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 p.2 #11 · Sony 70-200mm f2.8 II vs. Tamron 70-180: Pros vs. Pros: | |
Immortal wrote:
It seems more like T70-180 for some reason wasn't good enough for you. It was more than good enough for pretty much anybody (before GM II release) who tested it against first GM 70-200/F2.8. Like i didn't see ANY test here or on YT or anywhere where the first GM would be sharper or better in any way outside build quality and OSS. Tamron 70-180 always was and still is a much sharper lens than GM 70-200, it's also much lighter, smaller and much cheaper. There is a reason Sony made a GM II of that lens.
Also price doesn't always reflect quality of the lenses. Old GM lenses were and are overpriced, on top of that - not that great to begin with. 3rd party lenses (Tamron, Sigma, even Samyang) are sometimes just straight up better (sharper, lighter, cheaper)....Show more →
Agree, but I think you are dealing with a different agenda here. He was a Sony shooter, and now has moved on to Canon and Leica (the King has no clothes).
I used to see this attitude a lot when it came to cars. Those that associate price with quality because they don't have any other basis for evaluation of quality. These people would buy the most expensive cars, with the most performance orientated badges, but had no clue about how to drive them. Cars like BMW M5s and such ( very nice street cars, not a dig at BMW). They had no internal knowledge or skills in that area. Drivers used to get a big kick out of them. But they helped pay the bills.
Like in driving, I find the answers usually lie in disciplined testing. Today, as I had done previously, I went out and tested my Tamron 70-180 on moving subjects just get a more solid feel on its AF performance, and confirm my opinions. Previously I had tested on my a9, and now wanted to see if my a1 made any significant differences. I shot moving cars coming and going, joggers, and fast moving dogs playing at the dog park. I used Human eye AF on the people, Animal eye AF on the dogs, and regular tracking on the cars, focusing on license plates to make it easier to judge focus. My results were very much in line with my previous testing but slightly better. Frame rates just as I remembered remained below 15 fps, mostly in the 12 -13 range. My hit rates varied a bit. Interestingly the lens seemed to do better when I set the camera frame rate to 15 fps rather than 20 or 30. Possibly, falling behind the camera causes problems for the lens. Maybe its better to keep them in sync. Much more testing in this regard is required to form any concrete conclusions. The Tamron seems to have the most trouble with fast moving subjects coming directly at the camera, or going away. In these circumstances most of the time getting a hit rate in the 70%-80% range. The lens did better with subjects that had a significant lateral component to the movement. Hit rates in the 90% area, with a good number of bursts getting 100% of frames in focus. Because the IBIS is not as effective with no OSS, I do tend to keep my SS up higher than on my lenses with OSS. If you don't manage this properly you will get images that are a bit softer and may look slightly out of focus. But, in reality it is motion blur from camera shake I believe. This also happens with the Sony lenses with OSS if you are not setting it to the right OSS mode for the movement involved.
In my experience the Tamron is not the best lens in this FL for fast action, or very low light. I have better. In most instances it does a good job however. In all cases the IQ is excellent. I bought mine for travel, landscapes, and portraits. In such uses it does very well.
If I were shooting indoor, low light action, like volleyball or basketball I would choose the Sony 70-200 Version II and put up with the added weight. Cost is not a primary consideration in my decision process. Photography equipment is an inexpensive component as far as hobbies go. For outdoor fast action I shoot my 100-400 GM and my 200-600 G. Both excellent performers.
The Tamron has earned it's place in my bag for the purposes I use it.
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