rjallen Loc: Wales

Hi all. I am looking at purchasing a 24-70mm 5D Mk3 full frame. Cost options have whittled my options down to Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC, and Canon 24-70 f/4 IS. I like the look of Tamron especially with 2.8 aperture, however Tamron Quality control concerns me and I don't want to go through the process of sending a lens back or replacing if it doesn't meet expectations. However the Canon 24-70 also has issues especially between 50-70mm; if anyone has hands on experience of these lens I would appreciate some advice/feedback.
Thanks in advance.

picsman Loc: Scotland

I bought the Tamron instead of a Nikon, which I now think a mistake because the Tamron AF is slow, slow, slow. As I take sports pics I can't use the Tamron at all so I keep it for other stuff. My research had not brought out that fact.

rjallen Loc: Wales

Thanks for the advice, I did read that the AF was slower than Canon 24-70mm f/4 but not "that" slow.... also a £150 rebate currently on Canon so beginning to be swayed towards the own brand.

CO

LensTip.com does excellent reviews and tests lenses in these categories. Click on the different categories at the bottom of each page. In the image resolution section you can see at which focal length and apertures the lens is the sharpest. I rented the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 to try out on my Nikon not long ago. It's an impressive lens. This may seem like a small thing but I think having a weather seal at the lens mount is important. I think over the long run it will help to keep dust out of the mirror box.
1. Introduction
2. Pictures and parameters
3. Build quality and image stabilization
4. Image resolution
5. Chromatic and spherical aberration
6. Distortion
7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
8. Vignetting
9. Ghosting and flares
10. Autofocus
11. Summary
Tamron 24-70 f/2.8
http://www.lenstip.com/340.1-Lens_review-Tamron_SP_24-70_mm_f_2.8_Di_VC_USD-Introduction.html
Canon 24-70mm f/4
http://www.lenstip.com/436.1-Lens_review-Canon_EF_24-70_mm_f_4L_IS_USM-Introduction.html

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Pro Photographer Matt Granger ranked the Canon 24-70mm above the Tamron 24-70mm. He did praise the Tamron for price and performance. See his You Tube video demonstration among Nikon, Canon, and Tamron 24-70mm lenses.

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

I also own 5DIII with Tamron 24-70 2.8. Nothing but very sharp and fast. I've never shot the Canon version, but I can only imagine it's probably a bit faster than the Tamron. I only say this because I bit the bullet and bought the Canon 100-400 II and I was simply amazed at the focus speed.
B&H currently has the Canon for $1749, with the Tamron coming in at $1299. If I were to do it all over again, I'd probably go with canon for increased weather sealing, as CO suggests

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Tamron makes great lenses. The 24-70 VC is one of their best.

When I was at Herff Jones Photography, we put over 440 of their 28-75mm XR DI f/2.8 lenses in the field, and beat the crap out of them every Fall for seven years doing 2000 portraits a week on each lens, on average. Only a few ever went back for service or warranty claims. Their quality consistency is excellent.

We had four times more issues with Canon 30D and 40D cameras that would not focus properly!

If you can't afford the Canon, get the Tammy and enjoy it!

rjallen Loc: Wales

Thanks all for your responses. I will probably go for the faster 2.8 Tamron, but get it from local dealer.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

I own this lens and shoot on both the 6D, and 7D Mark II. It is a great lens, and performs really well, both focus speed, and quality. You may find the edges are a little frayed on the photos, but this is easy to edit out using Lightroom. There is no need to edit photos from the 7D MII, as it is a cropped sensor. Since the Tamron is a f2.8 lens it is a bit heavier, and larger.

B

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

I have the Tamron and have not used it enough to evaluate it... But I do have a question, if you are considering f/4 why are you not looking at the Sigma 24-105 Art lens, the additional 35mm is significant.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

Just got the Tammy 24-70 on E-Bay for $760
Mint condition, no scratches, no dust - perfect.
As always - with E-Bay, YMMV.
Sold my trusty old Tammy 28-75 f/2.8 Mk-I at a bit of a loss to help out with the bottom line.
Zoom ring on the 24-70 is a little stiff - but otherwise not a problem
Mounted on my Canon 7D (Mk-I)
Just shot this photo as a guest {observer} at the wedding
I can't imagine any other lens doing this good a job for anywhere near the price, even if purchased NEW at Retail.
This lady was a guest - test shot in AI-Servo mode - Single point focus - her left eye.
No post processing (other than 90 degree rotation), SOOC.
PS: None of the other lenses in this category have image stabilization, and f/4 can't match the bokeh of an f/2.8 !!
(Details are in the EXIF - but f/2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO 1250, Zoom 46mm {74mm effective}, no flash)
I could easily make this look better in Post by tweaking the RAW - - Oh Heck - - OK, I Did

