Updated: November 9th, 2009
After spending close to three weeks with this lens on a vacation to Europe, Photopurity has made some revisions to this review to more accurately reflect the performance the lens gives in real life results.
Photopurity has obtained a production copy of the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD lens to review. First let’s try to break down all those different abbreviations in the lens title.
XR = eXtra Refractive Index Glass
Di = Digitally Integrated
VC = Vibration Compensation
LD = Low Dispersion
Of these four two letter abbreviations, there’s really only two that I care to see as part of the lens’ name: VC and Di. Di tells me whether the lens is built for an APS-C lens or whether it will work on a full frame camera. (For an understanding of the difference between crop cameras and full frame cameras, see this article.)
With Tamron’s lens they are either designated Di or Di-II. Di means the lens is designed so that it can be fitted onto a full frame camera/film camera or an APS-C sensor camera. It means it was designed with the Full Frame sensor in mind but will work also with an APS-C sensor. Di-II signifies that the lens was designed specifically for cameras with an APS-C sized sensor, it will not work well with a full frame sensor or a film camera. This is important to know from a lens’ title.
VC is also important to know as vibration compensation (Image stabilization IS, Optical Stabilization OS, Vibration Reduction VR, etc) provides an extremely useful function to the lens and provides versatility in allowing you as a photographer to use slower shutter speeds than what would normally be required in order to get a sharp picture.
LD and XR however, although useful and beneficial to a lens construction is not something that I personally care to see in a lens’ title. I’m glad that they’ve been implemented and it would be fine to mention it in the manual or on the box but adding these initials to the name of the lens just adds needless complexity. Don’t confuse people or make them spend hours researching what these abbreviations mean.
Ok, enough about that, lets talk about the lens. Needless to say, the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 VC Di is an ambitious lens. Any lens that attempts to give you such a wide focal range is going to have to make some sacrifices in many ways, the question is: Does the flexibility of the lens exceed the necessary trade off in quality? I spent some time with this lens on a two and a half week trip to Europe which served as a perfect testing ground for this lens.
Size and Weight
Let’s start with some things that I can provide some insight. First, lets take a look at the physical dimensions. Although boasting a massive focal range from 28mm at the wide end to an impressive 300mm at the long end, the Tamron 28-300 XR VC LD Di is incredibly lightweight. The entire lens weighs only 555g (19.4 oz), if you’ve ever hefted a 50+ oz 120-400mm lens on the end of your camera you will immediately appreciate the vast difference in weight. Beyond feather weight, when the lens is fully retracted its an amazingly compact lens measuring only 3.9 long by 3.06 wide. That’s much more compact than the popular Canon Ef 70-300mm IS USM lens. Its also just a smidge smaller than the Canon EF 28-135 IS USM lens. The lens does extend out quite a bit when zooming to the 300mm range but its lightweight makes it quite manageable.
Ergonomics, Fit and Finish
The Tamron 28-300mm is made primarily of plastic so its not a very solid feeling lens however its adequate enough for everyday use provided you don’t become particularly abusive with your equipment. I’m virtually certain that if you dropped this lens from just about any height it would completely ruin the lens however I wasn’t willing to drop mine to find out. Ergonomically the lens is pretty standard among most lens, the zoom action is a simple twisting action. However, I found that while retracting the zoom was extremely smooth (almost as if there were no resistance), working the zoom out required considerably more pressure. This action is by no means difficult just noticeable that working the lens one way is much different than working it the other. This zoom is incredibly prone to “lens creep” (the gradual tendency of the lens to creep forward or backward of its own accord as you point it up or down), its more noticeable of course when pointing the lens downward. The lens does feature a zoom lock which will keep it at its most compact form but beyond that you’ll have to use your hand to correct any creeping. The controls on the lens are fairly simple, an on or off switch for the image stabilization, a manual focus ring is available for fine tuning your focus if you don’t trust or don’t wish to use your camera’s system. Overall an average implementation across the board, there’s nothing here to complain or rave about. The Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 VC Di is exactly as a lens should be, simple and straightforward.
