A High Quality Standard Zoom Lens

length range to have the VC ( Vibration Compensation) feature which is the Tamron’s equivalent of Nikon’s VR and Canon’s IS. This lens is available in Canon, Nikon, and Sony Alpha mounts. The Alpha mount version does not have the VC feature since Sony D-S

Tamron is one of the leading ‘3rd party’ lens manufactures who provide pro-caliber lenses with very fast apertures. The Tamron SP2470mm f/2.8 Di VC USD is one such lens. This is a fast f/2.8 constant aperture lens and the first full-frame lens in this focal

Design and Build Quality

The Tamron SP24-70mm lens has a polycarbonate body and a nicely finished metal bayonet mount. There is a rubber gasket around the mount for bad weather protection. The lens on the whole is well made and feels solid. This is a G-series lens and as such it does not have an aperture ring (aperture being controlled through the camera body). It uses an internal focussing ( IF) design and hence does not change its overall length while focussing, though the length changes with zooming. The front element is very large and the filter size is 82mm. The lens weighs approximately 822g.

Key Features

The Tamron SP24-70mm is constructed with 17 elements in 12 groups. Focussing is achieved using an Ultrasonic Drive motor (USD). A conveniently placed focus switch to the left of the lens allows the lens to be used in MF or AF mode. The latter also supports instant manual override. Then, there is the 4-stop advantage VC function which is a welcome for this class of lenses. The distance scale is marked in meters and feet (though in the same colour) under a plastic window. The diaphragm is nine bladed for good bokeh. The front element does not rotate, making it easy to use polarising and split neutral density filters. No mention is made in the literature regarding the coatings used but one can safely assume that this lens is multicoated. There is also a zoom lock which locks the barrel at the 24mm focal length position. This is very useful since the front elements are very heavy on this lens and you are bound get zoom creep sooner or later. Finally, the lens has a cosmetic gold ring which gives it a smart look.

Ergonomics

This lens was tested on a Nikon D7000 (APS-C sensor) body as well on the heavier D700 (full frame sensor). Due to the fast nature of the lens, the front element is huge and the lens is therefore very “front” heavy. On the D7000, there was definite tendency to tilt to the front but on the D700 with battery grip, the balance was perfect. The focus mode switch, which allows toggling between focus ( MF and AF) modes operated positively and was at the right place. The instant manual override was useful for fine- tuning the focus. The manual focussing ring was a bit narrow, but the damping of the ring was good. The zoom ring was wide and was damped nicely. The rotation was smooth with no stickiness at any position. The VC switch was also properly positioned. The mounting index mark of the lens is a raised white marker which was visible quite clearly.