I just received my Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 for Canon. The model number printed on the box is AF09E for Canon AF. When I check with tamron.com, bhphotovideo and other websites and they list the model for Canon as AF09C. Why there is a different designation if it's the same lens for the same camera? Mine was assembled in China with Japanese and Chinese parts. Is all Tamron lenses assembled in China?
Tamron is a Japanese brand but like many companies it must face economic,
labor, manufacturing and marketing realities worldwide. Original proof lenses
are probably designed, prototyped and manufactured in Japan with an eye towards finding a happy and profitable ground maintaining a certain amount of Japanese content combined with cheaper labor that can be employed elsewhere in Asia or the world when the product eventually reaches series production, hopefully without sacrificing the quality of the finished marketable product(s) as they would have emerged if made entirely in Japan.
Once the production line is up and running and QC and QA are in place it matters not whether the lens is made in Germany or China or wherever. That being said, it DOES matter how closely the allowable tolerances are and how carefully these are checked. This is also true wherever the lens is made or assembled.
Liscia wrote:
Tamron is a Japanese brand but like many companies it must face economic,
labor, manufacturing and marketing realities worldwide. Original proof lenses
are probably designed, prototyped and manufactured in Japan with an eye towards finding a happy and profitable ground maintaining a certain amount of Japanese content combined with cheaper labor that can be employed elsewhere in Asia or the world when the product eventually reaches series production, hopefully without sacrificing the quality of the finished marketable product(s) as they would have emerged if made entirely in Japan.
The 28-75 has been assembled in Taiwan (China) since about the fifth month of its introduction. The early Japanese runs had a pretty severe sharpness bug that appeared to be a bad chip (people who handcarried it to Tamron service reported that it took only minutes to fix).
It matters to some because they don't wish to support countries with immoral governments, illegal working conditions (e.g., child labor) or human rights issues.
Personally I'd rather pay more to have something manufactured in a democracy with good human rights and labor track record. Communist China falls rather short in this regard.
Gochugogi wrote:
It matters to some because they don't wish to support countries with immoral governments, illegal working conditions (e.g., child labor) or human rights issues.
Personally I'd rather pay more to have something manufactured in a democracy with good human rights and labor track record. Communist China falls rather short in this regard.
Frequently harder to do these days. Where items in the past specified "Taiwan," the politically correct thing today is to say "China" whether from the mainland or from Taiwan, because the mainland government considers it an offense to refer to Taiwan as though it were a separate state.
The Tamron lens is made in Taiwan, not mainland China.
How about the Model designation, one is AF09C-700 (tamron's website) vs. AF09E for Canon-AF (on my Printed in Japan box)? If it's the same lens, then why there are two different Models?
Every reference I see specific to the lens mount is clear-cut:
Canon: AF09C700
Minolta: AF09M700
Nikon: AF09N700
Pentax: AF09P700
Obviously, Tamron merely added the first letter of the camera mount brand name to the generic lens model number. This is the same on both the Tamron site and in B&H's online catalog.
Tamron Website: http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/2875mm.asp
You're looking at AF09E on the box (I don't have my own box anymore), my question is: Is that number directly printed on the box, or is that number on the sticker that also denotes "Canon?"
If it's directly printed on the box, then it's the stock number of the box itself--which would be the same for all mounts of the 28-75mm lens. Or, even if everything is printed on the box, it's still likely that "E" designates the box for the Canon mount. They would have to designate the boxes as separate parts from the lenses themselves in the same parts database, so most reasonably the boxes would either be AF09-something generic (if the distinction of mount is by a separate sticker) or AF09-something specific to the mount each box is intended for.
