Di: Digitally Integrated Design, is a designation Tamron puts on lenses featuring optical systems designed to meet the performance characteristics of digital SLR cameras.
The most compact and lightest in the history of fast Zoom lenses. Thanks to the revolutionary downsizing "XR" technology employed by Tamron in the development of high-power zoom lenses such as the 28-200mm and 28-300mm, the dramatic compactness that makes this lens the world's smallest and lightest is achieved. Its compactness makes it look and feel like an ordinary standard zoom lens, yet the versatility that a fast constant maximum aperture offers will definitely reshape your photographic horizons.
Di: Digitally Integrated Design, is a designation Tamron puts on lenses featuring optical systems designed to meet the performance characterisfeel like an ordinary standard zoom lens, yet the versatility that a fast constant maximum aperture offers will definitely reshape your photographic horizons.
The major downsides of this lens are it's ho-hum build quality and its lack of USM. Most people can probably live with the build quality given its excellent price but the lack of USM means slower, noisier autofocus which in discreet situations, can make all the difference. If you can look past these two disadvantages, it's really an excellent lens. It's fast, which means you will worry less about sufficient light, it's compact, which means you won't leave it at home and it's also optically very good.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I have borrowed a friends Where did you buy this item?: N/A Price paid: 0 When did you buy this item?: N/A
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Yes Pros: Fast, Sharp, Good value Cons: Average build, no USM, Noisy
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 86 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.4
Sharpness
4.4
Build Quality
4.4
AF Speed
4.4
Value for Money
4.4
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Great all around lens for a cheap price, Monday, 22 December 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
Got a Tamron 28-75 lens to upgrade my kit 18-55 IS on the Canon XSi. Paid $200 off of e-bay for a used one, and I never thought how good of a lens this is. It came with a hood and hoya filter. I knew that this is a fast piece of glass, but it gets as close to Canon L-series 24-70 f/2.8 as you can. Great low light performance, low noise unless you use 800 iso and greater. I have yet to take it outside for some sunlight shots and will post some pix later. One thing to be aware of - this lens is heavy, althought not as heavy as Canon's L-counterpart, but the weight balance is now messed up on my XSi. If you have a Canon 50d, or a 40d, this lens is just perfect weight-wise. I took some great sports shots w/out flash, and cannot say enought about Tamron after that! The lens is solid-built. One other negative is the zoom ring rotates the opposite way of Canon. For a $200 lens, this is a perfect buy. Was also considering Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8, but saw many negative reviews. Get a Tamron if you are looking for a solid, cheap, all-around lens.
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The best general purpose lens, Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
For an affordable price, this lens gives you excellent performance for every purpose. The aperture can be set to 2.8 and the portraits are amazing! At the same time the zoom (up to 75 mm) is also much better than the regular lens provided in the basic canon kit. In summary, this is a very recommended lens for beginners who don't want to spend a ton of money and still get marvelous results in any situation.
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I love this lens!!!!, Saturday, 15 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I purchased this lens after being greatly disappointed by the Sigma 18-200. I have not been disappointed. The images are sharp and the colors are good. I have taken photos for my business with it and have gotten amazing results. Is you are stating out professionally, or are a serious amateur, then this is the lens for you. Fast, good in low lighting and it does not feel cheap!
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I love this lens!!!!, Saturday, 15 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
I purchased this lens after being greatly disappointed by the Sigma 18-200. I have not been disappointed. The images are sharp and the colors are good. I have taken photos for my business with it and have gotten amazing results. If you are stating out professionally, or are a serious amateur, then this is the lens for you. Fast, good in low lighting and it does not feel cheap!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Low Light Auto Focus not good, Sunday, 09 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
1.5
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
2.0
I purchased this lens to shoot professional bodybuilding show. There are numerous challenges shooting in these low light conditions with the subjects being very dark. The lens didn't focus sharply in these conditions and I returned it. I did shoot some outdoor photo's with the lens and they looked very good. For the money this is a great lens, but if you are going to use it to shoot weddings or other events that may require you to shoot in low light conditions you might want to look else where. For a good alternative check out the Canon 28mm - 135mm IS, even though it is a f/3.5 - 5.6 with the IS you can take great pictures with it in low light conditions and with the extra zoom and the price at about $230 makes it a great deal.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
May take a few times, but keep going till you get , Sunday, 26 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
When you get a properly calibrated copy of this lens you will discover that it can be quite sharp at f2.8 from 28mm to 75mm, nearly as sharp as the 50mm f1.8. If you get a soft one, or one that is never exactly in focus, send it back till you get a good one.
I like this focal range for shooting models within talking distance, as any lower and you inviting softness with the wide angle, and making everything seem larger then it is suppoed to be.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
works well, but full frame show imperfection, Sunday, 31 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
On my full frame 5d there is a significant amount of Vignetting, but that was rather expected being so much less expensive than the canon 24-70 L. Bought it because i am on a tight budget, and I dont regret it. Even with the vignetting- its still woth saving the 600+ dollar difference.
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Good value for the money!, Monday, 25 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
This was my first non Canon lens purchase, granted the other lenses I've owned has been cheaper Canon lenses (kit lens, 50mm and 28-135mm). I've never owned an L so I can't compare it to those but here are my impressions:
Price: Can't beat it, its a 2.8 like the better L lenses out there and for a fraction of the cost. Love it!
