I purchased this lens as a step up from my "Nifty 50" (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM) to give me versatility when taking portraits. It gave me much better options when shooting and didnt restrict me to taking photos at a set length like the 50mm. It creates very sharp images and allowed me to move around my model or stay exactly where I was while allowing me the flexibility to zoom unlike the prime lens. Admittedly it is a heavy lens and its certainly loud when in auto focus mode. These are small things to have issue with when the lens creates images as good as it does. Im happy with the time I spent with the Canon 50mm but it has stayed in my camera bag since I purchased this lens. Over the next year I will be looking to upgrade this lens again as I move further into portraits but for now it is doing everything I could as it to do for a great price.
Sean
4
This lens is great, Ive had it for about a year now. Its really sturdy and well built; no fear of any parts breaking without abuse. Really the one annoying thing is that the autofocus is noticeably slow, and it also sometimes painfully hunts for even easy targets. Dont know if the hunting issue is due to the lens or the Canon 60D. Im posting a review because I just did a sweet spot test that I think will help...I didnt have this info when I bought it, and after reviewing it, Im still happy I got it. This lens performs best at f/8 thru f/11, and is good between f/4.5 and f/16. Outside that range, it gets just a touch blurry, and when wider than f/4, there are some actual defects in addition to more severe blurring. The jump even from f/3.2 to f/2.8 is noticeably hazier, and horrible to a decently trained eye, but I guess you shouldnt be shooting at your lenss widest anyway. In terms of zoom, this lens seems to maintain its sharpness throughout and overall is pretty good. I wont make any conclusions because Im not a lens expert, but Im still happy with my purchase a year later. I just wanted to post some data that might interest people. Happy shooting!
Andrew D. Flint
4
When I sold my Rebel XS and made the jump to the Canon 5d Mk II, I knew I would be using the option for my 17 - 55 EF-S lens and I was left with only an empty pocketbook as well as my 3 EF lenses (a 100mm 2.8 Macro prime, a 50mm 1.4 prime and an 70 to 300mm EF lens). Though full frame offered me a much wider view with my 50mm 1.4, I really wanted something a little more versatile for the proverbial "Everyday Lens". I tried the Canon 28 to 135 3.5 - 6.0 F lens and like it quite well. However, I wanted something a little faster so I started looking at the l series 24 to 70 f2.8 lens. It quickly came apparent that it just wasnt financially feasible so I started looking at third party lens options and have eyed this lens for a little over a 9 months. I finally took the plunge this week. Pros: regardless of what I have read in other reviews, this lens seems to focus just fine (and as quickly as any canon lens I have used). The pictures are sharp and when using faster F ratings, I find the "Bokeh" to be completely fine. It is built well, feels solid and is not too heavy. Cons: Well, the first thing I did was to put the lens on, set it to 2.8 and set it to 28mm. Lets see what it can do! Snap.. Vignetting.. Point elsewhere, Snap.. Vignetting.. Granted, I realized my ISO was set to 6400 and I was utilizing AV mode (And was getting very high shutter speeds). So, I set the ISO to 400 and tried some lower shutter speeds.. the Result, vignetting that was less extreme (although still vignetting). I set the F up to 4.0 and snapped a picture and everything was fine.. Likewise, at 2.8, I zoomed in a bit more and vignetting seemed to disappear the farther I zoomed in. I contacted Tamron via email to ask them about it and they were very quick to respond. I sent them the high shutter speed shots and they reviewed and recommended a lower shutter speed of course. They even offered to have me send the lens in for inspection. I was extremely pleased with there response time and willingness to assist. I am a professional videographer with a love for photography. I never really higher out for photography sessions but have done a bit of peripheral work when videographing events. Overall, Even with the vignetting issues, I find this lens to be completely acceptable especially considering the price range of it. If I shoot at f4, I am fine and for the most part, this will be fine for my needs. In all fairness, when I open the pictures in Photoshop and apply "Lens correction", the vignetting experienced at 2.8 pretty much goes away so though it requires a little more editing, It is still acceptable to me (as I would do lens correction any way on any 28mm shots). I had the opportunity to try the Canon L Series 2.8f 24 to 70 lens and It did not vignette at all. Conclusion: If you are budget minded and dont mind Lens correcting when shooting at 2.8F 28mm, then I believe you will find this lens to be a good buy. However, If you shoot wide quite a bit at 2.8, you may find the vignetting annoying. If you shoot at 4 and need a solid and cost concious alternative, I would definitely recommend this lens. Please note, I have not tried this on an APS-C sensor but I would have to believe that Vignetting would not be an issue on a camera with this Sensor. My sister purchased my Rebel XS so I will try it on it and post my results when I complete testing. Cheers!
Please sign in so that we can notify you about a reply
