p.5 #1 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
I am going to add my 2 cents with my personal review of the lens that I posted on DPreview. I don't want to replicate a post so I am linking to it here:
I like the lens a lot, it's super sharp in the center even fully open. I found f5.6 to be optimal but f4 was super close. For <100mm it's excellent (in fact, I'd say better than my old Sony 24-105). For >100mm you start losing some sharpness in the corners, it's manageable for ~<150mm, and not bad at 200mm.It depends on the copy: my second copy is great. You need to watch chromatic aberration on the long end for shots with extreme contrast (it can be corrected in LR).
Even though I have plenty of good glass for my A7RV, this is now my goto lens if I can only carry one lens, like hiking, etc.
p.5 #2 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
Good to know about copy variation, at 200mm I was not super happy with center sharpness on mine. OK, but not as good as my 28-200 was and ultimately why I sold the lens. I miss it a lot though and was considering getting another one day.
p.5 #3 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
Tarekith wrote:
Good to know about copy variation, at 200mm I was not super happy with center sharpness on mine. OK, but not as good as my 28-200 was and ultimately why I sold the lens. I miss it a lot though and was considering getting another one day.
I "always" test a lens before keeping it and ask for a new copy if I see some bad performance. Sometimes that is intrinsic to the lens but often this is due to copy variation. I went through 3 copies of the 24-70 GMII until I landed on one that I was happy with. I know this is time consuming, but I always assume that there is copy variation....
On the 20-70mm f4, that was spot on and excellent on my first shot, so I didn't have to go through this exchange business....(blessed B&H!)
p.5 #4 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
A lot of the reviews I read about 25-200 said it was a little soft at the extreme tele end, so I just assumed it was normal. Mine wasn't bad by any means, it just didn't produce results as sharp as my 28-200 and I tend to use these kinds of lenses zoomed in a lot because I'm lazy and I can
p.5 #5 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
I picked up a copy of this lens to bring on vacation instead of carrying my 28-60 and 70-180. So far, the 25-200 has impressed me with its sharpness, even at 200mm. The size of this lens is great for travel. I typically take 3 lenses on trips to keep things light and simple, so this let's me carry 2 additional lenes that can be more specialized (faster primes). On my latest trip, I brought the Sony 16/1.8 and Voigtlander 40/1.2. I was about 60/40 split between the Tamron and Voigtlander, only bringing the Sony out for a few shots of the night sky (somewhat expected).
Here are a few test shots I took prior to the trip, just to test the range/bokeh a bit.
p.5 #6 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
I normally shoot with much higher end lenses (Sigma Art, Voigtlander APO, Zeiss, Sony GM, etc) on my A7R5 but got this to combine with my 16-35/4 PZ for a very light weight good light travel setup. I've been extremely pleased by the results. When I started photography decades ago, superzooms (and most regular zooms) were garbage. This lens holds up well to big enlargements and is good at most focal lengths/apertures. I now travel with a much lighter setup but still can get good results. It might not be a match for the best glass but rarely does the absolute best image quality make a gigantic difference in determining what a quality image is. Most of my favorite shots I've ever taken were on gear that is now primitive compared to what I have now and I don't enjoy them any less.
p.5 #7 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
I agree, actually some of my most viewed and favorited images, not to mention the largest image I've ever printed were taken on the old Sony 24-240. That lens is quite soft once you zoomed past 100mm. But composition and light make the shot far moreso than absolute sharpness, so I had some great keepers just using what I had at the time.
Some more casual shots before my trip with the 25-200:
p.5 #8 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
Great pics Graham! Glad to see you're making good use of the 25-200 I sold you. I thought it was a pretty well centered copy. Hope you're enjoying it and looking forward to seeing more pics taken with my former lens
p.5 #9 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
The question for me remains, other than 25mm, is there a compelling reason to buy the lens if I have a great 28-200 already? Appreciate any input from those who have had both and shot them side by side. Thanks
p.5 #10 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
The faster autofocus of the 25 was the only thing that stood out to me over the 28, at least with the copies I had. In retrospect I wish I would have just stuck with the 28 since the 25 just didn't add that much to what the 28 was doing for me already.
p.5 #11 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
As an owner of both (the 28 being sold prior) I also don't know if getting the 25-200 was worth the extra cost and loss of light. That being said I do think it's sharper and faster AF. The 28 wasn't slouching in AF by any means though
p.5 #12 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
I do like the build quality of the 25 compared to Tamron's older design. I have the old 17-28. Haven't tried the USB-C port or custom button yet though. I probably wouldn't upgrade if I already had a 28-200, but having 25mm on the wide end convinced me to go for the newer option.
p.5 #20 · Tamron 25-200mm F/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 (Model A075)
cxpics wrote:
Still loving the output of this lens, though I’m still tempted by the 20-200 for the extra range.
I haven't combed through all of my travel images yet for this lens, but so far I'm shooting about 1/3 of the time at 25mm, 1/3 from 26-100mm, and 1/3 from 100-200mm. I brought my 16/1.8 and only used it on one occasion. So thus far I'm pretty satisfied that 25mm will be wide enough for what I need this lens to do and I can be happy to have the extra 2/3 stop or so in aperture. This taking 67mm filters is also nice. That said, all this could change for my next trip, who knows?
