the old "should I keep this lens" thread!!

[kawter2]

I have been lurkingin arroung the Tamron 28-75mm threads and they were soooo convincing that I had to get one.. Now that I have it, it doesn't seem to be doing as good as those that i have seen.

also this was shot with +2 sharpening in-camera all tripod mounted with timer & mlu to avoid the shakes

Do you think im being too anal or is there an issue here?


50mm f2.8

[kawter2]

here is it @ 50mm

[tim]

I did a similar test with my lens, you can take a look if you like. It's 500kB or so, here's the link (http://mrwild.co.nz/unprotected/potn/TamronTestShots.jpg). At some point i'll take that image down and put it into my test gallery (http://mrwild.co.nz/ExperimentalGallery/Tests/index.html). Any questions PM me, i'll answer in the new year :)

[Hellashot]

Have you entertained the thought of a defective lens that you might be able to take back and get a free replacement?

[kawter2]

Have you entertained the thought of a defective lens that you might be able to take back and get a free replacement?


That is more or less what i was asking. Do you think that the images are on par with what this lens should produce, or should it be taken back and exchanged as defective. The hard thing is that it is really sharp >5.6 but I have seen several others, like Tim's who getsharp at 2.8 as well

Has anyone sent one of these back? did you go through tamron or the vendor. Can you please share your experiences, I am very hesitant about it

[tim]

If it doesn't work right, send it back to where you got it. If they don't accept it, send it to Tamron. No needs to be nervous about returning a defective item.

[pcasciola]

You definitely have a problem with that lens. My Tamron is pretty sharp wide open. I just did the same shot of the box. This is the Tamron @50mm, 1/13th, f/2.8, ISO 200. No tripod, no remote shutter release, but I did enable mirror lockup. And this is a 100% crop.

http://www.casciola.com/pics/tamron_f28_box.jpg

And here's the full shot just resized for the web, no sharpening applied:
http://www.casciola.com/pics/tamron_f28_box_full.jpg
http://www.casciola.com/pics/Tamron_f28_box_full.jpg

[pcasciola]

Kawter2,

Just curious, is yours one of the "Assembled in China, Made in Japan" models, or just "Made in Japan" (next to the serial number on the lens). I've heard there are more worse copies among the "Assembled in China" ones.

[kawter2]

Kawter2,

Just curious, is yours one of the "Assembled in China, Made in Japan" models, or just "Made in Japan" (next to the serial number on the lens). I've heard there are more worse copies among the "Assembled in China" ones.


Yes, it is assembled in China..


Is that BAD!!! Yikes I had no clue!!

Is it still a legit lens, or is that like grey market?

[pcasciola]

There is nothing wrong with one's that are marked "assembled in china" other than it seems that there is a higher percentage of bad copies of those. Mine is also assembled in china, but I guess in this case I was lucky enough to get a decent one.

[boone]

I recently got this lens and tried the same shot to compare. 51mm, f2.8, 1/20 second, ISO 100, tripod, mirror lockup. I did an autolevels in Photoshop since the white balance was off. My lens is an "Assembled in China" model.

http://boonedocks.net/images/tamron_test1.jpg

[kawter2]

WOW i must say I feel better for being unsatisfyied.. Next time i will hae to bit the few dollars and buy it in a an actual store instead of the internet, now i'll still be without the lens while i wait for it to ship and them to return!!!


URGGHH I guess that is the tradeoff for a $300 lens that performs close too a 2.8 L you trade off quality controll (PS L owners please don't flame me I said "close too") ;)

[22littlereasons]

I just bought the same Tamron lens a few weeks ago, reading probably all the same threads that proclaimed the lens as being something close to the second coming of Christ. After a few weeks I'm pretty satisfied considering the cost of the lens. I'm a bit disappointed with the slow speed of the AF, but otherwise everything else was OK. Hey, my expectations were low to begin with... and I've been pleasantly satisfied. However, I'd prefer L glass anyday, but for now - ignorance is bliss. *s*

[kawter2]

Just got off the phone with onecall http://www.onecall.com thay said that it is a compatibility isue with canon. They also said that they have had several of these "compatability issues" and rarely are the customers satisfyied.

Bottom line they told me that they would not exchange the product because they felt that this would be a never ending cycle, but they would accept the product as a return

There staff was VERY polite, but I feel like im stuck in the middle here

opinions??

[boone]

Maybe you could double-check your lens. Try the same f2.8 shots again. Be super careful with the focus and make sure that the face of the box is exactly parallel to the sensor of the camera. My first couple test shots were off.

From all the threads I've seen on this lens around here, I can imagine there's a lot of people trying to find a more perfect version, but it might be a fruitless task.

[kawter2]

Maybe you could double-check your lens. Try the same f2.8 shots again. Be super careful with the focus and make sure that the face of the box is exactly parallel to the sensor of the camera. My first couple test shots were off.

From all the threads I've seen on this lens around here, I can imagine there's a lot of people trying to find a more perfect version, but it might be a fruitless task.

Ok well I did take the same 2.8 shots again but..... I got the an new copy. (Went to samy's and am just going to return the other for a refund. IMO the diference is staggering!!

Opinions? (and not just the fact that my WB isn't screwy this time :) )

50mm @ 2.8

[kawter2]

and here is a sample of how shoarp this one is @5.6 shot @40mm

http://ericcotter.com/another.jpg

[pcasciola]

Wow, that looks a whole lot better.

Are you part of the Tamron 28-75mm lover's club now, too? :D

Or did the bad copy still leave a sour taste in your mouth?

[Fairyan]

hmm, i guess I have a bad copy too?? I see some people posting very sharp images at f/2.8.

I used a tripot, iso 200 and was about 2 meters away from the subject. Wide open the results are not to good i guess. Tried manual focus, but that did not help.

Testresults:
http://www.ryanne.nl/tamron28-75_lenstest.jpg