Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) with Built-In AF Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's been about 2 months that I've had this lens and it almost never leaves my camera. I'm came to buying this lens after being lured in by the ever-so-attractive constant f/2.8 aperture. It was a contest between this lens and the Nikon 16-85 f/3.5-5.6 VR and now, I know I've made the right choice.

First and foremost, the constant f/2.8 is what makes this lens worth every penny. I don't know how I ever got along with my old 18-55 kit lens. Here's a little breakdown of the good and bad of this lens:

THE GOOD:
- Constant f/2.8 aperture (*angelic singing*)
- Extremely sharp even wide open at f/2.8 (although I'd recommend f/4 for maximum sharpness)
- Zoomed in at 75mm and wide open at f/2.8, this lens makes beautiful portraits with nice bokeh.
- On a purely subjective scale, bokeh is pretty awesome, 8 out of 10.
- Focusing is relatively fast and very accurate (about as fast as the 18-55mm kit lens, which is almost always good enough)
- Zoom action is well damped although I would've appreciated a very slightly shorter throw between 28 and 75mm.
- Autofocus/Manual focus switch conveniently located on the side of the lens.
- Internal autofocus motor! (Works on my D40x, will work on D40 and D60 also)
- Close focus ability enables shots with a closer perspective.
- Metal mount is always a good thing to see.
- Looks pretty awesome on the camera :)

THE BAD
- For travel and other things, 28mm will not satisfy some, buy a wide angle (and telephoto if you need it) to go with this lens.
- External focus ring moves during autofocusing (keep your hands away!)
- Focusing is noisy (much noisier than my AF-S Nikkors and HSM Sigmas)
- In manual focus-mode, the focus ring is a tad loose
- Lens hood doesn't seem to work too well, doens't look that great either, in my opinion.
- Rear lens cap sucks, throw it away and buy a Nikon one.

OVERALL
I'd rate this thing 4.5 stars if I could, but I gave it 4 so as not to give the impression of a fault-less lens.

This lens has a great deal of good points and very few bad ones. Most of the bad I attribute to the construction of the lens: somewhat solid, but not. It's a little loose inside since it zooms and is made mostly of plastic. Optically though, the lens is amazing, especially for the price. For me, it's created amazing portrait work, some cool close-up (see the "PS" section at the end) shots, and many others. Until you build up the money and arm strength to buy and haul around the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 go with this lens. You cannot pass this up for the price, it's capable of so many things, and all for about 400 bucks.

PS
Tamron may call this "Macro" but it's not really macro, it's more of a close focus (I have the Nikkor 60mm Micro, and this is not it). However, the close-focus can be really useful and can add some creative shots to your collection. However, do not confuse this lens with a real macro lens, it can't focus as close and can't reproduce 1:1.

I purchased this lens to use for the majority of my shooting on my D300. I have one of the latest copies with the built-in motor. I'm amazed at its focusing capabilities with the D300 - fast and quiet. Images are sharp as a tack and the blurred background is perfect at 2.8. You can easily see the three LD glass elements at work!

I enjoy this range (28-75) for everyday shooting and portraits. Also, the macro capabilities of this lens makes it a fun one to keep on the camera. I sold a more expensive new Tokina lens and this thing blows it away in sharpness and color contrast. I was a little curious of Tamron's build quality, but this SP lens is very good quality, especially for the money. Low light and indoor photos on the D300 have been great with this lens!

I can't say enough about this lens. You get a lot for the small price of this lens...buy it, if this is the range your looking for. It fits perfect in the gap of my other lenses: Sigma 10-20 & Nikon 70-300VR. GREAT GLASS!!

Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) with Built-In AF Motor for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I bought this lens for my Nikon D700. This is a full frame lens. The max aperture 2.8 is available on all focal lengths. Tested this at various focal length/aperture/shutter combos under different light conditions.

