exceptionally low 0.10x magnification figure. If you wanted a wide angle lens that could double as a macro lens, this most definitely isn’t it!

Sigma has begun to incorporate some moisture resistance into its design, which is very welcome in a lens like this. It has a rubber gasket to help with the seal at the bayonet mount, but Sigma’s language says “Dust and Splash-proof mount” and makes no reference to internal seals. Something is better than nothing, but I wouldn’t push this too much.

At the front of the lens you will find a massive curved front element. The glass has some protection on four sides by a fixed petal-shaped lens hood. This is a necessary evil on most lenses 15mm or wider, but it does have a few downsides. The first has to do with the fixed lens hood, which requires the front lens cap to be the large type that slips over the lens hood and is held in place by a combination of friction and suction. I’ve seen no issue with the cap falling off of its own accord, but I do find these types of caps to be a pain because they don’t fit well into a pocket when you pull them off for a quick shot. Even a jacket pocket will be full with this lens cap inside, and you can forget it fitting in most pants pockets.

The second downside is that traditional screw-in filters cannot be used. There will invariably be third party filter makers that will produce adapters for their front filter systems (I use the Fotodiox Pro WonderPana system for the Tamron 15-30 VC). The upside of these type systems is that graduated neutral density filters are very useful for wide angle landscape work, but the downside is that they are big, bulky, and expensive. Fortunately Sigma is working to provide an alternate solution, which comes in the form of the FHR-11 rear filter holder which will mount on the lens mount and allow you to use small rear glass and gel filters. It seems to only be available for the Canon mount lens and only (at the moment) directly from Sigma (I can’t find it at major retailers).

The upside is that Sigma is only charging $36 for it, but you will have to screw it in yourself and provide the filters. Sigma obviously feels the audience for this is small enough to not actually ship the lens with the filter holder included. There are a number of Canon wide angle lenses that have a similar rear filter hold built in.

I have not tested this optional accessory myself, but I am happy to see that Sigma has worked to provide some kind of solution. The lens is also compatible with Sigma’s USB dock (for tweaking autofocus and other features) and is also eligible for Sigma’s mount conversion service if you decide to “jump ship” at some point and move from Canon to Nikon or vice versa.

The lens is only available in Canon, Nikon, and Sigma native mounts, though I did test it on a Sony body with a Sigma MC-11 adapter and, as per usual, the lens actually works quite well there. One serious perk is that Sigma lenses will work in AF-C mode during video capture with the MC-11, which is unlike any other adapted lenses with any of the adapters that I’ve used (Metabones, Vello (x2), etc…) All is not perfect, here, and you should check out my comments in the Autofocus Performance section below.

I also tested it with a Vello Accelerator adapter for Sony APS-C eMount, where the lens behaves like a full frame lens in terms of framing and depth of field (the accelerator allows the maximum aperture to be f/1.4). Autofocus (for stills) continued to work fine, and the image quality was quite good. Here are some interior shots taken with this combination:

All in all the lens feels like a quality piece of kit. It’s expensive, large, and heavy, but feels functional and well made.

Autofocus Performance

I’ve been relieved to see a positive trend for recent Sigma releases in their autofocus accuracy. This has been an area of weakness for many of the Sigma ART lenses in that I’ve seen an unusual amount of focus inconsistencies in my tests and have heard an abnormally high amount of anecdotal reports about focus issues from other photographers. To be fair, I do treat anecdotal reports with a grain of salt, as there are a lot of variables at play, but the sheer volume of them let me know that the problems I saw were systemic. Last year, however, Sigma started increasing the torque on their HSM (Hypersonic Motor) and I personally started seeing better focus accuracy. Lenses like the 85mm f/1.4 ART, 135mm f/1.4 ART, and the 12-24mm f/4 ART (along with the 100-400mm f/5-6.3 Contemporary) all proved better than previous ART series lenses in my testing, though with the wide aperture lenses I found better accuracy when using the center points on my Canon 5D Mark IV and avoiding the outer points. So, usable focus accuracy if not exceptional.

I found the 14mm ART needed only minor focus calibration out of the box, and then specifically went out to field test focus accuracy. Now, to be fair, a 14mm lens puts much less stress on the focus system than a 85mm or 135mm lens. At 6 feet, for example, even at the abnormally large maximum aperture of f/1.8, the depth of field with a 14mm lens is over 8 feet. At a 10 foot distance the depth of field jumps to nearly 57 feet. To give you an idea of the difference with, say, the 85mm f/1.4 ART, the depth of field at 6 feet and f/1.4 is only an 1 ½ inches, or less than 4 centimeters. Even at ten feet that depth of field is only 4 inches or slightly under 11 centimeters. The bottom line is that autofocus accuracy is less of an issue with this kind of lens, though it can still be an issue to some degree.

In my field tests I had nothing to be concerned about. The lens focused on what I wanted it to focus on, and I saw one instance of front focus, but mild enough to still be acceptable. And that was shooting at f/1.8; stopping the lens down only further eliminates the chances of missed focus.

Here are a few images and crops from these focus tests.

I’ve never really had an issue with Sigma lenses when it comes to focus speed or noise; the HSM motor focuses quickly and quietly. No concerns there.

I suspect that a lens like, say, the Canon 14mm f/2.8L II is still the better focusing lens, but frankly I doubt that it is going to make much of a difference for most shooters due to the nature of the focal length. I certainly wouldn’t be concerned.

