Lance B Offline Upload & Sell: On
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I know I did my own thread on the Tamron 15-30 f2.8 VC, but I think I should add it to this thread seeing as this is the official Tamron 15-30 f2.8 VC thread. Here is what I posted on my own "Thoughts on Tamron 15-30 f2.8 after two weeks travel photos"
Just spent two weeks in Japan and Singapore with the Tamron 15-30 f2.8 Di VC. I purchased it the week before I left and thus had little time to evaluate it other than a few quick shots around Sydney before I left to "get to know the lens" a little.
As some of you may know, I have the Nikon 16-35 f4 VR and also the Nikon 14-24 f2.8G and also the 24 f1.4G, which is a gem. One may wonder as to why I would get the Tammy when I have the extreme wide end well covered, but my thinking is that the Tammy has had such great reviews that I could actually sell both the 16-35 and the 14-24 and just use the one extreme wide angle zoom as it should be able to cover all bases.
As some of you may know, I am quite a fan of the Nikon 16-35 and the reasons for the 16-35 f4 VR is that it has a reasonable zoom range and has VR. Overall IQ and sharpness is very good to excellent depending on where you are in the zoom range. From 20mm to 28mm, the 16-35 is sharp and as sharp as mosty primes, this is its sweet spot in the zoom range. From 16-20 it is still very good to excellent if you stop down and also if know where to focus to get the best from the corners. CA is quite OK and can be fixed PP and distortion is also quite fixable PP - I've never had an image ruined due to distortion that couldn't be fixed PP. Over abut 28-30mm, the sharpness does drop off a tad and is the weakest point of this lens. VR is very useful inside places where it is dark and you can't use a tripod or don't have a tripod - like when travelling. I think of the Nikon 16-35 more as a travel lens mainly due to it's VR, zoom range and its very good to excellent IQ, more of an all purpose lens.
The reason for a 14-24 is obviously it's legendary IQ and sharpness right across its (limited) zoom range and also it's f2.8 ability. However, it's drawbacks can be that huge front element, flare at times, relatively limited zoom range, and when you want to use filters. It is also heavy in comparison to the 16-35. I think of the 14-24 as more of a specialty lens for use at home when I can control when and where I can/want to use it as you need to have a huge filter system and possibly a tripod.
So, in comes the Tammy. It seems to marry most of the benefits of the 16-35 with most of the benefits of the 14-24 and does it brilliantly. Overall, it seems to me as sharp as the 14-24 across the whole zoom range and across the frame and has excellent overall IQ. It is as sharp and sharper than the 16-35 depending on where you are in the zoom range with both lenses and corner performance of the Tammy is better than the 16-35 for sure. The Tammy seems easier to work with with regards to getting the edges and corners sharp as the field curvature of the Tammy works for you in most situations very well.
Distortion at the extreme wide end is much less than the 16-35 at the wide end and thus you lose less when correcting it in PP. It seems to be similar distortion to that of the 14-24 at the wide end, ie reasonably low for an extreme wide angle lens. CA is also very well controlled and very easily fixed in PP.
The Tammy obviously has a longer zoom range than the 14-24 going to 30mm, but 5mm shorter zoom range than the 16-35. The Tammy is much sharper at 30mm than the 16-35. I didn't find the shorter zoom range than the 16-35 an issue on my travels as I do take my 24-70 f2.8 as well and that makes the crossover between 24mm and 30mm rather than specifically at 24mm if you have the 14-24. Having a crossover range is definitely a bonus rather than a hard and fast 24mm.
The drawbacks of the Tammy are that it is quite heavy, 100gms heavier than the 14-24 and 400gms heavier than the 16-35. It also has a huge front element similar to the 14-24 and thus you need to be careful when walking around with it at your side, and for better protection, I generally zoomed it back to 30mm as this keeps it further into the lens hood. It also does not have a filter thread which may be of importance, but I didn't find the need for my travels photography as the D810 has such great DR. Flare only affected one image. Size and weight and the front element wasn't really an issue on my travels, but I would say that the 16-35 is a better choice in that regard. However, given my time again, I woul still choose the Tammy over the 16-35 for my travel photography.
So, summing up, I am extremely happy with the results and use of the Tammy for my travel photography and I am actually thinking of selling off my 14-24 and I may even sell off my 16-35.
If these images do not fit onto your screen, use "CTRL" plus the wheel on your mouse to "zoom out" to a smaller image. I do not know what function this is on an Apple computer.
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/15sec, f8, ISO720
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/10sec, f8, ISO1600
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 30mm, 1/10sec, f8, ISO6400
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/250sec, f8, ISO64
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/40sec, f8, ISO560
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 19mm, 1/40sec, f8, ISO1250
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/500sec, f9, ISO160
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/250sec, f8, ISO64
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 21mm, 1/200sec, f8, ISO64
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 15mm, 1/625sec, f10, ISO180
D810 + 15-30 f2.8 VC @ 17mm, 1/500s f/8.0, ISO220
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