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Archive 2016 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread

  
 
jasonkuo
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


So I took the plunge and just received my copy of the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8, and so far my impressions are very positive. The build quality is outstanding - metal construction, no wobbles, excellent damped manual focus ring, solid switches. Add to that the fact that it has weather sealing, metal construction, a 9-bladed diaphragm, and VC, and it was hard to ignore in my quest for a wide/semi-wide fast aperture prime.

I gave it a test run during lunch today, the same general spots I went to recently with the Nikon 28mm 1.8G, and it turned in a great performance so far! I'll give it a more thorough test the next couple of weeks, but here are some images to get started, in case there are any of you that are also looking at this lens. All of these are wide-open except the macro shot, at f/4.


DSC_9586 - Maiden Lane by Jason K, on Flickr


DSC_9572 - Fire Hydrant Portrait on Market St. by Jason K, on Flickr

Testing how it deals with busy backgrounds.


DSC_9556 by Jason K, on Flickr

Indoors with lots of candles and other point light sources:


DSC_9552 - St. Patrick's Cathedral by Jason K, on Flickr

VC really works! Handheld at 1/6 second:


DSC_9544 - St. Patrick's Cathedral by Jason K, on Flickr

Macro. This little guy is about 1.5 inches tall, and the lens was right on top of him.


DSC_9525 by Jason K, on Flickr




Nov 04, 2016 at 05:37 PM
jrscls
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Looks good. Are you planning to keep both the 28 G and the 35 VC? I have the Nikon 35 f/1.8 G ED, which I like. Was going to try the 28, but I think I will get along better with the 35 focal length.


Nov 04, 2016 at 05:47 PM
jasonkuo
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


I didn't keep the 28G, but it's a really nice lens as well. I wouldn't be unhappy with it, but I also would not keep both a 28 and a 35. The 35 gives me what I *think* will be the ideal spread in my main three prime kit - 20, 35, 85.


Nov 04, 2016 at 06:03 PM
jrscls
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Great minds must think alike- I also have a 20, 35 and 85 for my prime kit in addition to a macro. I considered the 28, but decided to stick with my current 35.


Nov 04, 2016 at 07:33 PM
jasonkuo
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Indeed! Interesting that we both have a 20,35, 85 combo but have all different lenses! I almost got the 85 1.8G but found a nice 1.4D here on the forums so I'm giving it a go.


Nov 05, 2016 at 10:21 PM
saaber1
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Thanks for posting these pics. I'm cross shopping this lens with the Zeiss 2/35 Milvus and Nikon 35 1.4G. It's good to see real world pics with it.

I have the Nikon 28 f/2.8 Ai-S (not series E) and it's pretty good but colors are very old school and bokeh is nothing special IMO. Sharpness of it is good. I bought the Nikon 28 1.8G lens and my copy was just horrible and had to be returned.

Re 35 1.4G, from the few samples of the Tamron 35 I have seen it looks at least as sharp, or maybe sharper than the 35 1.4G. Bokeh of the 35 1.4G is excellent from what I have seen of the many pics available on that lens and the Tamron pics like yours above seems to be approaching that level.

Re 35 1.8G, from the long distance full-res comparables with the Tamron I have seen, the 1.8G is a bit sharper and less CA, but really only marginally so. But that is from one copy (the review website) of the the 35 1.8G and the Tamron 35 so copy-to copy variability may change that opinion. Bokeh differences between these two lenses is of course pretty huge.

Some other lenses that I have considered but currently am not pursuing are the Zeiss 2/28, Zeiss 1.4/35, Sigma 35 Art. My poor experience with the Nikon 28 1.8G has soured me on that lens although I know many who bought a good copy like it a lot.



Jan 03, 2017 at 09:47 AM
jasonkuo
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


@saaber1 - You're welcome! Glad to hear that it's helpful to see some actual photos.