Here are my observations:

Pros:

1. Awesome value (price/performance). Nikon and Sigma equivalent costs more (nikon way too much).
2. Decent walk-around lens covering key focal lengths of mid range zoom
3. 2.8 aperture available at all focal lengths
4. Relatively fast and quick to focus
5. Great DOF (min aperture 32)
6. Pleasing blokeh effect (shallow DOF)
7. Usable sharp picture at 2.8. Stop down to 4.0 and you can get realy sharp pictures
8. Surprisingly decent close-up performance at various focal lengths (including 28mm). I was able to shoot a 2" x 2" object at 28mm at a distance of about 6-8". This was taken under room light conditions with flash from nikon d700. The pictures were sharp, and usable. (Will post pics later)
9. Less weight compared to other lenses in this class
10. Price, Price, Price !!

Cons

1. Sometimes hunts for focus. This could be my camera setting (I have set focus priority for shutter release. I have to change this setting and try it out)
2. Nikon and Sigma will be better built lenses compared to this (obviously you pay a premium for that built)
3. AF can be perceived as noisy by professional and hard core photographers. I am an average joe. It did not bother me as I was paying more attention to the picture quality. May not be suitable to take pics in a quite setting without drawing some attention to yourself.

I would highly recommend this lens for anyone who is looking for decent zoom with excellent picture quality and on a budget.

I returned Nikon 50m 1.8D lens Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras because I was not satisfied with picture sharpness at wide aperture. I needed to stop down to 2.8 or 4.0 in that lens to get reasonably sharp pics. This lens gives me good sharp pictures at f/2.8 50mm. So I traded that lens for this, so that I can also get some basic zoom for about 250$ more. I am not a professional photographer and do not want to start a religious war between prime lens and zoom lens. Obviously prime lenses are better. For an average customer who wants to take pictures around house, kids birthdays, soccer games etc. this lens is a good bargain.

Also, I bought this elsewhere for about 120$ cheaper than here. You may want to shop around to save some $$$.

Good Luck !

Hey guys,
Well i am a beginning, self taught, photographer. I am currently going to college so that means i CANNOT spend $2000 for an amazing nikon 24-70 or 70-200 vr II. I was in this situation. It is easy for someone with $2000 to spend or a professional photographer to say oh just get the nikon 24-70. I do agree with them that the nikon 24-70 etc. is going to be better, but for your money you get the best value with the tamron 28-75. For $500 this is a great deal. I have had this lens for about six months now and taken around 1000 pictures with it. Here are some pros and cons.

Pros
.Only $500
.large constant f2.8 aperture
.great picture quality
.works on full frame camera
.lock mode on camera to prevent lens creep(this only works in the lowest focal length setting)
.comes with petal hood to prevent lens flare
.internal auto focus, it is the nikon af-s equivalent and CAN autofocus on d40's and d60's
.light and small size
.67mm diameter=cheaper filters buying a 67mm and 77mm have a big difference in price especially for top quality brands like b and w
.good feel to the manual focus ring

Cons
.zoom isn't smooth throughout the whole zoom range, slightly sticky at the lower end
.okay build quality
.third party brand(i'll talk more about this later)
.some odd flaring situations
.okay auto focus(much better than non on a d60)
.awkward zoom range, not wide enough for a good landscape(plus the 1.5x crop factor on my d60 which comes out to the lowest of 42mm)

I love how tamron put an internal focus motor in the tamron 28-75. This is a life saver. Of course there are times in low light situations or doing macro work when this does not apply; but in everyday shooting this comes in handy. I would love to purchase a d90--it has a built in auto focus motor--but then again it's $750 new. I would much rather buy a tripod or adobe lightroom than another body.

As a beginning photographer one might not realize the benefit of having a CONSTANT f2.8. It does not change during the zoom range. This is great for shotting in the gymnasium, portrait work(for bokeh), and action shots(you can get very nice shutter speeds of 1/1000 and still have a nicely exposed image).

Some people believe that just because it has sigma, tokina, or tamron on it that it's going to be horrible. This is not true do not listen to those people. Yes third party companies are known for a slight worse quality control when compared to Nikon and Cannon. But, with those brand names you pay about four times as much. It's your choice. Make sure to test your lens as soon as you receive it. Make sure it doesn't back focus or front focus and that the image quality is good. If there are problems send it back to tamron. They have very night costumer service from my experience. Don't think of buying a tamron as taking a chance. This is a great buy; don't let the name deter you.