Guest walking down Aisle - SOOC - No Post Processing

(Download)

Guest walking down Aisle - shadows brightened, reds decreased, DeSpeckled

(Download)

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

I like the tamron so much i bought anther good lens used them for weddings so i can have a back up so ever thing is the same .

rjallen Loc: Wales

Hi, I had the 24-105mm and was never totally happy with IQ, I believe that 24-70mm on either Tamron or Canon is better.

rjallen Loc: Wales

Hi, I had the 24-105mm and was never totally happy with IQ, I believe that 24-70mm on either Tamron or Canon is better.quote=Bill Emmett]I own this lens and shoot on both the 6D, and 7D Mark II. It is a great lens, and performs really well, both focus speed, and quality. You may find the edges are a little frayed on the photos, but this is easy to edit out using Lightroom. There is no need to edit photos from the 7D MII, as it is a cropped sensor. Since the Tamron is a f2.8 lens it is a bit heavier, and larger.

B[/quote]

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Both lenses have image stabilization. Both lenses use ultrasonic focus drive that should be reasonably quiet, accurate and fast... although the Tamron USD will not be quite as fast as the Canon USM.

Tamron lenses... especially their "SP" pro quality... are very good and I think usually have a 6 year warranty, if there are any quality control "issues".

Both lenses purportedly suffer from the same thing... they aren't quite as sharp at the middle focal lengths.

But, in this case I'd likely get the Canon instead... because it's smaller, lighter and offers very, very good image quality.

It also offers exceptional close focusing capabilities, 0.70X magnification is close to what a true macro lens can do and two to three times the magnification possible with most lenses of this type. It needs to be noted, though, that at the highest possible magnification the front of the lens is very close to a subject and likely to cast a shadow over it. Still, it could be a very handy feature for a wedding photographer, for example, who needs to take some close-up shots of rings, bouquets, centerpieces and cake details at an event. A zoom with this capability might make it unnecessary to buy and carry a true macro lens, too. (For comparison, the Tamron's best is 0.20X, which is similar to the Canon 24-70/2.8L II).

When you look at image quality performance, keep in mind that the 24-70/2.8L II, to which both the lenses are often compared, is called the "sharpest mid-range zoom ever" by a lot of reviewers. The 24-70/4L appears to have even better corrected distortion at the wide end, making it perhaps one of the very best of all lenses of this type in that respect.

The f/4 aperture of the Canon 24-70mm allows it to be smaller and lighter.... but of course you're giving up a stop of light. On the other hand, this (and the Tamron) are among the few lenses of this type that have image stabilization, which can partly make up for the slower aperture in some situations. The Canon 24-70mm uses a hybrid form of IS that's rated for 3 to 4 stops of assistance. It's hybrid in that it automatically detects panning and switches itself to correcting movement only on the non-panning axis, to better allow pan-blur effects.

An f/4 aperture also may not be an issue, depending upon what other lenses you have in your kit. If you have one or two or more relatively fast primes in some of these focal lengths (28/1.8, 35/2, 50/1.4, etc.), you might not need an f2.8 mid-range zoom. Larger apertures aren't just about low-light shooting.... but also about the ability to render shallow depth of field effects. However, that's not a significant factor at short focal lengths around 24mm and more dramatic at telephoto focal lengths longer than 70mm.

It's also kinda nice that the Canon sells for about 2/3 the price of the Tamron ($900 versus $1200.... and nearly half the price of the Canon 24-70/2.8L II).

You should compare the specific lenses at The-Digital-Picture.com, to see for yourself. There you can put sample test shots side-by-side.... as well as distortion, MTF, general specifications, flare and more.

Note: The relatively new Tokina AT-X 24-70/2.8 might be worth a look, too. It is $850, slightly less expensive than the Canon, said to be quite sharp and extremely well built... heavier even than the Canon 24-70/2.8 II! However, the Tokina doesn't have ultrasonic focus drive so should be expected to be a noticeably slower than either the Tamron or either Canon. It has the usual Tokina "focus clutch" mechanism, where you slide the focusing ring forward or backward to shift it in and out of auto focus.... it doesn't allow for manual override of AF without first turning off the AF (in fact, in AF setting turning the focus ring doesn't do anything... unlike Tamron USD and Canon USM where you can manually tweak the lens any time, whether set to AF or not).