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Archive 2021 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

ruthenium
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p.1 #1 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

I have recently wasted time on possibly totally irrelevant questions, like how my new Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 compares to Sony 35GM, Sony 16-35GM, and Sony 24-105G at 35 mm and F2 or F2.8?
Perhaps, some may find this comparison interesting, thus I am posting the observations.
The camera was on a tripod, focused on the number "57", which was 31 m (ca 100 ft) away from the camera. A remote shutter was used with 10 s delay on the camera. DRO and all three lens corrections were turned off.
The RAW files were opened in DxO Photolab 5, using the Cobalt Standard color rendering. No corrections (sharpening, contrast, etc.) were applied.
All crops shown below are 300 x 200 pixels.
At the end, I feel pleased with the performance of the Tamron. The resolution and contrast of this lens at F2 and 2.8 are very close to those of the supposedly excellent Sony 35GM. I expect that both lenses should produce high-quality images at F2 and 2.8 in real-life applications.
One interesting property of the Tamron, which I did not expect, is the apparent field curvature, resulting in the subjects in the background to be better focused compared to the other Sony lenses in this test. This is clearly seen in Crop 5, by looking at the sign "Palomino." Conversely, the foreground is better in focus with the Sony lenses of this test.
The first image given below is the uncropped image; then, crops 1 - 5 appear, as labelled on the uncropped image.

Dec 14, 2021 at 02:50 PM

j4nu
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p.1 #2 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Thanks! I always enjoy looking at comparisons like this

.
I'm surprised your Tamron is so close to 35GM, I'll need to check mine but I'm pretty sure it won't be that good.
Now, the Sony zooms in this comparison don't look so hot to me...

Dec 14, 2021 at 03:12 PM

ruthenium
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p.1 #3 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

j4nu wrote:
Thanks! I always enjoy looking at comparisons like this

.
I'm surprised your Tamron is so close to 35GM, I'll need to check mine but I'm pretty sure it won't be that good.
Now, the Sony zooms in this comparison don't look so hot to me...

I believe that in terms of sharpness all four lenses are good to excellent, and the differences would not be a factor in most real-life applications. All four are capable of capturing impressive images, although they may require different amounts of post-processing. The real big differences are in the creative opportunities they offer when wide-open. I am glad that the Tamron is a good-quality lens at 35mm F2 - this is a huge bonus. No offence meant, but the Sony 24-105 G F4 increasingly makes me feel like a crippled version of the Tamron 35-150 F2-2.8. Of course, the former extends from 35 to 24 mm on the wide end and this can be a deal breaker for some (also the size an weight should be taken into the account).

Dec 14, 2021 at 03:30 PM

onthebeam
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p.1 #4 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Tamron once again more than holds its own against Sony native glass.

Dec 14, 2021 at 03:44 PM

Immortal
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p.1 #5 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Thanks.

I'm too pleased with my T35-150 - an excelent lens.

That GM 16-35 looks soft as hell like several tiers below Tamron.

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:09 PM

RoamingScott
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p.1 #6 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Unfortunately that Tamron can�t shoot 16�34mm, sharp as it is!

Immortal wrote:
Thanks.

I'm too pleased with my T35-150 - an excelent lens.

That GM 16-35 looks soft as hell like several tiers below Tamron.

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:13 PM

j4nu
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p.1 #7 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

RoamingScott wrote:
Unfortunately that Tamron can�t shoot 16�34mm, sharp as it is!

That's why this comparison is at 35mm I think

...

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:15 PM

ruthenium
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p.1 #8 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

j4nu wrote:
That's why this comparison is at 35mm I think

...

I did not mean to make the 16-35GM look inferior. The lens performs very satisfactorily at 35mm F2.8, to my standards. Here is an example of real-life use of this lens at 35 mm F2.8 - the image is sharp enough. The point of this comparison was to highlight the good resolution and contrast of the Tamron at F2

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:29 PM

j4nu
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p.1 #9 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

ruthenium wrote:
I did not mean to make the 16-35GM look inferior. The lens performs very satisfactorily at 35mm F2.8, to my standards. Here is an example of real-life use of this lens at 35 mm F2.8 - the image is sharp enough. The point of this comparison was to highlight the good resolution and contrast of the Tamron at F2

And it wasn't my intention to pick on 16-35GM (or 24-105G for that matter)

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It just struck me that there is quite a difference in perceived sharpness, to me at least.
I personally would (unrealistically it seems) expect a bit closer performance, given how much GM costs. Alas, we can't have everything, as this is probably the price to pay for the broad 16-35 mm range...

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:42 PM

ruthenium
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p.1 #10 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

j4nu wrote:
And it wasn't my intention to pick on 16-35GM (or 24-105G for that matter)

Dec 14, 2021 at 04:54 PM

Immortal
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p.1 #11 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Lets not even think about it.

Coz we all know that the price would start with a 2 or more likely a 3.