The flare generally speaking is very well controlled. The petal hood helps a lot. But i ran into a few situations where my pictures had quite large lens flares. I was shooting in the snow on a very sunny day and i was very low to the ground looking up. This is probably why it happened as when i took a picture looking at the sun at an angle there was no flare. I had sun spots when i was shooting directly into the sun but that was a special situation. Generally speaking it preforms well with lens flare.

The autofocus is okay and just not quick enough for basketball or other fast sports. You may want to manual focus during sports, but i got good sharp photos when i shot some basketball games. Up to you.

Overall
.Great price, 4 times cheaper than nikon
.great image quality
.autofocus's on d60's and d40's etc.
.constant f2.8
.great beginning lens

Last note. The only reason why i gave it four stars was because, of course, the nikon is better. Heres the way i look at it. There are three categories. Good image quality, good build quality, and low price. You can only have two. The tamron has good image quality and low price. The nikon has good image and build quality. Good luck on your decision. Hoped this helped.

P.S. I am going to put up a few pictures i took to give you an idea of the image quality etc.

I'll give the end of the review to you up front: This is a fine lens that more than lives up to my expectations, and surpasses them by a large margin. I am using this on a Nikon D700, and the results I get are amazing.

OK, here is the caveat on amazing. If you ever read the forums of www.dpreview.com, you will come across endless threads and user reviews of people tearing apart lenses to judge them at the pixel level. My opinion consists of none of those observations. I didn't zoom in on any rulers, bookcases, or brick walls and examine the results at 500 percent magnification. What I did do is walk around Austin for a week photographing everything from my family, the plant and insect life at the botanical gardens, night life on 6th Street, etc. My results? Amazing, sharp, wonderful color, great backgrounds with pleasing soft out of focus areas behind the portraits.

OK, here is a little on the critical side to consider. For lenses in this zoom range there were only 3 on the list I was considering:
- Tamron AF 28-75MM f2.8 - $415
- Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX DG HSM AF - $799
- Nikon 24-70 Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor - $1799
The Tamron is the lightest of the three, and if you are already lugging around a DSLR it definitely helps keep the weight down. So, being that I'm not a professional photographer, I feel that the return on investment makes the most sense purchasing the Tamron. My only worry is that Tamron has been known to have poor quality control with sub-standard copies of the lens getting out to customers. With Amazon's return policy, it wasn't even a concern with me. I just figured after a day's worth of shooting if the images were not sharp and focusing properly it would get exchanged for another.

All in all I'm extremely satisfied, and have over a thousand sharp colorful photos to attribute to this lens in the short time I have owned it.

The standard in Nikon for this focal length used to be the Nikon 28-70 2.8; now it's the Nikon 24-70 2.8. This lens is as good as either of those, at 1/5th the price. It's a fine lens. If you can afford the (very overpriced) professional Nikkor 24-70 2.8 by all means do so. If you are a normal person wanting a great lens at a normal price, there is nothing else better than this lens. The Sigma 24-70 HSM might be comparable, I have not tried that lens.

I have both this lens and the Nikon version. I use them on my D700. I use both of them. I find no image quality difference between the two cameras at all. There is some improved sharpness in THIS Tamron lens when stopped down to 4.0 -- the Nikon isn't as sharp until you stop down to 8.0. There is also some light corner softness in the Tamron that you don't get in the Nikon. That is about where the image quality differences end. The vignetting, bokeh, and depth of field abilities are virtually identical. Where the Nikon excels is in flare reduction and the slightly wider angle at 24. In reality, with a walk-around lens, you don't miss much between 24 and 28mm in real-life day to day shooting.

Physically, the lens is well built. It's noisier than the Nikon in operation -- you hear the whirr as the autofocus does it's business. The Nikon is whisper quiet. As an event-shooter, I don't hear anything from my cameras, so for all practical purposes its a none issue for me,

But where this lens really excels is in the light, easy to carry build. The Nikon D700 is already heavy -- adding another two pound lens on top of that with the Nikon version is a backbreaker for walking around....literally. I find I get right shoulder and lower back pain when using the Nikon lens on my D700 for more than an hour. As someone who shoots thousands of photos over the course of 3 or 4 hours at alumni events, the Tamron is the lens that goes with me every single time. It's light, not intrusive, and has superior image quality.