If you happen to be a Sony shooter, using the MC-11 adapter produces good if mixed results (I tested on a Sony a6500). The lens focuses accurately, but is prone to some pulsing before settling on focus. The MC-11 adapter + Sigma lenses is the only adapter combination I’ve yet found that allows for video AF, but just know that the focus motor is not really optimized for this kind of behavior and tends to produce a lot of clicking during Video Servo AF (AF-C) use.

If you own multiple systems and want to utilize the 14mm ART on both systems, then go for it, but I would recommend purchasing a dedicated lens for Sony E Mount if you are a Sony shooter.

Sigma 14mm ART Image Quality

And now we get to the good stuff! Sigma has built a reputation with its ART series for excellent resolution, and the 14mm ART is right up at the top of the heap, out resolving any and all competitors at this focal length. I recommend that you want this video where I break down the resolution performance.

Resolution

The sharpness begins at f/1.8, and while the extreme corners may not yet be tack sharp at f/1.8, a good part of the image circle is. Center resolution is excellent, and, frankly, stopping the lens down will improve contrast a bit and will increase depth of field, but resolution gains will only be minimal in the center 2/3rds of the frame. Check out these crops from across the frame.

There are some lenses that make a significant leap when stopped down just a bit (even a third stop), but I didn’t really notice any difference between f/1.8 and f/2. Stopping on down to f/2.8 gives an uptick in contrast and edge performance looks better in large part to lifting vignette. There is some vignette at f/1.8, but it does significantly improve by f/2.8, which means that it looks better at f/2.8 in terms of vignette) than any wide angle lens from 12-16mm that I’ve used. I do think the sharpness profile extends a little further towards the edge of the frame, but it can be hard to tell what is more resolution and what is just cleared vignette. Here’s a look at crops across the frame.

Starting at f/2.8 I compared the 14mm ART to the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 VC. It ends up being the benchmark for a lot of wide angle lenses because 1) I own it and 2) it is a very good lens. What I found in the comparison is the Sigma is stronger on the edges of the frame, a position it holds even with the two lenses stopped down (though that advantage shrinks somewhat at typically landscape apertures). The Tamron suffers from some lateral chromatic aberrations along the edges of the frame (both green and purple fringing) while the Sigma shows no inclination towards CA at all. In the center portions of the frame the two lenses look pretty similar (which is to say excellent). The Tamron has a bit more micro-contrast and color saturation/accuracy, but it’s not significant. The Sigma is delivering the more consistent image across the frame, and, for landscape purposes, that is significant. Here’s a look at the comparison between the two lenses across the frame at f/5.6.

I came away extremely impressed by the resolution from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART. Not only has Sigma managed to push the envelope in what is possible in maximum aperture at 14mm; they’ve done it while also pushing the envelope in the resolution potential of 14mm. No 14mm (or 15mm) lens that I’m aware resolves as highly as the 14mm ART. Even at closer focus distances the sharpness is exceptional – take a look at this photo of the cat and the crop from it!

Sigma 14mm ART Coma Performance

Another incredibly important metric for such a lens is the coma performance. The single biggest reason for such a wide aperture at such a wide focal length is the light gathering potential. This lens, with a maximum aperture of f/1.8, has 1 1/3 stops more light gathering potential than an f/2.8 lens. What does this mean in real world shooting? Well, for example, a shot like this I took at f/1.8, 15 second shutter speed, and ISO 1600. At ISO 1600 my 5D Mark IV isn’t breaking a sweat, so there isn’t any visible noise in the image.

At f/2.8, however, I would have to be at ISO 4000, where there is definitely more potential for noise. The exceptional performance of many camera bodies at higher ISO settings makes this less of an issue than in times past, but it’s always better to have more light gathering potential than less. The other upside is that you can keep shutter speeds up, which reduces the risk of movement of the stars.

Comatic aberrations are most often seen when distant points of light become deformed. Rather than being a crisp point of light, they will appear to “grow wings” like an insect or be shaped like a flying saucer. I’ve also seen star points stretch and become more like dashes than periods. The best lenses for astrophotography are those that exhibit minimal amounts of coma, and some of the better options I’ve used include the afore-mentioned Tamron, the Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4, and the Zeiss Distagon 15mm f/2.8. The Sigma jumps out as being even more potentially useful because of the larger maximum aperture, but does it pass the coma test?

The answer is yes, and no. Compared to other Sigma options I’ve personally used, this is one of the better performers. It resolves very high (crisp stars), has relatively low vignette (a huge issue for some competitors), and obviously has better light transmission. But it does show some comatic aberrations. They are reserved mostly for the edges of the frame, but I saw a few “flying insects” there. The nature of the very wide 14mm frame means that they aren’t particularly obvious to most eyes (each star point is pretty small in the frame), but those of you for whom this is an issue you will probably notice it. I’ve seen much worse than the 14mm ART, but I’ve also seen better.

For pure astro work I think the Samyang/Rokinon XP 14mm f/2.4 might still be the better option, though you do give up 2/3rds of a stop of light gathering compared to the Sigma (and autofocus, of course!) I think the Sigma 14mm ART works for astro, but Sigma hasn’t entirely solved the coma issue in any lens of theirs that I’ve seen. By contrast this is something that Samyang has been good at for a while.

My opinion is that the positives outweigh the negatives here, but I would have loved to see just a little less coma from the lens. The lens has exceptional chromatic aberration control; it would have been nice if the comatic aberration control was equally exceptional.

