Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8, Best $300 I ever spent (lots of pics)

LINCOLN · 07-22-2011, 10:52 PM

Brilliant!!
Both the lens performance and your angels...

bob_00 · 07-24-2011, 06:19 PM

A few test shots, nothing fancy, just trying to get a feel for the lens.

jboyde · 07-25-2011, 10:51 PM

Great texture on the wrapper. I've always loved that lens. :-) I dont use it as often as I should.

Genshu · 07-28-2011, 10:46 PM

nice, do you have any of long distance focus? Just got back from a trip plan to upload some more shots.

Genshu · 07-29-2011, 11:29 PM

I'm still having some doubts about my lense. It is just too inconsistent.

Genshu · 07-29-2011, 11:36 PM

a few examples.

Genshu · 07-29-2011, 11:46 PM

I could be having too great expectations and giving them too hard of an eye, but they seem just slightly off. When it goes spot on, it is just the best.

Attached Images

SRG01 · 11-08-2011, 04:31 PM

Originally posted by Edgar_in_Indy

Although the 28-75mm has many virtues, I don't think it's known to be the most consistently accurate lens on autofocus, so I wouldn't expect every shot to be perfectly in focus. But that being said, it's probably at least average in that regard. I wouldn't describe my copy as bad in regards to accuracy and consistency, but autofocus will miss on some shots. This is true of all lenses, with some being worse than others.

But autofocus is a very complex subject, and is dependent on both the lens and the camera's AF system, and can be effected by things such as the amount of lighting, and even the type of lighting (sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, mixed, etc). But since you said you were having similar problems with your kit lens, then there may be something else going on.

When shooting at f/2.8, depth of field (DOF) can be very thin. So autofocusing and recomposing will sometimes result in mis-focus. Also, if you or your subject moves even just a little bit, it can potentially throw off the focus. When photographing a person, for example, a slight turn on the head can throw the focus off, especially if you're shooting at close range, with a large aperture, and at longer focal lengths.

Finally, you may sometimes be confusing motion blur with misfocus. It's easy to do, and I know that I made that mistake a lot when I was newer to photography. There have been times when I was getting soft pictures and I initially thought there may be focus issues, but then when I upped the ISO and shutter speed, everything sharpened up, telling me the softness was not a focus problem.

Or, you may just have a faulty lens. But without actually using your lens, I can't really say whether it's a lens problem, or a matter of technique. And there could also be some unrealistic expectations thrown into the mix as well.

Assuming you have a return policy for the lens, you may want to exercise your option to replace or return it. If you're not happy with it, then there's no point in keeping it. And if you are still relatively new to photography, you may want to shoot some more with the kit lens (which is a decent lens) until you start to feel constrained by its limitations.

Sorry to bump this thread, but I definitely found this to be the case when I was testing the 28-75 in-store. I was shooting at around 75mm, 1/60-80, and found it slightly blurred. Chalked it up to micro-adjustments and took it home when, lo and behold, it actually had zero focusing issues when I put it on the tripod.

Genshu · 11-09-2011, 05:18 AM

Thank you for the reply. Following another thread I got an old fashioned style split/prism focus screen and am much happier. I either focus manually or when auto focusing with this set up I am much more aware of what is going on.

**seventysixersfan** · 04-22-2015, 07:01 AM - **1 Like**

Thank you, @Edgar_in_Indy, for promoting this lens with this thread and stirring up my LBA to buy it recently. Earlier this year, I sold an old version Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 but have had a bit of seller's remorse, as I was sometimes missing a constant f/2.8 zoom (and my DA 16-45, while excellent, is only f/4 so indoors it is not that great). So I decided to try the Tamron 28-75 because of its sharpness reputation and I wanted a little extra zoom reach for portraits of my kids. The lens has lived up to my expectations and exceeded them. Build quality is fairly decent though clearly plasticky, but no worse than my DA 16-45. The hood is finicky to put on and off. Screw drive focus sound is a bit shrill but I can live with it because the images and bokeh that I've been getting are rivaling some of my primes in the same range. This is one of my very first shots as a test of the lens, mounted on my K-50:

07-24-2011, 06:19 PM	#137
bob_00 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 32	A few test shots, nothing fancy, just trying to get a feel for the lens. Last edited by bob_00; 10-30-2011 at 07:13 AM.