Image Quality, for me, is what it's all about. And you get that in spades from this light, versatile, high IQ lens.

This lens is a great buy. It is a fraction of the cost of the Nikon equivalent. With such a great discount you have to expect somewhat less performance. However, this lens still does a great job.

This lens is very sharp above f/4.0. At 2.8 is tends to have a some chromatic abberation (CA). You will be able to see this a bit at 100% zoom levels in some pictures. It is not bad, but it is present.

I've also noticed that the lens has a bit of edge softness when I'm shooting in a high-light setting (i.e. outside or when I'm dousing a subject in studio strobes). The photos are perfectly metered (I checked the camera's meter against my handheld light meter) and it just seems that when there is a lot of light, the elements in the lens ghost the edges. When I realized that this wasn't CA but was more like internal flare from the elements, I decided to experiment on how to fix this. What I've found fixes this is shooting a stop down. I typically just set my Nikon D7000 to shoot one stop lower than metered when I use this lens in a high light setting. I've noticed that I don't get the edge glare and then I can easily add the light back by adjusting the exposure in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. This might sound like a lot of work, but if you automate the import settings in Lightroom, you never know the difference.

Even though I've just talked at length about the softness issues of this lens, I need to point out that the issue is rather minimal and most people won't notice it. I had some prints made after getting this lens (without any corrections) and I could not notice the softness. If you are seeking a perfectly tack sharp image, get a prime lens. Less lens elements means less interference with the light.

The zoom range of this lens is very nice. 28mm on a DX sensor is really like 42mm on a full frame and 75mm is actually 112.5mm (113). It is still a nice zoom range though. I shot a wedding a few weeks ago and I used this lens about 85% of the time. The only other lens I used was an 18-200mm zoom to take longer shots and get the more wide angle looks.

The auto focus is not as good as in a Nikon lens. This does not mean the auto focus is not good. It just means that Nikons are a little quicker, don't hunt as much, and are a little quieter. That said, this lens still focuses well. It is not distractingly loud; even in a quiet room. I can hear the motor because I have my head up against the camera. However, when I've asked no one else can hear it really. I am still very satisfied with the auto focus.

The construction of the lens is plastic. It does not have a cheap feel nor does it feel flimsy. The plastic body keeps the weight down which is nice. After carrying this thing around for 8 hours, I was glad it didn't weigh twice as much.

The lens hood is nice, but it is a little stiff going on and coming off. I'm always a little concerned I might snap it.

The rear lens cap is worthless. I replaced it with a Nikon rear cap and never looked back. The front lens cap is great and it works just as well as the Nikon brand.

Overall, I would purchase this lens again. I have been very happy with it. At less that 1/3 the cost of the equivalent Nikon lens, I believe this product performs quite well. If you train yourself with this lens, you will produce very nice photos and be happy with it.

-Cheers!

This is a great Lens. I`ve had it for about 2 months now and I am using it on Nikon D40 with Autofocus. This means it will also autofocus with D40x and D60.
My previous Lens was the kit lens (18-55mm) so i can only compare it with that.

Pros:
-Great Picture quality.
-Much sharper than the kit lens.
-Constant 2.8 aperture for low light or action shots.
Great Bokeh (shallow depth of field) with this Lens.
-One third the price for the Nikon counterpart. (bought it for 350$)

Cons:
-A little slower autofocusing compared with the kit Lens.
-Heavier than the kit lens.

Other thoughts:
-Quite sharp at 2.8 Aperture and but really rocks from 4.0 and above.

Let me start by saying that I own and shoot a Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 lens and have had experience with a Nikon 28-70mm and 24-70mm lens and their quality. With that said, Tamron has had some misses in the past with their lens offerings but everything is right with this 28-75mm version for Nikon cameras.