Chromatic Aberration, Distortion, and Flare Resistance

A discussion of the distortion in a wide angle lens is a little complicated, as the very nature of the focal length creates a lot of potential for perspective distortion (or the keystone effect). This is really the primary reason that tilt/shift lenses exist. By moving the lens elements in relation to the sensor it allows one to get all of the lines straight when shooting interiors or architecture. Without that capability, however, you will often get a result where it seems like trees or buildings are “leaning” towards the center of the frame. You can reduce this result by bringing the camera up higher, for example, but this sometimes comes at the cost of a less favorable composition.

But this is not actually distortion in a traditional sense. It is the nature of the focal length, not a flaw in the lens itself.

The actual barrel distortion of the lens is fairly minimal. It does bulge a bit in the center, but in mild amounts and without any kind of complex pattern. The standard profile in Lightroom or ACR handles it all fairly well (see above). I feel like there is a bit more distortion than Sigma’s 12-24mm f/4 ART (which is quite exceptional in this area), but this is another strong performance (and a Sigma strength in my experience).

Despite that bulbous front element the lens also does a very good job of resisting flare when the sun is in the frame. Wide open there is a minimal amount of veiling (lost of contrast) near the epicenter of the sun, but next to no ghosting effects (blobs of color).

Stopped down to f/11 there are some very small ghosting artifacts, but they are minimal and unobtrusive. I was very pleased with this performance, as this is an area that the Tamron can struggle (more from side lighting than direct sun).

Chromatic aberration performance is near perfect, with no visible amount of chromatic aberrations (green or purple fringing) showing up in any of my field tests. This is an outstanding performance!

Color and Contrast

I noted earlier that I felt the color rendition from the lens was good but not exceptional. Often Zeiss lenses have a unique “look” to images that doesn’t seem to need additional post processing. The Sigma 14mm ART doesn’t quite fall into that category, but there is a good amount of contrast, that, combined with the complete lack of chromatic aberrations, allows images to seem very crisp. I like the look of the images out of the lens, and, with just a little processing, I think they can look exceptional. Take for example this image, shot at f/1.8.

It’s very crisp even at f/1.8, but looks like a little flat because I purposefully underexposed a bit to give me more highlight room in the sky. A little post processing and the image becomes exceptional:

Wide Open Landscape (Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART)

All in all you won’t have a problem producing stunning images with this lens, though if you have never composed with a lens this wide it may require some retooling of your mental approach to composition.

Remember that you will often need a foreground element to fill in space so that your image doesn’t look “empty”. Here’s a few landscape samples:

I recommend that you check out the Image Galleries to see more sample images from the Sigma 14mm ART.

Conclusion

There are a lot of photographers who have been very excited about this lens, and my time spent with it leaves me to conclude that they have good reason to be. I noted that the lens has some challenges due to its nature (it’s expensive, heavy, and cannot use normal filters), but Sigma deserves some applause here for once again pulling off what no other lens maker has done. They took on the brief of creating an extremely sharp wide angle prime with a record-setting maximum aperture at this focal length and nailed it. The Sigma 14mm ART isn’t perfect, but neither does it have any fatal flaws, either. It’s imperfections (coma, distortion, vignette) are all so mild as to have little true impact on photographers, while its strengths (resolution, flare resistance, lack of chromatic aberrations) should make it appealing to those with high resolution camera systems looking for a landscape lens that can deliver exceptional results. The wide aperture will also appeal to some wedding and event photographers who crave more light gathering (and action stopping!) than what the average lens can provide. I do think the price and weight may discourage some potential buyers, but those for whom these are not major obstacles will undoubtedly be pleased with the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART…another unique lens from Sigma in its ART series.

Pros:

Class leading resolution
Largest maximum aperture ever at 14mm
Excellent flare resistance
Extremely good chromatic aberration control
Low levels of distortion
Effective autofocus system

Cons:

Heaviest lens in its class
Fairly expensive
Not free from coma
Bulbous front elements precludes use of traditional filters

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART Image Galleries

Dustin Abbott

October 31st, 2017

One of Sigma’s most hotly anticipated lenses of the year is this one – the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM ART. It sets the new record for maximum aperture at such a wide angle (this is a full frame compatible lens), and that makes it interesting for a lot of reasons. It looks very similar in “person” to the 14-24mm f/4 ART lens I previously reviewed, but obviously it is a very different kind of lens. I look forward to giving this one a spin for shooting astrophotography work (that huge maximum aperture is a big deal for this!) I will be running the lens through my standard battery of tests over the next few weeks, but in the meantime you call check out images of and from the Sigma 14mm here. To me the biggest competitor to this lens is the Rokinon XP 14mm f/2.4 I reviewed earlier this year, so you might want to check out that review in anticipation of this one.

Photos of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

Photos from the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Zeiss Milvus 2/50M Image Gallery

Dustin Abbott

October 22nd, 2017

I reviewed the “classic” Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 50mm f/2 a few years ago, and concluded that it was a very compelling 50mm option for those that A) are not off-put by manual focus and B) want a much magnification figure than what most 50mm options provide. I am typically delighted by the focus action of Zeiss lenses, but I was less enchanted by the Makro-Planar 50mm, which had focus action definitely on the “heavier/stiffer” side. I was interested to see if the Milvus version of the lens had solved that ergonomic issue, and was intrigued in seeing if the newer Zeiss Milvus 2/50M lens stands out as a serious option even after the market has been saturated with a number of new 50mm lenses. I’ll be working to answer that question over the next few weeks. In the meantime, however, enjoy the images that I produce as a part of my review process. Shooting with a Zeiss lens is always a joy, and I think these images will tell the story why!

