[W.j.christy]

Well, I pulled the trigger on a used Tamron 28-75 the other night. It was a good price and should give me a good idea what the focal range is like. If I don't like it i believe I should be able to re-sell it and come out even. which is nice.

Thanks for all the input from you guys. You never know though, the future may hold a D-FA 24-70... :-)

[W.j.christy]

I purchased the Tamron from what looked like a reliable ebayer. I got it out of the box and started to look it over, clean the glass, and make sure it all function correctly and guess what.... It's defective.....

There was a crack in the lens barrel just above the bayonet mount for the lens hood. The crack was located in what looked like a trim ring that didn't really serve a purpose other than the add to the aesthetics of the lens. I might have been able to live with that. IF I hadn't put the lens on the camera and then felt something knocking about. Sure enough, it was the lens barrel with 2.5mm or so of play when retracted and extended (didn't matter). To say the least I am disappointed. I have asked for a return though the listing said no returns so i have a feeling this is going to have to go through the e-bay resolution center. ** SIGH**

Oh well. it was worth a shot.

[redcat]

Tamron 28-75

it's a great lens, you should buy new 'cause it's reasonably priced, ebay is not worth it for cheap lens

[W.j.christy]

it's a great lens, you should buy new 'cause it's reasonably priced, ebay is not worth it for cheap lens

I actually bought a Tokina and then sold it (to soft at 2.8 for my taste otherwise wonderful lens. almost like a weapon it was so well built). Then I buckled and bought the tamron from KEH and haven't looked back. I really didn't want to like it, it was plastic and it was a screw drive, but since I bought it about the 2nd week of march its been glued to the camera. Its just a fantastic lens. The copy I got is superbly sharp throughout the range. So I am happy now.

[redcat]

I actually bought a Tokina and then sold it (to soft at 2.8 for my taste otherwise wonderful lens. almost like a weapon it was so well built). Then I buckled and bought the tamron from KEH and haven't looked back. I really didn't want to like it, it was plastic and it was a screw drive, but since I bought it about the 2nd week of march its been glued to the camera. Its just a fantastic lens. The copy I got is superbly sharp throughout the range. So I am happy now.

great to hear, I had wonderful results with it too but it had to go for the sake of FA 77 I'm a prime lens kinda guy

[twomonger]

Great to hear you've made a lens choice, so the below info is not as important. Mostly just my opinion about the lenses.

From what I've read, the old Tamron (28-70mm) is close to the new Tamron (rebranded as Pentax D FA 24-70mm) in the center, but not as good on the edges. The new 24-70mm has a reputation of being a very good zoom lens across a number of mounts. It's only been great for me, but I've never used old 28-70mm.
So I find it interesting the D FA 24-70mm got knocked for being not so sharp in the corners wide open at the 24mm end without a relative comparison of its performance relative to other lenses in its category. If it underperformed relative to other zooms, then it criticisms would be a lot easier to understand. Without a relative comparison, however, then "not sharp in the corners" is almost impossible to interpret. Not sharp relative to what? A 24mm prime? The 15-30mm zoom? Old 24/28-70mm zooms? All zoom lenses are compromises, and none of them will offer the sharpness of a prime.

28-70mm: Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) - Review / Test Report - Samples Images & Verdict
24-70mm: Tamron AF 24-70mm f/2.8 SP Di USD VC (Canon EOS) - Full Format Review / Lens Test - Sample Images & Verdict

Camera Lens Database - DxOMark