I've wanted to try out the 28mm f/2.8 or 28mm f/2 Ai-S lenses as well, as I've heard and seen that they are excellent lenses. For me, though, I seem to have found the sweet spot for my personal photography with the 35mm focal length, the relatively fast f/1.8 aperture, along with the close focus distance of the Tamron.

At least according to DXOMark, it rates really well against the 1.8G and the ART. And the copy-to-copy variation on the Tamron is less than that of the 1.8G, shown over at the LensRentals blog.

Here are a few more shots with it - I'm still really enjoying the lens.


Top of the morning to you! by Jason K, on Flickr


DSC_0371 by Jason K, on Flickr


DSC_9566_2400px by Jason K, on Flickr


DSC_0241_2400px by Jason K, on Flickr


JK6_0556_2400px by Jason K, on Flickr



Jan 04, 2017 at 01:46 PM
VetraLens
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Oooh...I've been using the 35VC on a D750 for nearly a year now and I love it. It's my go-to work lens, pulling weekly duty on my recurring nightlife gig and also performed swimmingly on a couple larger projects. I actually dropped it on concrete a few weeks ago and busted the barrel and some other stuff (it was a hard drop) but I had a great experience with Tamron service. Going to have to go through and pick some of my faves to post in this thread.


Jan 04, 2017 at 03:34 PM
saaber1
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


jasonkuo wrote:
Here are a few more shots with it - I'm still really enjoying the lens.


The Bokeh and color of those shots are very Zeiss-like. Kinda hard to believe in a lens that costs $600 new. Nikon 35 1.4g is around $1300 used and Zeiss 35 f/2 is around $700+ used. VC is a pretty significant plus in my book. Not that it is necessarily needed on a 35mm lens but adds the benefit for slower shutter speeds. Also wpuld be a huge plus for video. I'll probably buy this lens.

Re 28mm. For me that's a pretty ideal focal length companion to a 50mm but I haven't been satisfied with any of the 28mms I've tried. 35mm has more options I think. Perhaps Tamron will come out with a 20 or 24mm with similar characteristics to the 35 vc. That would




Jan 05, 2017 at 07:20 PM
saaber1
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


jasonkuo wrote:
Here are a few more shots with it - I'm still really enjoying the lens.


The Bokeh and color of those shots are very Zeiss-like. Kinda hard to believe in a lens that costs $600 new. Nikon 35 1.4g is around $1300 used and Zeiss 35 f/2 is around $700+ used. VC is a pretty significant plus in my book. Not that it is necessarily needed on a 35mm lens but adds the benefit for slower shutter speeds. Also wpuld be a huge plus for video. I'll probably buy this lens.

Re 28mm. For me that's a pretty ideal focal length companion to a 50mm but I haven't been satisfied with any of the 28mms I've tried. 35mm has more options I think. Perhaps Tamron will come out with a 20 or 24mm with similar characteristics to the 35 vc. That would be nice...




Jan 05, 2017 at 07:20 PM
jasonkuo
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


VetraLens wrote:
Oooh...I've been using the 35VC on a D750 for nearly a year now and I love it. It's my go-to work lens, pulling weekly duty on my recurring nightlife gig and also performed swimmingly on a couple larger projects. I actually dropped it on concrete a few weeks ago and busted the barrel and some other stuff (it was a hard drop) but I had a great experience with Tamron service. Going to have to go through and pick some of my faves to post in this thread.


@VetraLens - Your feedback originally here in this forum helped steer me toward the Tamron, so thanks!

Ouch, sorry to hear about the drop, but glad Tamron service worked out. Looking forward to seeing some of your shots!



Jan 06, 2017 at 03:35 PM
Max Power
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


saaber1 wrote:
The Bokeh and color of those shots are very Zeiss-like. Kinda hard to believe in a lens that costs $600 new. Nikon 35 1.4g is around $1300 used and Zeiss 35 f/2 is around $700+ used. VC is a pretty significant plus in my book. Not that it is necessarily needed on a 35mm lens but adds the benefit for slower shutter speeds. Also wpuld be a huge plus for video. I'll probably buy this lens.