Images of the Zeiss Milvus 2/50M

Images Taken with the Zeiss Milvus 2/50M

Images Taken with the Zeiss Milvus 2/50M on Sony APS-C

Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. You can also make a donation here if you would like. Thank you for your support.

Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52018DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!

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Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Review

Dustin Abbott

October 10th, 2017

There are few lenses more important to a lens makers lineup than the 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. A 24-70mm is valued because of the versatility of its zoom range, which covers a number of very important focal lengths, including 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 70mm. All of these (save perhaps 70mm), are focal lengths that prime lenses are sold in, and the reasonably wide aperture of f/2.8 means that photographers can still that shallow depth of field “pro look” to their shots for events and weddings. I personally have most often used a combination of a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lenses to shoot weddings and events. Tamron was the very first to come to market with a stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 lens (the SP 24-70mm f/2.8 VC USD), and it could be effectively argued that it was that lens that really launched their recent renaissance as a maker of serious, professional grade lenses. Now, some five years later, Tamron has delivered their second generation stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom – the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 – and the progress of the past five years shows in essentially every detail of the 24-70 G2.

I will confess to having a bit of a soft spot for the original 24-70mm VC lens. It was the first of my major reviews, and it was on the strength of that review that I began to have conversations with retailers and distributors about loaning me lenses. I had purchased a copy of that lens, and used it for over 4 years on multiple continents and for more than 15,000 photos. It served me well, and paid for itself many times over in commercial work. I thought it was a highly competitive lens in a lot of ways, but it did have a few notable weaknesses. Most often criticized was the slowish autofocus speed, some “onion bokeh” (concentric rings in specular highlights), and a few quirks in the VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization system. But when I began to evaluate the 24-70 G2, it became very clear that Tamron has strongly benefitted from being the first to come to the market with a stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, as the G2 version shows all the signs of being a more polished, mature lens than the competition. If you want a quick take on the lens, you can check out the review I wrote for PhotoNews Magazine here.

Prefer to watch your reviews? Click the video below to see my full video review.

Build Quality

Comparing the two generations of Tamron’s 24-70mm lenses side by side reveals just how much Tamron’s design philosophy has matured (which also shows the maturity of Tamron as a company). The “G1” (A007) looks pretty dated when set side by side with the G2 (A032), which is less a knock on the older lens and more a compliment to the decidedly more upscale look that recent Tamron lens have adopted. Materials are improved, the design philosophy has a clean, modern look, and the handling is excellent. I encourage you to watch this video to see an interactive look at the design and materials of the lens:

Even the newer Tamron front and rear caps are among my favorites from any lens maker. The pinch mechanism on the front caps have a nicer movement than others, and the cap itself feels substantive rather than flimsy.

Tamron has moved to a metal (aluminum alloy) for the body materials of its pro-grade lenses, which results in a nice balance between durability, feel, and weight. That’s not to say that the lens hasn’t put on some weight. The A007 lens (G1) weighed 29.1 oz (825g), while the new A032 (G2) lens now weighs 31.8 oz (904g). This is definitely heavier than the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II (805g) but significantly lighter than the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 ART (1020g). The Sigma comes across as being unnecessarily heavy, particularly when one considers that it employs less metal in the housing and doesn’t surpass the others in sharpness. The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II comes in at just over 800g, so it is the lightest of the bunch. The additional weight of the G2 over the G1 lens seems appropriate when you feel the huge improvement in materials (not to mention additional functionality in the autofocus and VC systems). For practical purposes, it doesn’t really feel any heavier to me, either.

Tamron has also improved the quality of the weather sealing, with more internal seals along with a fluorine coating on the front element to make it more resistant to oil and moisture (which has the added benefit of making it easier to clean). The rise of fluorine coatings on front elements has made me (personally) less inclined towards adding protective filters on such lenses, which allows the lens to perform more optimally. My observation over the years is that a good UV filter doesn’t negatively impact image quality (nor does it improve it), but I have noted a greater likelihood of flare and ghosting when the sun is in the frame. It is primarily for this reason (since I like to backlight!) that I prefer the bare lens…if I feel it is suitably protected by a lens hood and quality coatings.

While the handling of the new Tamron and Sigma lenses is more similar than different, there is one definite area where I favor the Tamron design. Both lenses feature a fairly narrow manual focus ring, but the Sigma’s has only a few millimeters of separation from the wider zoom ring with only a flush smooth surface in between. As a result, it is fairly easy to inadvertently hit the other ring when trying to move the opposite ring. The Tamron has a slightly wider amount of separation, but, more importantly, there is a flaring of the barrel from the focus ring to the zoom ring, putting both on different planes and making inadvertent touches far less likely. This tapered area between also becomes a nice place to support the lens, with a nice ergonomic feel. My least favorite part of the Canon 24-70L II design is when trying to dismount the lens; the zoom ring begins right after the lens mount, leaving one without a natural place to grip and twist the lens off the lens mount.

The Tamron zooms in and out smoothly, with a nice amount of resistance (damping). The manual focus ring is fine but unexceptional. Full time manual override is available, but there is only about 115 degrees of focus throw, so this is not a lens designed around manual focus. There is a distance window that does help with manual focus.