All in all, no wonder many people view Tamron 35-150/F2-2.8 as a lens of the year. I agree with that.

Dec 14, 2021 at 05:06 PM

hevaKmaI
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p.1 #12 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Agreed...the mix of focal range, aperture, contrast, and sharpness of this lens really makes it a pleasure to use, especially since it performs so well. Since I got mine, it's spent most of its time on the camera as I take random photos of the family. 35-150mm is just wonderful for that.

Dec 14, 2021 at 06:35 PM

onthebeam
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p.1 #13 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Which camera was used for test? Assuming you shot RAW?

Dec 14, 2021 at 07:01 PM

ruthenium
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p.1 #14 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

onthebeam wrote:
Which camera was used for test? Assuming you shot RAW?

Sony A1 was the camera. The point about RAW is important. Indeed the RAW files were used, converted to JPGs in DxO Photolab 5, using the Cobalt Standard color profile and NO corrections were applied (also no in-camera lens corrections). Saying that the posted images are RAW images would be literally incorrect, but this is what they are meant to represent. I find comparing post-processed images, e.g. SOOC JPGs, possibly confusing. For example, I simply don't know whether the amount of sharpening applied in-camera toward the images obtained with the Sony lenses is equivalent to the sharpening applied to a third-party lens such as the Tamron. Comparing uncorrected images feels right to me, but this is obviously a personal preference.
An unrelated point: when looking back at the images I posted, I realized post factum that in the group of crop 1, the stone looks bigger in the images taken with the Tamron, compared to those in the images obtained with the Sony 35GM. Since the pixel size is the same (300 x 200), the Sony must be wider than the Tamron at the nominal 35 mm.

Dec 14, 2021 at 07:31 PM

Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #15 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

ruthenium wrote:
I hate to think what could have been the cost of a hypothetical 35-150 F2-2.8 GM zoom, if it had been available from Sony.

You want the price? You couldn't handle the price.

My guess $2999.

Dec 14, 2021 at 07:36 PM

AGeoJO
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p.1 #16 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Sony owns some 12 or so percent of Tamron. They could rebadge the lens and sell it for quite a bit more�

Dec 14, 2021 at 07:40 PM

Charlie N
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p.1 #17 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

AGeoJO wrote:
Sony owns some 12 or so percent of Tamron. They could rebadge the lens and sell it for quite a bit more�

They should, and when there was rumor of the 28-75, I was hoping that be the case. Need a 30fps 35-150, the lens is clearly being artificially limited on the A1.

Dec 14, 2021 at 08:25 PM

InFocus2014
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p.1 #18 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

Nice, well done test - thanks.

I have had a chance to shoot my 36-150mm on several portrait type shoots, now. I am still amazed at how sharp this lens is, overall.

Yesterday, I critically reviewed those untouched RAW files at 100% on a 5K, 27" monitor in LR and compared them with similar shots from the GM 35mm, GM 50mm, Sigma 105mm f1.4 and GM 135mm (at the same focal lengths and apertures). I mainly compared eye sharpness - the focus point.

I almost had to pinch myself when comparing the files. I could see really small differences, some ever so slight, but nothing really significant. Bokeh capability with the primes shot wide-open will be the reason I keep shooting them for critical shoots; otherwise, the Tamron lens will be amazingly versatile for much of my photography.

As a note, when Roger Cicala tested the GM 16-35mm f2.8, he said it was a great 16-28mm lens, but not so great at 35mm. When I had this lens, I found that to be completely true and 35mm could be really soft at f2.8. Since 35mm on this lens was not useful, to me, I sold it and acquired the GM 12-24mm, which I find to be even better, optically. 24mm images cropped to 35mm are still better than the 16-35mm at 35mm - at least for my copies of these lenses.

A1, Tamron 35-150, 150mm, f2.8 ISO 100, 1/200, AD600 Strobe, 24" beauty dish w/sock

A1, Tamron 35-150, 35mm, f2, ISO 250, 1/160, AD600, Matte filters applied in post processing

Dec 14, 2021 at 08:28 PM

scalanc2
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p.1 #19 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

ruthenium wrote:
Sony A1 was the camera. The point about RAW is important. Indeed the RAW files were used, converted to JPGs in DxO Photolab 5, using the Cobalt Standard color profile and NO corrections were applied (also no in-camera lens corrections). Saying that the posted images are RAW images would be literally incorrect, but this is what they are meant to represent. I find comparing post-processed images, e.g. SOOC JPGs, possibly confusing. For example, I simply don't know whether the amount of sharpening applied in-camera toward the images obtained with the Sony lenses is equivalent to the sharpening applied to a...Show more →

I found the 35GM to more a 33mm instead of 35mm.

Dec 15, 2021 at 02:08 AM

EdwardDye
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p.1 #20 · Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD vs Sony at 35 mm

This is amazing

Dec 15, 2021 at 02:29 AM

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