Tamron 10-24mm anyone?

Voe · 12-19-2009, 07:57 AM

I looked at what is available on the net about the Tamron 10-24mm and it seems like a nice lens. Klaus from photozone.de did not give the lens a good feedback but I looked at the photo-gallery in the review and was astonished by the color rendering and sharpness of this lens.

ivoire · 12-19-2009, 08:02 AM

2 reviews here:

PentaxForums.com Third-Party Pentax Lens Review Database - 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 Di II

KjetilH · 12-19-2009, 08:27 AM

It is worth thinking about that a lens bought mostly for landscape photography is used at smaller apertures to ensure large DOF and that border sharpness is less of an issue in closeups.
Of course, it depends on your style, but 10-24 is a very useful range and MTF graphs are just numbers, after all.

Voe · 12-19-2009, 08:27 AM

Originally posted by ivoire

2 reviews here:

PentaxForums.com Third-Party Pentax Lens Review Database - 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 Di II

I've been there already. I was hoping for some discussion and eventual images made with this lens.

Voe · 12-19-2009, 08:33 AM

Originally posted by KjetilH

It is worth thinking about that a lens bought mostly for landscape photography is used at smaller apertures to ensure large DOF and that border sharpness is less of an issue in closeups.
Of course, it depends on your style, but 10-24 is a very useful range and MTF graphs are just numbers, after all.

I agree about the MTF numbers. I'm not into particular style, I will most likely use it for landscape and architectural shots but there will be some close-ups as well. The Tamron doesn't look like a sharpness king, but the I love the contrast and colors of the photos from dpreview and photozone.de regardless of the not so great test numbers.

shiner · 12-21-2009, 07:18 PM

Can we have some more reviews of this lens, please? Surely more than two forum members own one. The published reviews don't agree with each other, from what I've read. Pop Photo, for instance, says it's sharp- others do not say that. Trying to decide between this or just get a 15mm Ltd...

wallyb · 12-21-2009, 07:29 PM

I'll post a review soon. The lens is performing amazingly so far!

jogiba · 12-21-2009, 07:39 PM

I use the 10-24mm Tamron more than any other lens with my K-7 for HD video and stills. It works great for HDR shots indoors and outdoors.
HDR strong mode @10mm:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3GohLHY5Gs[/yt]

Richard Day · 12-22-2009, 12:32 PM

I recently had the opportunity to test for sample variation from 10 samples as I was very interested in this lens.

Sadly I found that there was very wide variation between units. The problems varied from being very soft all over at all focal lengths especially at the corners, bad centering on many and some were very sharp in the centre but soft at the edges and I found that out of the 10 samples there were only 3 that were pretty good at all focal lengths and across the frame.

Even so, all had a fair amount of CA, very critical sharpness/aperture tolerance (fell away outside of the f8-f11 band) and some distortion at all focal lengths, it also had a tendency to over expose by around 1 stop and had considerably lower contrast and colour fidelity than the Pentax/Samsung D-Xenon 12-24.

So unless you desperately want 10mm or a close focussing distance, I would strongly suggest the latter.

I ended up buying a D-Xenon 12-24 which was considerably less expensive than the DA 12-24 here in the UK, but now very scarce as supplies have all but dried up. It's performance is considerably better than the Tamron or the Sigma 10-20 (I've had two of those). Sadly the Pentax is a horrific price over here.

Basically, if you don't have the opportunity to select a Tamron from a reasonable number of units, I would not recommend buying as the chance of getting a well made one seems fairly low. This is probably why there is a generally poor opinion of the lens from both reviewers and some users apart from a few isolated cases.

wallyb · 12-22-2009, 12:41 PM

Quote:

it also had a tendency to over expose by around 1 stop

A lot of times, that will be caused by a confused meter because of such a wide range of lighting in a 10mm shot. My copy of the 10-24mm, in the testing I did today, had exactly this problem outdoors, but exposed perfectly indoors where the lighting was very even. I can't imagine other wide-angle lenses being any different.

Also, maybe I got lucky, but the only problem my lens has is a very very slight BF/FF issue. A missed focus only happens in about 1 out of ever 10 shots with the lens, and is only by a very small degree that is eliminated past f/5.6. Again, I suspect this is caused by a combination of the close focusing distance and a wide range of focusing planes in a super-wide-angle image.

Further, my copy is excruciatingly sharp with great contrast and almost no undue distortion. There is always going to be distortion going this wide. Building shots are very straight, though. It's much lower distortion than other super-wide-angle lenses I've used, for example the Tamron 11-18mm.