The zoom ring moves in the “Nikon” direction (to the right), which will continue to irritate some Canon shooters who would prefer that all their lenses zoom in the same direction. This isn’t something that I notice much, myself, but I also use a wide variety of gear all the time so my brain is accustomed to adjusting to little differences in the gear I test. The zoom ring has a nice amount of resistance, and the single barrel extends about 1 ½ inches without wobble, though there is a little bit of a “pump” feel of air being pushed during zoom. This may put the dust resistance to the test.

The 24-70 G2 is listed as being 3.48”/88.4mm (Diameter) and 4.4”/111.8mm in length, while the Sigma 24-70 ART is listed at 3.5”/88mm (Diameter) and 4.24”/107.6mm in length. There’s something a little off in those specs, however, as a quick visual inspection confirms that the Tamron is a little longer, but when measuring the girth of the two lenses I found confirmation of something else I visually confirmed: the Sigma is definitely the thicker of the two lenses, measuring a half centimeter wider around (5mm). The Tamron appears longer and slimmer, and the Sigma appears shorter and squatter. My own measurements confirm this.

The 24-70 G2 shows no inclination towards zoom creep, but, just in case, it does have a nicely designed zoom lock switch (something the Sigma lacks). The two switches on the barrel (AF/MF and VC ON/OFF) are in a raised section, but the switches themselves are low profile to avoid any accidental engagement. Both the Sigma and Tamron lenses share an 82mm front filter thread, though the Tamron employs metal rather than plastic threads (the jury is still out on which is actually more durable over the long haul, though metal certainly seems more premium). There are nine rounded aperture blades, and both Canon and Nikon mounts receive full electromagnetic diaphragm control.

Tamron has employed a locking mechanism on the lens hood for the first time. While I’m not entirely convinced that locking mechanisms on hoods are really required if the hood is well engineered, but I will note that I vastly prefer Tamron’s lock to Canon’s, as the Canon’s lock button is quite small and requires a pointed finger to engage it, while Tamron’s is about twice as wide and easy to depress even with a thumb. I find depressing it and releasing the hood a more natural ergonomic movement than on any of the Canon models I have that employ a lock mechanism.

It is also worth noting that the two switches are very nicely engineered and low profile to avoid accidental engagement. They move with a very precise, definite click. The two switches are for AF/MF (full time manual override is always available) and ON/OFF for the VC system (more options for the VC can be programmed through the Tap In Console).

The 24-70 G2 is a beautifully built lens that feels very professional grade. The two copies I reviewed (one sourced from the USA, the other from Canada) both noted that they were made in Japan (other than the lens hood, which is made in the Philippines). I think that most photographers save those Canon shooters who despise the “opposite” rotation (the contrarian argument is that everyone save Canon focuses and zooms in that direction) will be delighted with the build and handling of the lens. It seems decades newer rather than only five years newer than the G1 lens. It is worth noting that the Canon 24-105L II that I had on hand at the same time seems noticeably cheaper and more “plasticky” by comparison. The Canon 24-70L II is a tried and tested lens, but the Tamron looks and feels higher grade in terms of materials.

24-70 G2 Vibration Compensation Performance

One of the chief knocks against the previous generation A007 lens was that while it was the first stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, the stabilization was less than optimal. It offered around three stops of stability, but more objectionable was the fact that it could be a little “jerky” when turning on/off, sometimes shifting the viewfinder image a bit. It also didn’t work exceptionally well for video, which, of course, is one of the chief reasons for buying a stabilized zoom lens. Finally, it was a bit slow to engage, so to get the best performance out it required one to be a bit more deliberate in shooting. You needed to give it a second or two to fully engage before taking the shot to reap the benefits.

I was reminded of this while performing a test of the stabilization systems on a few lenses. I was doing a real-world test, where one would bring the camera up for the shot, focus, and quickly shoot. I would encourage you to watch this video to see the test itself along with other measures of lens’ performance.

For this type of test, and with those types of shutter speeds (1/15^th, 1/10, and 1/6^th second), the VC on the A007 was next to useless. Tamron clearly wanted to address this in the second generation, and this statement was made in the press release: “The new A032 is equipped with Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) system. Adding an MPU dedicated to VC processing unleashes a new-generation algorithm, ensuring the highest vibration compensation ability in the class (CIPA level of 5 stops). Even in low light or with slow shutter speeds, photographers can enjoy shake-free handheld shooting with ease and comfort.”

It should be noted that achieving the best performance from the VC system for Tamron’s recent releases requires using the Tap In Console and selecting “Capture Priority” mode. Capture Priority mode emphasizes stabilizing the actual photo over trying to stabilize the viewfinder. Those with shaky hands that feel the shake negatively impacts their actual composing should leave the lens in the standard mode, as this still provides the best stabilization of any of the three competitors I tested (Sigma OS ART, G1, and G2 lenses).

Here’s crops from each lens to show consistency in results, first at 1/15th second shutter speed (all tests were done at 70mm):

Tamron G2:

Tamron G1:

Sigma ART:

The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II I had on hand gets a fail here, as it doesn’t have any stabilization and would just look terrible in this comparison. In this first comparison, the G2 gave slightly more consistent results than the Sigma, and the G1 was a distant third.

Now we will shift to 1/10th of a second shutter speed.