Build Quality: While it's not a Nikon, construction and tolerances seem tight. No rattles, and the zoom ring is a bit stiff out of the box. I expect this may loosen a bit over time (other Tamrons I've used have) but for the money, no complaints.

Image Quality: SHARP as a TACK. When comparing this against my Nikon lenses (specifically my 17-55 which optically is pretty perfect) I'd have a real hard time telling you which is which. When you factor in that this Tamron costs less than half (and in some cases a third) of what a Nikon branded lens will run I just become more impressed with the images.

Focusing: Focusing is fast and accurate, even in lowlight settings which is what this lens was made for (f/2.8). I don't ever catch myself wishing I had a Nikon lens on my camera when shooting with this in low light.

Value: Exceptional. Amazon even has open-box versions of this lens (returned by previous customers for whatever reason) that will drop the price below $400. At that price don't second guess your decision, just buy it.

All in all this may be the best lens currently made by Tamron for Nikon cameras. I've shot and owned the 17-50mm version of this lens and while sharp, this one is sharper. With Amazon's great return policy I say there is nothing to lose.

I got this lens as used through Amazon market place for D700, from KEH. It didn't come with a box, manual etc, but the lens looked like a new and works perfect.

Tamron 28-75 2.8 is one of the most popular 3rd party lenses and I'm pretty sure everyone reading the reviews on this page already have read a lot of other 'eviews on the web. I did that too, and here're my impressions from about couple of month of readings of reviews on the web.

1. It's light and compact
2. It has decent center resoulution, but borders are soft especially in wide aperture'.
3. sample variation (QC not so good)
4. AF is slow.
5. Cheaply made, too much plastic.
6. Still pretty good lens considering its price (1/3 of Nikkor 24-70)

Here are my experience regarding the points above.
Before that, I'd like to let you know that I'm using this lens with Nikon D700, FX format camera. This lens on DX cameras will give you much better experience.

1. Yes, it's light and compact. It's the lightest mid-zoon lens available for Nikon on the market. 1/2 weight of Nikkor 24-70 and 2/3 of Sigma 24-70.
The size and weight of this lens make it a perfect solution for people who need a compact lens for everyday use, but don't want to constantly
change prime lenses. Probably the weight of this lens combined with the bodies like d300 or d700 is the maximum weight to carry for someone with other bags to carry. Nikkor 24-70 combined with D700 is almost 4 lb.

2. Resolution is pretty good, IMO, especially at wide end. Reviews on the web point out that this lens suffers from border softness, but I'm using this lens on FX format camera and no problem on border sharpness from f4. At f2.8, center is still pretty good and border sharpness is not usually important for the shots taken with f2.8. However, mine is quite soft even at center at around 50-70mm focal lengths, even at f4. It's not terrible, but still noticeable. It can be just mine because most of reviews on the web says center resolution is excellent for all aperture and zoom range.

3. I haven't tried other copies.

4. I disagree with this. Mine is BIM (built in motor) version, which is konwn to have a slow AF, but mine focuses pretty fast. I have no complaint about Af speed. Compared to 50mm f1.4D which is known to have a fast AF, Tamron 28-75 is not siginificantly slower than 50 1.4D. Again, it's for my copy and there may be sample variation.

5. agree/disagree. If someone have seen Nikkor 24-70, it surely is cheaply made. It uses a lot of plastic, which makes it light, but I wouldn't say it's cheaply made. Also, lens mount is metal unlike some other "cheaply made" lenses.
One gripe is that the zoom ring is little loose. If you don't lock the zoom ring (at 28mm) and walk while holding the camera, you may fine the zoom ring at around 50mm.

6. Yes it is. Even if you don't consider its price, it's still a reasonably well performing mid-zoom lens. It may be the only solution for a compact mid-zoom lens for Nikons. If you can give up constant f2.8, there might be other lenses to consider, but if you need a compact mid-zoom lens with constant f2.8 for Nikon, it's for you.

Even if there are some weaknesses, it's 1/3 price of Nikkor. I recommend this lens for amateur photographers who look for a compact mid-zoom lens.
If you are a professional photographer, probably you wouldn't even open this page : )