Rough diamond?

[mdr]

What's the deal with this Tamron 28-70mm f2.8 XR Di Zoom that everyone keeps raving on about on this forum?

I'm currently saving up for a 24-70mm L lens, but should I save myself a load of money and buy the Tamron? In fact, should I surprise my wife with a big bunch of flowers, a nice holiday in the sun and replace her Canon 24-85mm with the Tamron as well with the money I save :cool:?

One review I read on fredmiranda.com seems to sum up most peoples perceptions of the Tamron: 'Brutal is the word that comes to mind. Brutally sharp. Brutally noisy. A very rough diamond.'

How do these three lenses compare in terms of image quality, sharpness, flare, weight/size, autofocus speed/noise and build quality?

[tim]

I have a 28-75, it's a good lens. There've been loads of discussions about these lenses, a search might give you some valuable info :)

[markubig]

this pic was taken with the Tamron 28-75. I love this lens. I use it 90% of the time. Yes, it's AF is a little noisy and slow, but it more than makes up with its vibrant colors and sharpness.

The place where I bought it from said they stock so much more of these than the 24-70L because it's that much more in demand.

[Scottes]

I'm an L-hound but the price difference between the two has me lusting for the Tamron. For me, though, it would not be a primary lens but more like a tertiary one. Damned handy, very good, but likely to be on my camera maybe 10% of the time. If I were like Mark and used that range 90% of the time then I'd be lusting for the L.

[Adam Hicks]

Look here http://www.photozone.de/2Equipment/easytxt.htm#Zstf and notice the quality difference between the top 3 lenses! Compared to everything else, the difference is imperceptible! The only thing you need to keep in mind is that probably 9 out of 10 lenses are good, so if you get that 1 out of 10, take it back and try again. Once you get a good one it'll be good for a long time (and it has a much better warranty than Canons!)

Get one! Shoot with it for a while, and if you don't like it sell it for a loss of $30 or so. You'll have gotten your money's worth out of it and it might just save you a LOT of cash (I'm 95% sure it will.)

Adam

[markubig]

If I were like Mark and used that range 90% of the time then I'd be lusting for the L.alas . . . $$$ is my achilles heel. . . L would be nice, but not practical for me. . . the quality from the Tamron is more than enough for my purposes.