Tamron G2:

Tamron G1:

Sigma ART:

Only the G2 performed well in this comparison. The G1 showed the limitations of its system, and the Sigma’s result was surprising, particularly considering the following:

Comparison at 1/6th second:

Tamron G2:

Tamron G1:

Sigma ART:

Oddly enough the Sigma turned in a much stronger performance at 1/6th than 1/10th. The G1 really struggled at that shutter speed, and the G2 continued its consistent performance, performing in a nicely linear fashion. Still, I thought the Sigma did as well at this shutter speed as the G2. I got by far the greatest consistency out of the G2 lens, which showed its maturity as a second rather than first generation lens. These tests were done with the 24-70 G2 in the standard mode, not Capture Priority, which would render slightly better results. I was able to get some crisp shots at 70mm and shutter speeds as low as 1/6^th second. I don’t really find testing beyond those limits to be very practical as the very act of taking the photo creates significant movement. Here’s a 70mm image along with a 24mm image and crop – all at 0.6 second shutter speed.

Video shooters can also program a “Viewfinder Priority” mode that is best suited for video, with emphasis on ongoing smoothness to provide the best footage results. I recommend purchasing a Tap In Console because of the ability to maximize the performance of your lenses along with the ability to quickly apply firmware updates at home and thus ensuring ongoing compatibility with future camera systems.

Beyond the raw performance, however, the 24-70 G2 also provides a smoother VC performance, with quieter operation, smoother transitions on and off, and generally good behavior all around. Tamron’s new policy of assigning a dedicated MPU (processor) to their VC systems definitely pays off with solid performance.

Autofocus Performance

Another area of criticism with the A007 lens five years ago was the fact that it definitely wasn’t as quick to focus as the first party lenses from Canon and Nikon. It needed a split second to “spool up” before the elements began to move, and there was a slight “shtick” sound as they moved. This was a clear sign of a need for a bit more torque in Tamron’s USD (Ultrasonic Drive) AF motor despite it being a true ring-type focus motor. Tamron pledged to address that in the G2 version. This from their press release: “This innovative control system uses a Dual MPU design with enhanced computing capacity. The MPUs have powerful, built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processor) blocks that achieve quicker and more precise AF performance, and more consistently powerful Vibration Compensation. The features combine to provide outstanding performance at night and in low light.”

The language is a bit murky, but what it boils down to is that Tamron has moved to using two separate processors. This has allowed them to not only achieve better VC performance (as previously addressed), but also gives them more processing power for autofocus, which has resulted in more speed and great focus accuracy. The last point deserves an asterisk, however, as I have found that Tamron’s new lenses deliver exceptional autofocus accuracy…IF…you spend the time with the Tap In Console and carefully calibrate them. This can be very time-consuming process (particularly with a zoom lens), as you can calibrate different focal lengths at three different focus distances. It is, frankly, more time that I have to invest in review lenses, though I have done it on enough recent Tamron lenses (I own three Tap In compatible lenses) to verify that one can achieve exceptional results if you make the investment of time. I just did a standard AFMA on the two copies of the 24-70 G2 I used for this review. They both needed a fair amount of calibration (not unusual in my experience), but began to deliver consistent focus results after that calibration. Tamron seems to have done an excellent job of delivering the ability to achieve great focus accuracy for those willing to calibrate them. From what I understand, Tamron’s next goal is to develop lenses that require little calibration at all.

A huge area of improvement is in focus speed. I did a video segment where I covered focus speed (and noise), and found that the 24-70 G2 delivered [very] slightly faster results than the Sigma and hugely faster results than the G1. I would venture that there is now no real first party advantage in terms of focus speed (and even accuracy with a good calibration), which puts more pressure on Canon and Nikon when the G2 undercuts their price by a wide margin (the Canon without stabilization is more than 50% more, while the Nikkor lens with stabilization is more than twice the price). I didn’t notice any difference in focus speed when I compared the Canon 24-70L II and the Tamron in terms of focus speed and confidence in locking focus. That’s a HUGE improvement over where the previous generation Tamron was in this comparison.

The previous generation Tamron was competitive optically (and on price, of course), but the 24-70 G2 is now competitive on every level while still undercutting everyone on price. I predict that this lens will do very, very well for Tamron.

24-70 G2 on Sony

Many modern lenses work quite well on Sony E mount cameras via adapter, and the 24-70 G2 is no different. It focuses well via the Sigma MC-11 adapter, and I got nice looking results. Unfortunately I only have access to Sony APS-C E mount, but the results were pleasing on my Sony a6500. You can see a gallery from this combination here:

When using the MC-11 and the Tamron, there are only two focus modes available (AF-S and AF-C), but focus is actually quite snappy. I don’t know that I would rely on the face tracking in video mode as the tested combination didn’t want to consistently engage AF-C focus during video recording. For stills use, however, this is a nice added bonus, and might be a much more affordable option to some than the very expensive Sony G-Master lens.

Image Quality

It can be hard to judge the image quality of zoom lenses like these in a vacuum, so I brought in a few natural competitors, including the new Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 OS ART lens that I recently reviewed, the previous generation Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC lens, a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II, and even a second copy of the 24-70 G2 sourced from a different country (one from Canada; one from the USA). I value having multiple copies of a lens so that I can (at least in a limited sense) test for sample variation. I would encourage you to watch my interactive videos here for a closer look at the images themselves, but I will summarize my findings here.