Noise: Really can't say that its that noisy as I've heard people complain. Again I have not owned an L's so in my limited experience with lenses, its not noisy, nothing I'd consider loud enough to disturb a wedding ceremony or anything of the sorts.
Focusing: It's as fast as my 28-135mm, so not bad, its fast enough to catch my kids running by, get them in focus and me snap the picture. About the focusing, I did notice mine had a Bit of trouble with front focusing, but works well now when I've got that taken care of.
I really haven't had opportunity to test it in the conditions it was built for but so far I've been impressed with it. Its not really bulky, it seems solidly built even if its not L quality. The pictures I've taken so far has been crisp and clean and bright, really I cant complain, again a great lens purchase. I can't wait for them to come out with a 70-200mm 2.8 version so I can buy that as well.
If you are a pro with L's in your camera bag you might or might not like it. However if you're a serious hobbyist or working-to-be a pro then this is a good start for a fraction of the cost of an L. Its a nice lens and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
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Very nice at a great price!, Friday, 08 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this lens as my in-between lens for my Canon XT. I currently own the 50mm f/1.8 and the Tamron 70-300mm 4-4.5/6. I have been very pleased with it. It has a nice weight to it and is nice and sharp. I highly recommend it.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Good but it's not ALL THAT!, Friday, 18 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
I compared this to the my 50mm f/1.8 Canon lens (the $100 one). I zoomed the Tamron to 50mm and did some comparison shots at f/2.8. The Canon lens was much much sharper. So much in fact, I don't even want to take any more photos with the Tamron. Based on this experience, I'm upgrading to all L glass lenses. I'll upload my comparison photo which is an up-close shot of a green pitcher.
The lens is a good value and I took some good photos with it. Although, with a 1.6 crop factor, it seems to always be either too zoomed up, or not zoomed enough. I think this lens is targeted at the 1.6 cropped market but the zoom range isn't very useful so that's why I give it two stars. If you know that the zoom range is what you want and this is how much money you have, it's a decent lens.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
some good results, but red tinge and focusing are , Saturday, 05 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.5
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
I was excited to get my hands on this lens and spent the last 3 days taking pictures of everything and anything. In Arizona there is no shortage of sunshine, so these pictures were under "ideal" light conditions.
First few shots taken from the office window looked pretty fuzzy. I set the camera to full auto and they seemed better. Over the next few days I experimented with various settings and found the lens rather hit and miss with focus. Items that should have been obvious point of focus were not always so. A few "difficult" images of mesquite tress came off with nothing in focus. Comparing to the stock lens, and similar pictures I'd taken with an EF-S lens I'd had, I was rather peeved with it's out of focus images. It was much slower than a canon USM lens and had real trouble in low light finding a focus point too.
I was impressed with indoor shots of fruit using flash, very detailed.
People have remarked on the focus ring turning while you hold on to it, which it does, but you learn not to. The reverse thread is also something you pick up on quickly, so neither of these are an issue I feel.
Also found when comparing photos with the stock 18-55mm my canon XTi came with there was a distinct red tinge to the outdoor pictures taken with the tamaron lens. Nothing photo shop won't fix but a bit strange. Both lenses had B&W UV filters.
Conclusion, I may have had a bad lens, it did work well when it could focus. Build quality was also quite good.It's going back and I am going to spend a few hundred more and get the canon. 6 year warranty was nice touch, but I'd probably stick with a fixed focus Tamron lens on a future purchase.
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Overachiever - stellar performance in a compact pa, Thursday, 19 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
My copy delivers biting sharpness and snappy Contrast over the whole focal length range and focal distance at F/4 or above. As expected, F/2.8 shows a little softness plus the propensity for misfocus on my 40D. The macro feature is tremendously handy. So is its downsized construction. It is my perfect lens for studio portraiture or street candid shots. With the use of 3 LD lens elements, CA is so well-controlled that I cannot detect any PF or color fringes around high contrast edges at any focal length or F-stop. What an optical achievement! I have had no problem obtaining top-notch A3-size prints that show unbelieveable, edge-to-edge clarity. The only shortcoming that holds this lens back is flare problem. Ghosting or flaring is quite severe when a strong light source lies within the frame. I wonder if Tamron has cut corners by not applying the best coatings to its lenses. Reflections from lens surfaces are quite bright and conspicuous - not the deep purple or green hues that I usually see in Pentax SMC and Nikon lenses. Despite this weakness, the Tamron A09 is a well-rounded high-achiever that certainly lives up to its reputation for being a cost-performance champion! Highly recommended.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
One of the best in this price range, Thursday, 12 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a very good performer for its price. I have to agree to most of the praise on this lens. Some of them are a bit over top which is understandalbe since they usually like what they own. But overall, this is a very good value for its price, and that is the bottom line.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
it's ok, Tuesday, 03 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
3.0
I only rented this lens, but I feel obligated to say what I think of it. The tamron 28-75mm lens is definatly worth the money. You'll love this lens if you're already using non- L lenses. Going from an L lens to this though is very frustrating. It's extremely soft, unusably soft from about 70mm on. I made the mistake of bringing this lens with me to a wedding to try it out. As a photographer, I'd be embarassed to present anyone I'm working for any shot taken out of this lens. For myself walking around, it's great as long as I stay away from 70mm to 75mm. I rented this lens because all the reviews say it's comparable to L lenses. It's not.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Good fast lens, Tuesday, 03 June 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
This lens is a good alternative to any Canon lens. Although it's not an IS or USM lens by any means, I can't find a canon lens that can compare for the money.
