Review by Klaus Schroiff, published October 2022

Introduction

Traditionally, most Tamron lenses had a somewhat plasticy feel to them, and this didn't really change with the G2 lens. However, the plastic quality seems to have improved somewhat, and the "sculpted" shape looks a bit more premium. Tamron lists the "shinier" finish as an advantage. The zoom and focus rings operate smoothly (and smoother compared to the G1). The G2 lens is moisture resistant, although it isn't clear whether it's also dust resistant. Just like most standard zoom lenses, the inner lens tube extends when zooming towards the long end of the zoom range. The Tamron lens no longer features a dedicated focus switch. Instead, they moved a customizable button - which can act as a focus switch if configured accordingly. This can be configured via a USB cable and Tamron's "Lens Utility" software. A petal-shaped lens hood is part of the package.

The G1 lens with its RXD (Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive) had a pretty fast AF already, and the G2 lens is even snappier thanks to its new VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque linear Drive). Tamron claims a speed gain of a factor of 2 and we can see that. Manual focusing is very precise - probably also a benefit of moving from a stepping to a linear motor. An interesting aspect of the G2 lens is also the improved close-focus capability with a max magnification of 1:2.7 at 28mm and 1:4.1 at 75mm. This is quite remarkable for a standard zoom lens. An image stabilizer has not been implemented.