Papa j wrote:
Hello all recently retired and I have taken all my photo gear out of the attic looking forward to getting busy shooting. Looking for some feedback I am looking at new lenses and debating between Nikon 24-70 mm f2.8 / Tamron 24-70. And Nikon 70-200 mm / Tamron 70-200. I have purchases from BH in the past both new and used and have Been very satisfied. I have a Nikon n 80 d 80 and d7000 and an assortment of lenes 18-105, 50, 24-120, 75-300, 28-80. All advise welcome :?: :?:
I like the Tamrons, especially for their prices. The only reasons to go with the Nikons would be for better durability and faster autofocus for sports action or nature (birds and wildlife), and perhaps for snob appeal if that's important to you.
I've used other Tamrons (17-55 f/3.5 and 28-75 f/2.8 zooms) and been extremely happy with the results. The 28-75 was one of their earliest DI lenses, and at 1/3 the price of nearly equivalent Canon or Nikon 24-70 glass, it was very, very sweet.
I've used a lot of Nikon glass over the years, too, some of which was phenomenal, and some of which was pretty average.
My very old 24mm f/2.8 is actually the only terrible Nikon lens I have ever used, with horrible coma, astigmatism, and vignetting.
My 1980 35mm f/2 has always been a favorite.
My 55mm Micro-Nikkor f/2.8 is one of the sharpest lenses I've ever used.
My all-time favorite was the old 105mm f/2.5 AI-S Nikkor, which was perfect for portraiture.
The 24-120 VR-G was great when you needed the VR. I never was able to use it on a body good enough to see how good it is, though, because I had it (just briefly) on a D100. The D100 was a pretty primitive camera by today's standards!