Re 28mm. For me that's a pretty ideal focal length companion to a 50mm but I haven't been satisfied with any of the 28mms I've
...Show more

I am in the same place regarding 28mm. I look at a lot of the pictures I take at car shows and they are in that range, while 35mm, being a more accurate perspective, often pushes me far away from the subject that people step in front of me. I have been waiting patiently for a 28mm Sigma Art, but I am not sure it will ever come. I was looking at this Tamron and I am really tempted, but I borrowed a 35mm Art from a friend and it's absolutely magic on my 810, so I will try that first. I alsi considered the Tammy 15-30, but it is a bit on the large side.




Jan 06, 2017 at 04:38 PM
runamuck
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


I bought my Sigma 35 Art in 2013 and saved 200 bucks in one of their lightning sales for the holidays. That makes the nikon version 1 grand more expensive. Nowhere near worth it.


Jan 07, 2017 at 02:37 AM
saaber1
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Ordered the Tamron 35mm. $569 after rebate and includes tap-in dock, 32mb lexar 1000x card, tripod (I'm sure that tripod is a real quality item ha ha ...maybe can use as a light stand). Hopefully it will be a good copy. I'll try to post pictures after testing it out. Thanks!


Jan 09, 2017 at 05:42 AM
jrscls
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Trying a new lens out, and very pleased with its performance so far. Quick shot with flash in fairly dark room at f/2 on the D750-

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-vZ9DDLN/0/X2/i-vZ9DDLN-X2.jpg



Feb 13, 2017 at 09:03 PM
jrscls
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


One more, wide open on D750-

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-4ZsTStg/0/X2/i-4ZsTStg-X2.jpg



Feb 15, 2017 at 07:35 PM
jrscls
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Sorry for the cat pictures, but an easy subject to try the lens. This one at f/2, fairly close-

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-N3tRXrw/0/X2/i-N3tRXrw-X2.jpg



Feb 15, 2017 at 10:18 PM
saaber1
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Haven't had a chance to post any photos of the Tamron 35mm VC so I thought I would post some from playing with low light this evening. My initial impression of this lens in terms of IQ was "zeiss-like", probably due to the rendering. And now the more I use it the more I feel that way. The AF and VC make it a lot more forgiving than the Zeiss 35s, 2/25 (I have not shot the Zeiss 28 Otus or classic). It was a real test for the AF trying to focus in some cases in near darkness and it didn't miss a beat. Outstanding performance on the AF front I would say.




















Reminds me of Geidi Prime from Dune movie









Feb 21, 2017 at 01:52 AM
la puffin
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


How's the speed and accuracy of the AF? My 35/1.4L was fast enough for shooting live music - is the Tamron up for it?


Feb 21, 2017 at 02:33 AM
saaber1
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC Thread


Speed and accuracy seem to be excellent.

Not related to this lens specifically but FYI one thing I have found that really boosts accuracy with any AF lens in very low light is using the "red light" (or "red lines") AF-ILL (sp?) auto focus assist from any modern Nikon flash (sb-600, 800, 700, 910, 900 and newer etc.) I turn off the camera's auto focus assist light, set the flash to not fire, and use the flash's "red light" auto assist.

A couple caveats of the red light AF assist might be that I have never used the red light auto AF assist for live music so the range of the red light assist may not be long enough for that? Also another drawback of using the flash's af-ill is having the weight of a flash (or a su-800 commander) on top of the camera.

One thing I have thought about playing around with is the SC-29 flash cord also performs the red light auto assist and of course weighs less than a flash but I think it needs a flash connected to it to function. I have an sc-29 laying around so maybe Ill try it. If there was a way to modify the sc-29 so it had only the part that sits on top of the camera (and not the cord and hot shoe) then one could leave the sc-29 on top of the camera all the time for the red light af assist and have virtually no added weight.



Feb 21, 2017 at 12:44 PM
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