Resolution Comparisons

First, a few general observations:

The two copies of the 24-70 G2 were quite consistent. There were a few moments where I felt a comparison favored one or the other, but all in all they were more similar than different. It’s nice to see this kind of consistency.
The rumor that the G2 just recycled the optics from the first generation is somewhat misleading. When I inquired with some contacts within the Tamron organization, they pointed me to this, “The use of new specialized, high quality glass materials that offer greater optical transmittance are used in the new model A032 to ensure superior color reproduction and even greater sharpness than the previous model. At the same time, the application of Tamron’s exclusive nanotechnology-based eBAND Coating in the new model substantially curbs the ghosting and flare that are prone to occur in backlit photography. Together, the engineers have successfully improved the overall optical performance of the lens.” So, while the optical formula is the same (the number of elements and their placement), better materials and better coatings result in improved performance. In my testing, I found that the “G1” lens had similar performance in the center of the frame at the tested focal lengths, but it clearly lagged behind the G2 lens in corner performance.

At most focal lengths the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II has the strongest performance in terms of absolute resolution and microcontrast. There is some give and take with both the Sigma and the Tamron lenses at different focal lengths and spots across the frame, but I give the edge in both sharpness and microcontrast to the Canon.
At minimum focus distances the Canon and Tamron G2 are roughly equal. The Sigma has a bit more magnification (0.22x vs 0.21x, but doesn’t resolve quite as well):

Stopped down to f/4 and beyond there is no real difference between the Canon and G2 lenses. There is give and take across the frame but no clear advantage for either lens. This is also true of the Sigma around 50mm, where it is actually the best lens of the bunch.
The G2 lens is stronger than the Sigma on the wide end and along the edges of the image frame. The Sigma is strongest in the middle of the range (35-50mm), where it slightly edges the Tamron in the center wide open, but either ties it or slightly lags behind it on the edges. The sharpness difference between the lenses is not significant, but what is noticeable, however, is that while the Sigma improves less when stopped down (particularly along the edges), making 24-70 G2 the more effective landscape lens.
The Tamron demonstrates the best light transmission of any of the options, with the Sigma requiring the most light.
On the negative side, the 24-70 G2 showed less wide open contrast than any of the options. Stopping down even 1/3rd of a stop to f/3.2 shows a marked improvement. I did a number of side by side comparisons with the lens at f/2.8 and then at f/3.2, and significant improvements could be seen across the frame. Here are comparison crops from across the frame (Left, Center, Right) that show the difference between f/2.8 and f/3.2:

At 24mm and infinity, the Tamron and Canon lenses gave very similar performances. The Canon had slightly more contrast center of the frame and was slightly sharper on the left side, while the Tamron was the sharper on the right side. Both are very effective landscape lenses.

Sharpness Comparisons

All tests tripod mounted, Live View focused, and with 2 second mirror lockup delay. All crops are Center, Left, Right. Row 1 is Canon, Row 2 is Tamron, Row 3 is Sigma.

24mm sharpness results: f/2.8, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

24mm Sharpness results: f/4, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

50mm Sharpness results: f/2.8, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

50mm Sharpness results: f/4, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

70mm Sharpness results: f/2.8, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

70mm Sharpness results: f/4, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron | Sigma

I also tested the lenses at infinity, and was particularly interested in the 24mm results for landscape purposes. Here’s a look at the image globally (from the Tamron G2):

24mm Sharpness sharpness results: f/2.8, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Sigma | Tamron

Stopping down the lenses to a more typical landscape aperture of f/5.6 reveals the following:

24mm sharpness results: f/5.6, mirror lockup, tripod mounted: Canon | Tamron

In this final test, I added the variable of the image stabilization system. The Canon is the sharpest lens in a controlled environment, but when handholding the lens at typical shutter speeds (1/50th to 1/100th) second, the situation changes.

24mm Sharpness Results f/2.8, 1/80th Second handheld: Canon | Canon 2 | Tamron | Tamron 2

You can see that the Tamron produces more consistent results over the two sets even at this mild shutter speed/focal length combo due to having the VC system. If we go to 70mm and retain the shutter speed of 1/80th, what happens?

70mm Sharpness Results f/2.8, 1/80th Second handheld: Canon | Canon 2 | Tamron | Tamron 2

We see that even at this moderate shutter speed (and the not extreme 30 MP resolution of the 5D Mark IV) that already the sharpness advantage of the Canon is lost. Which is the sharper lens now?

The Tamron is the better choice handheld even at moderate shutter speeds. If we lower the shutter speed to even 1/50th second, this becomes even more apparent.

70mm Sharpness Results f/2.8, 1/50th Second handheld: Canon | Tamron

Check out the difference between the two at 1/50th second – not an extreme shutter speed at all!

It becomes apparent that the effective VC system of the Tamron allows it to achieve more consistent real world results than the Canon, as even the slightest bit of motion blur from camera shake actually diminishes apparent sharpness (even before blur actually manifests). It has been noted that high-megapixel bodies (like those from Canon and Nikon) actually emphasize that blur due to the number of pixels it occupies, making a good image stabilization system all the more important. So, while the Canon is sharper in an absolute sense, that may not be the case for you in real world results. It is a reminder of why Canon needs to invest in producing a good stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom.

I have shot hundreds of comparison images in a number of different settings, lighting conditions, and environments, and my conclusion is that while there is some give and take with each of these lenses in terms of optical performance, the difference between them in minimal. There is no standout here; just a lot of good performing lenses that surpass what was available in the past. It’s easy to get lost in the minutia of these comparisons, so check out these real world images along with many others in the Image Gallery here.

Other Image Quality Aspects

In this secondary video, I also tested a few other metrics, including flare resistance and vignette control.

