Erichimedes
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 p.11 #15 · New Lens: Tamron 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD, Thoughts? | |
I don't have images to share at the moment because most of what I've shot so far is family stuff as well as stuff with our friends' kids in them. Maybe we will get out this weekend and I can take some more varied shots. But I would like to share my thoughts shooting with it so far:
I don't feel the need to share anything about sharpness, aberrations or AF. That stuff gets beat to death in reviews. I'll only say that it's plenty sharp for me, the AF has been good, and I haven't noticed anything like CA ruining any of my shots.
Bokeh:
Let's get this out of the way first since people seem quite concerned about it. There's a specific distance, that is on the closer end of things, maybe .5 meters or so, where the bokeh can get a little interesting. But it only seems to do it with a high contrast demanding background with point light sources or harsh lighting, in most scenarios it's fine. Closer than that distance, like near MFD and the bokeh isn't perfect, but it's not bad at all. Further than that, it seems quite smooth. This "least ideal distance" is a distance I haven't found myself shooting in. It's too close to be a comfortable distance from another person, and it's too far for small objects in nature like flowers. It's the kind of thing I where I don't know how long it would have taken for me to notice if I wasn't specifically searching for it. Basically, in real world shooting, I'm not running into problems. If perfectly smooth bokeh in every situation is your thing, maybe another lens like a fast prime is a better option.
Build quality:
There's an inherent feeling of lesser build quality the first time you pick it up, but I'm going to chalk this up entirely to it's weight. It's a really light lens, and most of us associate weight with quality, whether we're conscious of it or not. But the zoom and focus rings are smooth, there's no play in any of the moving parts, the mount and the seal connect nicely with the camera, and the lens works very well.
Centering:
My copy is actually very well centered. I only checked it at either end of the zoom range, but I saw nothing to make me want to test it any further.
Manual focus:
I love that I can change the characteristics of the MF ring. It was easy to hook up to the computer and change to linear focus behavior. I find the ring to work nicely enough for a focus-by-wire situation.
Rendering:
This is subjective, but I find this lens (and other Tamron lenses) to have very nice contrast and colors. In lower/nice light, I have already gotten some fantastic shots. It also works quite well even in harsh sunlight, which is good because we get a ton of that where I live.
Size/weight:
I don't know what to say here except I just love the small size and weight. 340g is just barely anything. It feels great on the camera, and the only downside is it makes other lenses feel way too heavy!
The 20-40 range:
I decided to sell my Zony 16-35, so I needed to figure out how to replace it. Before this Tamron was announced, my plan was the Tamron 17-28 paired with the Sony 35/1.8. This wasn't perfect because I really prefer 40 over 35, and I switch between 35-40 and wider angles like 24mm a lot. The other problem is that 17mm really just isn't wide enough.
So the plan I'm moving forward with (now) is this Tamron 20-40 with a CV 15/4.5. If there's a shooting situation that requires 15mm, it's usually one where I have more time for a lens switch than a situation that requires 40mm. And if the CV 15 turns out to not be fast or wide enough, it's easier to replace it than the zoom.
That's all my thoughts for now. I'll try to post images soon.
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