Image Stabilization
I have had an opportunity to test out the image stabilization (VC) of the lens. Tamron is one of the newer players to the stabilization scene, Canon debutted the technology in their EF 75-300mm IS lens quite some time ago and eventually all the others followed suit. Some opted to place the stabilization system in ther camera bodies (Sony, Pentax, Olympus) while the others placed it in their lenses (Canon, Nikon, Sigma, Tamron).
In my previous experience of testing the various stabilization systems I had thus far found that they all provide about the same usefulness across the board. However with the Tamron I think it may come up a little bit short compared to the competition. In order to get the sharpest pictures possible I found I could only get about 2 stops slower than the general rule of thumb. With most stabilization systems you can get somewhere between 2-3 stops of effectiveness. Sometimes you can get sharp shots with slower shutter speeds (say 4 stops) but your “keeper” percentage takes a significant hit. I like to keep my shots at about 3 stops below the general rule of the thumb. The VC of the Tamron 28-300mm doesn’t quite give me enough keepers at 3 stops especially when zoomed to 300mm. The results with the Tamron at that range attempting to get three stops of handholding will result in some noticeably soft pictures. I suggest you keep it to two stops or less in order to maintain reasonably sharp picture sof a stationary objects. This might mean you have to shoot in shutter speed priority on your camera versus P or A.
Image Quality
When my first shooting session with this lens ended I couldn’t wait to get home and check out the results in their full
This picture produced at 1/250th, F/7.1 was very sharp. To view a higher resolution version of this photo click the picture.
resolution glory. However, my first impression was greatly underwhelming. The major public knock that I had heard against the Tamron 28-300mm was that it was soft, especially when at the 300mm focal length. My results were definitely soft. Pictures looked alright in a small web friendly size but even when zoomed to the still relatively small 1024×768 resolution I found noticeable softness in the images. This was consistent across my pictures and needless to say I was disappointed.
However, I didn’t want to rule this lens out just after one session with it. The next time I used it I began experimenting. In my first session I was depending a little too heavy on the VC being accustomed to 3 stops of handholdability, I thought I could get the same with the Tamron. When I increased my shutter speed I found significant improvement in the image quality. In fact, I found I got some very sharp results. Now, please understand that by sharp results I mean that in consideration of the sacrifices inherent in a lens of this range. No, its not “prime like” or even as sharp as the Canon L series but for the size, weight and range of this lens the sharpness is very very good. I was pleasantly surprised, especially after my first disappointing set. The Tamron delivers sharp, clear results with good contrast when you don’t try to push the image stabilization too much. I also recommend staying away from the 300mm range unless you just really need it. Image quality at that range is acceptable but softer then when at a lesser range.
Conclusion
I’m quite impressed with the lens’ physical attributes and after learning the limits of this lens I’ve found it can be used to great effectiveness when combined with a Full Frame camera like the Canon 5d MKII. In fact, this is the perfect “walkaround” lens for the Canon 5D MKII, you get a tremendous zoom range that still lets you go wide angle at the short end and gives a significant tele zoom all in one small, lightweight lens. For travel purposes this is perfect. Not extremely expensive (in case its stolen or broken), gives you just about every angle you could possibly want and gives good quality results provided you use it right.
My knocks against the lens are the subpar Vibration Compensation performance (2 stops is not comparable to Canon’s IS, Nikon’s VR or Sigma’s OS). However two stops is a lot better than none at all and at 300mm using 1/90 to 1/125 is better than trying your luck at 1/250th to 1/500th. Combined with the excellent ISO performance of a Canon 5D MKII, this lens can work in just about any environment with the high iso range of the Canon 5D2 making up for the slow aperture of the lens at the longer focal ranges.
If you are looking for an all in one lens (especially for a Full Frame camera) this one will serve you well. I highly recommend it, I can’t emphasize enough how enjoyable it was to have just one lens on my camera while I journeyed all across Europe. I wouldn’t have wanted to be constantly switching lens as I alternated between wide and telephoto shots. The Tamron 28-300mm is highly recommended.
