Review by Klaus Schroiff, published November 2019

Introduction

There are two things about this lens that the spec sheet can only hint at but which actually need to be experienced in reality: its size and weight. The image above gives an impression of the former, the weight needs to be felt, though. Weight as in 1.1 Kg. In terms of build quality, the G2 variant is clearly an improvement over its predecessor. There are still some plastic parts but they are of higher quality now and the base portion of the lens is actually made of metal. It's also moisture-proof. Fluorine Coating on the front element also helps to repel water drops as well as dust. There's an inner lens tube that moves when zooming but the outer physical length remains constant.

Like many recent ultra-wide zoom lenses, the Tamron features a huge front element, protected by a hood that actually consists of two parts: a fixed one on the outside, plus a smaller rippled inner one, that moves with the front group while zooming. If you want to use front filters, you will be out of luck here but you can at least take advantage of a rear filter holder for gelatin filters.

The SP 15-30/2.8 VC G2 uses Tamron's version of an ultrasonic drive called USD. AF operations are virtually silent and fast albeit the precision could have been better in our example at least. Manual focusing is always possible in one-shot AF mode.