Tamron AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 SP Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Lens for Nikon AF with Built-in Motor Digital SLR Cameras

by Tamron

Product Details

• Item Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001FB6PJI
• Item model number: 5537
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

The SP AF10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) is an advanced ultra wide-angle zoom lens that is versatile and offers even higher performance and specifications than the current Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 zoom lens. The lens covers an extended focal length range that is particularly wide for an ultra wide-angle zoom lens, while improving the aperture to F/3.5-4.5 and keeping the filter diameter to 77mm. Its lightweight and compact size makes this new wide-angle zoom very user friendly. The lens was designed for use with digital SLR cameras and thereby employs special optical glass materials for outstanding optical performance such as large-aperture glass-molded aspherical elements and hybrid aspherical elements. FEATURES: Compact Ultra Wide-angle Zoom Lens Covering a Broad Range from 10mm to 24mm - The Tamron zoom covers a focal length range equivalent to 16-37mm* when converted to a 35mm full-size format. Its ultra-wide zoom ratio of more than 2X provides a versatile variety of angles of view, thus improving photographic creativity. Features an Optical Design Optimized for Digital Camera Characteristics Ensures High Optical Performance - 1. Employment of Special Optical Glass Materials Provides High Performance The new zoom lens uses an HID glass element and a pair of LD glass elements to minimize on-axis and lateral chromatic aberrations that are the greatest hindrance to high optical quality. To further achieve outstanding optical quality, the lens uses a high quality, glass-molded aspherical element and three hybrid aspherical elements to thoroughly compensate for spherical and comatic aberrations and distortion. 2. Optical Design Optimizes the Angles of Incidences of Light Rays Reaching the Imager The ultra wide zoom lens uses a new optical system designed to confine the changing angles of incidences of li

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great lens for the price, April 30, 2009

By 

Michael C. Jackson "MysticMCJ" (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I'd imagine that many people are shying away from this lens due to some of the reviews. Rockwell's ultra-wide comparison is where I first heard about this lens, and it did not do too favorably there...

I was looking for an ultra-wide lens for Nikon DX format, with easy to correct distortion. I was originally looking for the Tokina 11-16, which has gone up in price considerably several times, and NEVER seems to be available. I was also thinking about the sigma, but the inability to correct the distortion easily wide open didn't make me too happy, and I couldn't find one locally to test. The nikon 10-24 isn't available yet, and the 12-24 is too expensive and not wide enough.

So, I decided to check this lens out at a local photo shop, and I'm glad I did. After a few test shots, I ended up purchasing it. It was sharp enough for my needs - A bit soft wide open, but I never shoot wide angle lenses wide open. F/8 looks near perfect to me on all edges and corners, with some slight color fringing that I REALLY had to look to see. The edges are occasionally soft, but I have only noticed this when I am pixel peeping.

It seems surprisingly well built. Metal mount is always nice, and the focus and zoom both have very good feels to them. It just feels RIGHT in my hands. I haven't drop tested it, and I don't plan to. I could see the AF mechanism going out on a bad drop, but that's just pure speculation.

Another plus - There is MORE than enough room to put whatever UV filter you would like on it with no vignetting. I don't know about filter stacking, but again, I never stack filters.

It does have it's quirks. AF stopped on me once when I was switching back and forth from AF to MF. A remount of the lens solved this, and I haven't had this issue since.

I'm also suspicious about the quality control. It looks like I got a good copy, but I can tell that a few out there have not. Just make sure you have a good return policy.

I'm not sure where you could go wrong with this lens. If you pixel peep and need ultimate sharpness wide open, go with the Tokina - It's a pro lens, and it's price has definitely increased to reflect that. I'm sure that the Nikon 10-24 will be an amazing lens as well - of course, at twice the price. For the non-pixel peepers who just want to make great ultra wide photos, it's hard to go wrong here. It's not optical perfection, but it's a damn good lens.

It all comes down to how you want to use it and what your budget is. Interior shooters, take note - Used in conjuction with a bounce flash, I get super-sharp and relatively distortion free images that look better than any interior shot I have ever taken.

Five stars because I couldn't be happier with this lens for my needs.

EDIT: After a couple of weeks, I've noticed something mentioned in an off-site review in which this lens was described as having a curved focus field - A ')' shape, if you will. After abusing this lens by shooting extremely (And I mean EXTREMELY) close up flat surfaces, I can agree with this. What this means in practice is that test charts and brick walls shot from a foot away may not be as sharp as they could, but real world usage is still great. What this also means is that if you shoot a lot of interiors or other scenes in which you have walls on both sides of you and a center of focus at the rear, the curved field will be very beneficial to the overall sharpness of the image. Just something to be aware of - I'm still happily shooting, it's exactly what I needed.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars decent handling, poor optics, September 27, 2009

By 

Dana Gannon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I owned the Tamron 17-50, and 28-75 when I shot Canon. Both were fine lenses. This Tamron isn't. Having faith in Tamron, I purchased this lens without thinking twice. I wish I had read the reviews before seeing my own images. The optics are unacceptably poor. Based on my images, and other reviews, I don't think it was a sample problem. No front/back focusing problems, no decentering problems, and no side to side problems - just poor optics across the board. The lens is nice and light, and the zoom control is great - very smooth and nicely spaced, but the optics are just unacceptable.

The good news is that you don't need to spend $800 plus on the Nikon 12-24. I replaced this Tamron with the Sigma 10-20, and it's a fine lens. In addition to much better optics, it also focuses much faster, much quieter, and hunts much less than the Tamron. If you shoot Canon, get their EF-S ultra wide. It's great, and not that much more money.

This is the only review I've ever written. It's the first thing I've ever had to return due to poor quality. Thank goodness for Amazon.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the price, November 28, 2009

By 

M. McLaughlin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Compared this to the Nikon 10 - 24 lens and the Tamron held up very well. One lens was slightly better in one category and the other was better in some but I can't justify the price you have to pay for the Nikon. Popular Photography just gave this lens an excellent review (Feb. 2009) and called it a sure bet. Tamrons quality control is much better than Sigma otherwise I might have tried the Sigma version of this lens.