I'm still testing, but these are my results so far. I would easily recommend the lens.

calicojack · 12-23-2009, 07:39 AM

How about a comparison between the Tamron 10-24 and the Sigma 10-20?

Richard Day · 12-23-2009, 12:10 PM

Originally posted by wallyb

A lot of times, that will be caused by a confused meter because of such a wide range of lighting in a 10mm shot. My copy of the 10-24mm, in the testing I did today, had exactly this problem outdoors, but exposed perfectly indoors where the lighting was very even. I can't imagine other wide-angle lenses being any different.

Not nearly so pronounced with the 12-24 or the two Sigma 10-20's I had.

Quote:

Also, maybe I got lucky, but the only problem my lens has is a very very slight BF/FF issue. A missed focus only happens in about 1 out of ever 10 shots with the lens, and is only by a very small degree that is eliminated past f/5.6. Again, I suspect this is caused by a combination of the close focusing distance and a wide range of focusing planes in a super-wide-angle image.

Probably due to field curvature of the 10-24, the Sigma 10-20's had the same issue, but the Tamron does seem better. The 12-24 seems less prone to this problem.

Quote:

Further, my copy is excruciatingly sharp with great contrast and almost no undue distortion. There is always going to be distortion going this wide. Building shots are very straight, though. It's much lower distortion than other super-wide-angle lenses I've used, for example the Tamron 11-18mm.

I'm still testing, but these are my results so far. I would easily recommend the lens.

Lens QA is always my main concern and that is why I have some reservations in recommending the 10-24, but the good examples were very good and very close to the 12-24, but I would say the 12-24 design was better balanced. This is generally in line with most reviewer and user reports of the Pentax/Tokina/Samsung 12-24 design overall, and it has been around long enough now to establish a firm reputation.

IQ quality consistency is a problem with all lens makers, none are immune. Sadly I suspect that well over 90% of purchasers would never detect a lens IQ problem and that is probably why the makers don't tighten up their QC.

In general, I have found Pentax lens IQ's to be better overall than the independent designs, but the sample variations are sometimes just as wide.

12-19-2009, 07:57 AM	#1
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719	Tamron 10-24mm anyone? I looked at what is available on the net about the Tamron 10-24mm and it seems like a nice lens. Klaus from photozone.de did not give the lens a good feedback but I looked at the photo-gallery in the review and was astonished by the color rendering and sharpness of this lens.

12-23-2009, 07:39 AM	#11
calicojack Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Long Island, N.Y. Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,124	Certainly not meaning to Highjack this thread, but How about a comparison between the Tamron 10-24 and the Sigma 10-20?

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12-19-2009, 08:02 AM	#2
ivoire Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,381	2 reviews here: PentaxForums.com Third-Party Pentax Lens Review Database - 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 Di II

12-19-2009, 08:27 AM	#3
KjetilH Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Oslo Photos: Gallery Posts: 309	It is worth thinking about that a lens bought mostly for landscape photography is used at smaller apertures to ensure large DOF and that border sharpness is less of an issue in closeups. Of course, it depends on your style, but 10-24 is a very useful range and MTF graphs are just numbers, after all.

12-19-2009, 08:27 AM	#4
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719 Original Poster	Originally posted by ivoire 2 reviews here: PentaxForums.com Third-Party Pentax Lens Review Database - 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 Di II I've been there already. I was hoping for some discussion and eventual images made with this lens.

12-19-2009, 08:33 AM	#5
Voe Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Sydney Photos: Gallery Posts: 719 Original Poster	Originally posted by KjetilH It is worth thinking about that a lens bought mostly for landscape photography is used at smaller apertures to ensure large DOF and that border sharpness is less of an issue in closeups. Of course, it depends on your style, but 10-24 is a very useful range and MTF graphs are just numbers, after all. I agree about the MTF numbers. I'm not into particular style, I will most likely use it for landscape and architectural shots but there will be some close-ups as well. The Tamron doesn't look like a sharpness king, but the I love the contrast and colors of the photos from dpreview and photozone.de regardless of the not so great test numbers.

12-21-2009, 07:18 PM	#6
shiner Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: N GA USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,127	Can we have some more reviews of this lens, please? Surely more than two forum members own one. The published reviews don't agree with each other, from what I've read. Pop Photo, for instance, says it's sharp- others do not say that. Trying to decide between this or just get a 15mm Ltd...

12-21-2009, 07:29 PM	#7
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	I'll post a review soon. The lens is performing amazingly so far!

