My "Poor Man's L" Lens

Duke

Mountain Carver
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
382
I have finally realized that I am just not going to get the canon f2.8 70-200 I dream about....or any L lens for that matter. Many of you on here are pro photographers and it is money well spent to get those lenses, but for me I just don't make enough to justify getting that kind of glass. I want them, but would have to make much more than I do. So what to get?

I have listened to and enjoyed the improvephotography.com guys' podcasts for a while now and they only give their thumbs up for one 3rd party lens. So, I trust their call and went ahead and ordered the Tamron they recommend; 28-75 f2.8 sp XR Di LD It has tons of good reviews and appears to give tack sharp photos even though it is a budget lens. I am replacing the Sigma 18-200 II. Sigma did add the FLD glass on v II, and I do get some relatively sharp shots with it....but it is spotty for me. The Tamron is supposedly a good macro too.

I'll give you my two bits after I get it.
 
I wasn't too impressed with the Sigma 18-200 while I had it. Kind of to be expected from any lens with that range though. Some of their other lenses are absolutely 'L' quality though. I've heard some good things about Tamron.
 
I wonder if anyone has experiences with the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 .
I do not have a zoom lens and this would be a range I could use.
My dream lens is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 but this one is still more than 2000 dollars.
And if I buy a new lens I definitely want something fast and tack sharp.
I once had one of the cheaper Nikon zoom lenses and wasn't very impressed and sold it very soon.
 
Jim Harmer, owner operator of improvephotography, tells of having he Tamron rep come by his place and he tried them and did not like any except for the one I listed. He seems like a bit of a lens snob though. He couldn't say enough good about this particular one though.
 
that's why I'm hesitant of buying a tamron lens. Maybe I just invest the money in the Nikkor lens and definitely have a good one.
The tamron 28-75mm looks nice, but I own a 35mm f1.4 prime lens and already have covered some of that range. I'm not covered beyond 85 mm and am looking for something past that zoom range.

But anyway, if you get the 28-75mm lens, let me know how you like it.
 
. I'm not covered beyond 85 mm and am looking for something past that zoom range.

But anyway, if you get the 28-75mm lens, let me know how you like it.

I seldom used the 100mm-200mm range on my Sigma. And I have wanted a macro for some time now, so beyond their recommendation I have been looking for something a bit more midrange, with macro, and think this will fit my needs. I do believe I will miss the 18-28 range though and will have to get a wide angle lens some day.

It is already on the way from Amazon so I will let you know what I think.

In reading some other forums on lenses it seems that Tamron has improved quite a bit in their newer lenses and perhaps the newer models of the 70-200 can compete with Canon. ? I am taking one for the team and trying the 28-75 and it sounds like you are the perfect test model to get the 70-200 and can tell us what you think about it??
 
I have bought the Tamron 28-75f2.8 3 times!

I got it years ago and it took awesome shots and I thought I "needed" better. So when the 24-105 canon came out I was wanting to get that. My friend put me on the spot wanting to buy my tamron so I sold it to him while I decided what I was going to replace it with. After looking at tons of sample shots with different lenses then going back through what I took with it my choice was to get the Tamron again. I should have never sold it! Years later I wanted something new and was looking at a Sigma 17-75 f2.8-4 and I thought that would take the place of 2 of my Tamrons. The other is a 17-35 f2.8-4 which they no longer make. I sold them to my brother in law, and after using the 17-75 it just didn't compare. I gave it away to another brother and bought the other ones back a couple years later. So thats 3 times I bought that lens. Then came a few months back were I was going to sell my T1i which I don't use often, and was looking to see those 2 lenses again. After researching and pricing stuff out I told my buyer I couldn't sell my stuff to them cause it wasn't worth it to me to do it.

So with that said I will keep that 28-75 cause it is well worth the $$ well even the 17-35 I will keep since they will both work on a Full Frame.
 
I wasn't too impressed with the Sigma 18-200 while I had it. Kind of to be expected from any lens with that range though. Some of their other lenses are absolutely 'L' quality though. I've heard some good things about Tamron.

I would be curious how much difference the II is from the one you had, which I believe was the first version. ? I have never seen them compared side by side.
 
Just a follow up; I like this Tamron very much and am glad I purchased it. I am here at Cap Reef now shooting a few and with landscape shots I don't notice quite as much difference, but closer in it is definitely sharper than what i am used to. The macro side was a bit of a bust for me. the Sigma can get in just a hair closer and is very sharp at that distance so I didn't gain any better macro, but outside of that and particularly at say less than 10 meters or so. And like I said, even when reaching out it is better. It just seem more pronounced in closer......or at least at this early stage. Bokeh seems pretty good. So far my my only complaint is no VR.
 
I decided against the Tamron and will order the good Nikon glass. Just need to sell a bit of my gear I do not need anymore and I can justify the price.

But glad you're happy with your lens. Looking forward to see the results.
 
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