Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 VC or Canon 70-200 F4 IS

I do this every time I decide to buy something. I keep second guessing myself on what to purchase. I shoot a lot of Portrait work. What would others buy? Thanks!!

I can not speak to the Tamron but I love the 70-200 f4 IS. It is a very sharp lens, quick autofocus, and a very manageable size. I use it on a 6D. For portraits I suppose the Tamron does have the edge due to being 2.8 but I bet at F4, the Canon is better at everything. I prefer to go to my primes when I need bigger apertures.

ready to snap wrote in post #18053208
I do this every time I decide to buy something. I keep second guessing myself on what to purchase. I shoot a lot of Portrait work. What would others buy? Thanks!!

A few general comments, if you please.

I've had a 70-200 f/2.8 lens. If you don't NEED f/2.8, none of them are worth the cost/size/weight.
IQ on both of them is excellent. I have the Canon.
The Tamron is known to focus more slowly than the Canon.
Portrait works implies 'known' setups, which screams PRIME LENSES.
If you NEED 200mm and f/2.8, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II is 1/2 the price of either.
What camera are you using? The 70-200 range is excellent for portraiture on full frame. On crop, not so much. IMHO, a 70-200 on aps-c is a sports/action/athletic lens.

I've never used the Tamron 70-200, but my 24-70 has focusing and hunting issues in dim light.

I own the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS, and it's arguably one of the best zooms they've ever produced. Until it burns up, I'll never get rid of it.

That being said, if you're using the lens for portraits and you like shooting 2.8, well, only one of those two is a 2.8

LV Moose wrote in post #18053254
From DP Review, some issues with the Tamron, although they do recommend it:

◾Slow and noisy autofocus motor
◾Somewhat clunky manual focus switchover mechanism
◾Tendency towards slight misfocusing (at least in Canon mount)

I've never used it, but my Tamron 24-70 has focusing and hunting issues in dim light.

I own the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS, and it's arguably one of the best zooms they've ever produced. Until it burns up, I'll never get rid of it.

That being said, if you're using the lens for portraits and you like shooting 2.8, well, only one of those two is a 2.8

I am reasonably sure the bullet points above refer to the older (non-VC) version of the Tamron lens.

The VC is imperceptibly slower to focus than the Canon 2.8L II. The Tamron VC is faster focusing than the Sigma OS, and I used the Sigma for football, soccer, and equestrian sports. SlowER does not mean unuseably slow.

The Tamron VC version uses the same two-position AF/MF switch as the Canon. The older non-VC version uses the clunky clutch mechanism.

Bryan at TDP notes a consistent back-focus with HIS COPY of the VC lens. That is easily correctable with MFA. He does refer to the AI-Servo speed/accuracy as 'performs reasonably well most of the time'. Hardly a resounding endorsement, but a also far from a 'tendency to miss focus'.

I think LV Moose is referring to the old non-VC Tamron lens.

Bassat wrote in post #18053271
I think LV Moose is referring to the old non-VC Tamron lens.

You are correct sir! My apologies. I've edited my previous post

Here's a review on the newer one:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …i-VC-USD-Lens-Review.aspx

LV Moose wrote in post #18053254
I've never used the Tamron 70-200, but my 24-70 has focusing and hunting issues in dim light.

I own the Canon 70-200 f/4L IS, and it's arguably one of the best zooms they've ever produced. Until it burns up, I'll never get rid of it.

That being said, if you're using the lens for portraits and you like shooting 2.8, well, only one of those two is a 2.8

Ditto. Never used the Tammy 70-200, VC or not. My Tammy 24-70 also had focusing and hunting issues in dim light. My 70-200 f/4L IS USM is my favorite general purpose lens on my 6D, and favorite sports/action lens on the 1DIV, w/ & w/o a 1.4X II TC.

You couldn't go wrong with the 70-200mm f4 IS. I find myself using it for nearly everything short to mid telephoto. Works for great for portrait, nature, architecture etc.

Reviews I have read state the Tammy is a little weak at 200mm. For me that would be a deal breaker.
I want a 70-200 to be good at both ends but 200 end more important than the 70 end. Too often I find shooting at 200 and needing to crop so I want best quality there.
I've had Sigma 70-200 2.8 (old non OS), Canon 70-200 2.8II and now have 70-200 f4 IS. All have been excellent at 200.

Tamron...

Yes it's a hair slow on focus for sports in low light perhaps. If you're trying to do headshots or pushing the minimum focus distance with the Tamron then there will be noticeable focus breathing where 200mm acts as something like 170mm. I believe it all disappears after 20 feet or so; that is, compared to the f/2.8L IS II version. The VC works great...consistently I shot at 1/30 handheld no problem.

Still couldn't justify the cost of the new f/2.8L IS II so I went with the Tammy.

I have both lense for a few years and here are my thoughts:

F4
- lighter in weight
- cheaper in cost ($100-200)
- better resale value, due to the canon brand

F2.8
- six year warranty
- its black (personal preference over white)
- the extra stop of light is handy to have

construction, focusing speed/accuracy, IS are about the same based on my experience

p.s. I currently own the tamron

I used to have the Canon 70-200 f4 non IS and sold it to purchase the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 VC. Both are great lenses. In my opinion, if you think you have a good reason to need f2.8 then go with the Tamron, you won't be disappointed. If you can live with f4 then get the Canon and enjoy having a lighter lens to haul around. I've shot plenty of sports with the Tamron (as I did with the Canon) it's focus is perfectly acceptable and the difference in focus speed between the two is nearly imperceptible.

Thank you all for your responses. I just ordered a used Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 VC for $650. I will give a review next week once it arrives. Now with the savings I am going to order a Canon 10-18. The widest I have is the Sigma 17-50 OS.

Good luck with the new lenses!