Sample Shots

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Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 66.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/500s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 44.0mm Aperture: f/4.0 Exposure 1/640s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 62.0mm Aperture: f/5.6 Exposure 1/500s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 70.0mm Aperture: f/5.6 Exposure 1/320s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 44.0mm Aperture: f/4.0 Exposure 1/800s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 70.0mm Aperture: f/2.8 Exposure 1/1600s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 24.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/160s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 70.0mm Aperture: f/4.0 Exposure 1/800s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 48.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/250s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 52.0mm Aperture: f/4.0 Exposure 1/400s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 58.0mm Aperture: f/5.6 Exposure 1/200s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 34.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/500s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 52.0mm Aperture: f/4.5 Exposure 1/500s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 42.0mm Aperture: f/2.8 Exposure 1/2000s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 58.0mm Aperture: f/7.1 Exposure 1/500s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 70.0mm Aperture: f/6.3 Exposure 1/400s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 125 Focal Length 24.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/125s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 200 Focal Length 70.0mm Aperture: f/8.0 Exposure 1/320s
Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 200 Focal Length 48.0mm Aperture: f/5.6 Exposure 1/200s	Make NIKON CORPORATION Model NIKON D3X ISO Speed 200 Focal Length 55.0mm Aperture: f/2.8 Exposure 1/4000s

Verdict

Lateral CAs are very low which contributes to the high sharpness perception. The vignetting is very pronounced at f/2.8 but this is actually quite normal in this (full format) lens class. You should either stop down to f/5.6 or take care of this during post processing. Distortions are primarily an issue at 24mm. They are a bit higher than average here but not a significant problem anymore from around 35mm onward. The quality of the bokeh is somewhat mixed. It is quite smooth in the background but the foreground as well as bokeh highlights can be nervous. Bokeh fringing is not an issue to worry about.

So far we were mostly unimpressed by the build quality of Tamron lenses. However, we are happy to report that things have improved with the Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC. The lens barrel is mostly made of plastics but it is of high quality and it is tightly assembled. The new weather sealing is very welcome, of course. Same goes for the very fast and silent USD (ultrasonic AF drive). The Tamron lens has one unique selling point: it is the first fast standard zoom lens to feature an image stabilizer and based on what we have experienced during the field trip we would rate it with a 3 f-stops efficiency. Your mileage may vary here a bit into the one or the other direction depending on your shake characteristic.

The Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC is not a perfect lens - none really are - but regarding the sum of its qualities it is a worthy competitor for Nikon's AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. In any case it is very hard to beat from a price perspective!

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