07-29-2011, 11:36 PM	#141
Genshu Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Berkeley, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 81	a few examples. Attached Images

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07-22-2011, 10:52 PM	#136
LINCOLN New Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: CANTON, CHINA Posts: 11	Brilliant!! Both the lens performance and your angels...

07-25-2011, 10:51 PM	#138
jboyde Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New York Posts: 328	Great texture on the wrapper. I've always loved that lens. :-) I dont use it as often as I should.

07-28-2011, 10:46 PM	#139
Genshu Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Berkeley, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 81	nice, do you have any of long distance focus? Just got back from a trip plan to upload some more shots.

07-29-2011, 11:29 PM	#140
Genshu Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Berkeley, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 81	I'm still having some doubts about my lense. It is just too inconsistent.

07-29-2011, 11:46 PM	#142
Genshu Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Berkeley, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 81	I could be having too great expectations and giving them too hard of an eye, but they seem just slightly off. When it goes spot on, it is just the best. Attached Images

11-08-2011, 04:31 PM	#143
SRG01 Inactive Account Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 29	Originally posted by Edgar_in_Indy Although the 28-75mm has many virtues, I don't think it's known to be the most consistently accurate lens on autofocus, so I wouldn't expect every shot to be perfectly in focus. But that being said, it's probably at least average in that regard. I wouldn't describe my copy as bad in regards to accuracy and consistency, but autofocus will miss on some shots. This is true of all lenses, with some being worse than others. But autofocus is a very complex subject, and is dependent on both the lens and the camera's AF system, and can be effected by things such as the amount of lighting, and even the type of lighting (sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, mixed, etc). But since you said you were having similar problems with your kit lens, then there may be something else going on. When shooting at f/2.8, depth of field (DOF) can be very thin. So autofocusing and recomposing will sometimes result in mis-focus. Also, if you or your subject moves even just a little bit, it can potentially throw off the focus. When photographing a person, for example, a slight turn on the head can throw the focus off, especially if you're shooting at close range, with a large aperture, and at longer focal lengths. Finally, you may sometimes be confusing motion blur with misfocus. It's easy to do, and I know that I made that mistake a lot when I was newer to photography. There have been times when I was getting soft pictures and I initially thought there may be focus issues, but then when I upped the ISO and shutter speed, everything sharpened up, telling me the softness was not a focus problem. Or, you may just have a faulty lens. But without actually using your lens, I can't really say whether it's a lens problem, or a matter of technique. And there could also be some unrealistic expectations thrown into the mix as well. Assuming you have a return policy for the lens, you may want to exercise your option to replace or return it. If you're not happy with it, then there's no point in keeping it. And if you are still relatively new to photography, you may want to shoot some more with the kit lens (which is a decent lens) until you start to feel constrained by its limitations. Sorry to bump this thread, but I definitely found this to be the case when I was testing the 28-75 in-store. I was shooting at around 75mm, 1/60-80, and found it slightly blurred. Chalked it up to micro-adjustments and took it home when, lo and behold, it actually had zero focusing issues when I put it on the tripod.

11-09-2011, 05:18 AM	#144
Genshu Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Berkeley, CA Photos: Albums Posts: 81	Thank you for the reply. Following another thread I got an old fashioned style split/prism focus screen and am much happier. I either focus manually or when auto focusing with this set up I am much more aware of what is going on.

04-22-2015, 07:01 AM - 1 Like	#145
seventysixersfan Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 2,054	Thank you, @Edgar_in_Indy, for promoting this lens with this thread and stirring up my LBA to buy it recently. Earlier this year, I sold an old version Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 but have had a bit of seller's remorse, as I was sometimes missing a constant f/2.8 zoom (and my DA 16-45, while excellent, is only f/4 so indoors it is not that great). So I decided to try the Tamron 28-75 because of its sharpness reputation and I wanted a little extra zoom reach for portraits of my kids. The lens has lived up to my expectations and exceeded them. Build quality is fairly decent though clearly plasticky, but no worse than my DA 16-45. The hood is finicky to put on and off. Screw drive focus sound is a bit shrill but I can live with it because the images and bokeh that I've been getting are rivaling some of my primes in the same range. This is one of my very first shots as a test of the lens, mounted on my K-50:

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