The G2 is also far more flare resistant (better coatings?) than either the older Tamron G1 lens or the Sigma ART (flare and ghosting is unfortunately a weakness for it), and the Tamron G2 held contrast better at wide apertures than the Canon (which showed a bit of veiling), but the G2 does show a bit of circular ghosting at small apertures that the Canon doesn’t.

The 24-70 G2 has a bit less vignette than any of the other lenses. The A007 (G1) lens would show a very heavy vignette right in the corners of the frame at certain focal lengths, but this has been eliminated. Even the Canon vignettes more than the Tamron.
Chromatic aberration control is excellent for the 24-70 G2, Sigma, and Canon options. There is no real field issue with chromatic aberrations.
All lenses show fairly similar distortion characteristics. The Canon shows slightly less than the Tamron or Sigma. Here’s a look at the Tamron 24-70 G2 at 24mm, 25mm, 50mm, and 70mm.

There is some obvious barrel distortion at 24mm, which is not optimal but fairly typical for the class. This is the only significant distortion issue on the lens.

I saw no evidence of focus breathing with any lens at my test distances (from 7 feet to infinity), nor any real evidence at minimum focus distance (where the Canon and Tamron share a minimum focus distance and reproduction ratio, while the Sigma focuses down a bit closer and has a 0.22x rather than 0.21x magnification).
The “onion bokeh” (concentric rings in bokeh highlights) from the G1 lens has not been completely eliminated, but with the 24-70 G2 it is as if someone has used a “softening” brush on the circular highlights. The circles are softer, the rings less apparent, and the inner line in the bokeh circle is less hard and defined. As a result, real world bokeh is softer and smoother, though in some photos you will continue to see evidence of concentric circles. The Sigma’s bokeh circle lacks the rings, but has somewhat harder busyness in the bokeh circle. Its more “different” than better or worse, and real world results between the lenses seem about equal.

Color rendition from the 24-70 G2 is quite excellent. Nothing to complain about here:

APS-C Performance

I used the 24-70 G2 on both Sony mirrorless APS-C (Sony a6500) via the Sigma MC-11 adapter and for a series of tests with the Canon EOS 80D. I have a small gallery of images from the Sony combination on the Galleries page for the 24-70 G2. In the Canon 80D tests, I shot a series of sharpness comparisons with the previous generation Tamron 24-70 VC, the Sigma 24-70 ART, and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II that I was also reviewing at the time. When reviewing those images, I concluded that most of my observations from full frame remained true, although I felt the wide open lack of center contrast was magnified somewhat. My APS-C results also seemed to suggest a centering issue that I didn’t observe on full frame. The left side performance was very strong (better than anything else I compared it to), but the right side was noticeably softer. Very odd.

When compared to other lenses on APS-C, I found that the 24-70 G2 was often the weakest of the bunch in the center of frame wide open, but competitive along the periphery of the frame. Stopped down the performance was consistently good across the focal plane. The Sigma, in my opinion, actually survived the transition to APS-C a bit better, at least in the copies I compared, and would probably be my preferred lens optically of the two on APS-C. It should also be noted that you will have a few more options with the Sigma lens on Sony mirrorless via the Sigma MC-11 adapter for the fairly obvious reason that the Sigma adapter favors Sigma lenses. Your mileage may vary with other adapters.

Here are a few different comparisons at various focal lengths and aperture values. If you see “24-70mm”, that refers to the first generation Tamron 24-70 VC lens.

In short, the 24-70 G2 performs okay but not exceptionally on APS-C. I was a little disappointed by these sharpness results.

Conclusion

It’s kind of hard to argue against the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 lens. There’s really only one significant criticism I can make; wide open contrast (and sharpness at 70mm) could be better. That lack of wide open “bite” was my chief objection to the 70-200 G2 as well. A slight closing down of the aperture to even f/3.2 provides a nice uptick in contrast and even resolution, and the excellent light transmission of the lens means that you are actually still on par with the Sigma in terms of light gathering. I was also less than impressed with the APS-C results, and feel that crop sensor shooters might be better served by a different lens. Beyond that, however, this is a lens that shows that it is Tamron’s second generation of a stabilized 24-70mm f/2.8 lens; it has taken big strides in almost every way compared to the previous generation lens, and feels like a very professional grade, very mature lens. In controlled tests, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II still has the edge in absolute sharpness and microcontrast at wide apertures, but its lack of an image stabilizer means that real world results will often actually favor the Tamron (particularly if you shoot with a high resolution body!). When you add to this the significant price advantage of the Tamron (at $1199 USD it undercuts all the competition), you have what is arguably the most well-rounded option among the current 24-70mm lens. That makes the 24-70 G2 a winner in my book, and if you are in the market for a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, I would recommend that you give the Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 VC G2 lens a long look.

Pros:

Beautifully constructed, professional grade body
Advanced weather sealing + fluorine coating on front element
Fast, accurate autofocus that is smoother than competitors during video focus racking
Improved sharpness profile that extends to the edge of frame
Smoother bokeh quality compared to previous gen lens
Improved flare resistance and coatings
Enhanced VC performance that provides industry leading stabilization
Excellent light transmission compared to competitors
Excellent chromatic aberration control
Tap In Console compatibility
Excellent price and warranty

Cons:

Wide open contrast lags competitors
Canon 24-70L II is still sharper in an absolute sense – particularly at 70mm f/2.8
Fairly strong barrel distortion at 24mm
APS-C results somewhat unimpressive
Canon shooters will note that the lens zooms in the opposite direction to Canon lenses (in the Nikon direction)

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