12-21-2009, 07:39 PM	#8
jogiba Banned Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491	I use the 10-24mm Tamron more than any other lens with my K-7 for HD video and stills. It works great for HDR shots indoors and outdoors. HDR strong mode @10mm: [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3GohLHY5Gs[/yt]

12-22-2009, 12:32 PM	#9
Richard Day Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gloucester UK Posts: 441	I recently had the opportunity to test for sample variation from 10 samples as I was very interested in this lens. Sadly I found that there was very wide variation between units. The problems varied from being very soft all over at all focal lengths especially at the corners, bad centering on many and some were very sharp in the centre but soft at the edges and I found that out of the 10 samples there were only 3 that were pretty good at all focal lengths and across the frame. Even so, all had a fair amount of CA, very critical sharpness/aperture tolerance (fell away outside of the f8-f11 band) and some distortion at all focal lengths, it also had a tendency to over expose by around 1 stop and had considerably lower contrast and colour fidelity than the Pentax/Samsung D-Xenon 12-24. So unless you desperately want 10mm or a close focussing distance, I would strongly suggest the latter. I ended up buying a D-Xenon 12-24 which was considerably less expensive than the DA 12-24 here in the UK, but now very scarce as supplies have all but dried up. It's performance is considerably better than the Tamron or the Sigma 10-20 (I've had two of those). Sadly the Pentax is a horrific price over here. Basically, if you don't have the opportunity to select a Tamron from a reasonable number of units, I would not recommend buying as the chance of getting a well made one seems fairly low. This is probably why there is a generally poor opinion of the lens from both reviewers and some users apart from a few isolated cases.

12-22-2009, 12:41 PM	#10
wallyb Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Untied States Photos: Albums Posts: 1,881	Quote: it also had a tendency to over expose by around 1 stop A lot of times, that will be caused by a confused meter because of such a wide range of lighting in a 10mm shot. My copy of the 10-24mm, in the testing I did today, had exactly this problem outdoors, but exposed perfectly indoors where the lighting was very even. I can't imagine other wide-angle lenses being any different. Also, maybe I got lucky, but the only problem my lens has is a very very slight BF/FF issue. A missed focus only happens in about 1 out of ever 10 shots with the lens, and is only by a very small degree that is eliminated past f/5.6. Again, I suspect this is caused by a combination of the close focusing distance and a wide range of focusing planes in a super-wide-angle image. Further, my copy is excruciatingly sharp with great contrast and almost no undue distortion. There is always going to be distortion going this wide. Building shots are very straight, though. It's much lower distortion than other super-wide-angle lenses I've used, for example the Tamron 11-18mm. I'm still testing, but these are my results so far. I would easily recommend the lens.

12-23-2009, 12:10 PM	#12
Richard Day Inactive Account Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gloucester UK Posts: 441	Originally posted by wallyb A lot of times, that will be caused by a confused meter because of such a wide range of lighting in a 10mm shot. My copy of the 10-24mm, in the testing I did today, had exactly this problem outdoors, but exposed perfectly indoors where the lighting was very even. I can't imagine other wide-angle lenses being any different. Not nearly so pronounced with the 12-24 or the two Sigma 10-20's I had. Quote: Also, maybe I got lucky, but the only problem my lens has is a very very slight BF/FF issue. A missed focus only happens in about 1 out of ever 10 shots with the lens, and is only by a very small degree that is eliminated past f/5.6. Again, I suspect this is caused by a combination of the close focusing distance and a wide range of focusing planes in a super-wide-angle image. Probably due to field curvature of the 10-24, the Sigma 10-20's had the same issue, but the Tamron does seem better. The 12-24 seems less prone to this problem. Quote: Further, my copy is excruciatingly sharp with great contrast and almost no undue distortion. There is always going to be distortion going this wide. Building shots are very straight, though. It's much lower distortion than other super-wide-angle lenses I've used, for example the Tamron 11-18mm. I'm still testing, but these are my results so far. I would easily recommend the lens. Lens QA is always my main concern and that is why I have some reservations in recommending the 10-24, but the good examples were very good and very close to the 12-24, but I would say the 12-24 design was better balanced. This is generally in line with most reviewer and user reports of the Pentax/Tokina/Samsung 12-24 design overall, and it has been around long enough now to establish a firm reputation. IQ quality consistency is a problem with all lens makers, none are immune. Sadly I suspect that well over 90% of purchasers would never detect a lens IQ problem and that is probably why the makers don't tighten up their QC. In general, I have found Pentax lens IQ's to be better overall than the independent designs, but the sample variations are sometimes just as wide.