Lens Review – Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD
Introduction.
The Tamron 24-70 f2.8 is the first lens in this zoom range to have Vibration Control. It comes with several high quality glass elements to deliver sharp, problem free images. The lens has variable length and has a wide open aperture of 2.8 throughout the zoom range. The other important feature is an ultrasonic drive for silent, fast and accurate autofocus. The lens comes with full-time manual focus.
Build
The Tamron 24-70 f2.8 VC feels sturdy with just the right amount of weight (825gm). Mounted on a 5D MarkII, the shape and weight are an ideal composition for getting shake-free images at low shutter speeds. The surface of the lens feels a little plasticky, but is not much of a concern. The zoom ring is slightly harder to operate, which sometimes doesn’t allow you to quickly get ready to compose a shot.
The things that I would really like to see change in the build for Canon mounts is the direction of the rotating elements. The zoom ring and manual focus ring operate as left hand screws, which can be confusing and take time to get used to. Similarly, a zoon ring located towards the camera rather than towards the filter side of the lens would have made the handling easier and seamless.
The filter dia is 82mm. It would have been more convenient if Tamron designers could come up with 77mm threads, which would have made it easy to use one set of filters interchangeable with many lenses.
