Tamron Vs Nikkor

[rocco]

I was wondering if anyone on here has the Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro lens?

It caught my eye at Harveys and it looked very solid lens for a Tamron. I had a trial with it on a Canon and it was very fast/sharp nice lens. I was tossing up this over the Nikkor VR 70-200 f2.8. I know the Tamron doesnt have the image stabilizer. But it is a lens that is easily affordable without noticing to much of a dent in the pocket.

So just wondering if anyone has this lens and thoughts. I am a sucker for sticking to my "brands", so need encouragement.

Edited October 26, 2008 by Rocco1

[rocco]

So noone here uses Tamron to help?

[Guest Clover]

I would be interested to hear others opinions as well .

[rocco]

I was talking to the guy from d-d-photographics and he said he cancelled Tamron as he had so many quality issues with the brand. So that did it for me, back to Nikkor.

[Ashanali]

We have the Canon.

There is a good review of the Tamron in this month's Better Photography.

Just keep in mind that IS is useful when getting into longer focal lengths

[Aubrey]

I was wondering if anyone on here has the Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F2.8 Di LD (IF) Macro lens?

It caught my eye at Harveys and it looked very solid lens for a Tamron. I had a trial with it on a Canon and it was very fast/sharp nice lens. I was tossing up this over the Nikkor VR 70-200 f2.8. I know the Tamron doesnt have the image stabilizer. But it is a lens that is easily affordable without noticing to much of a dent in the pocket.

So just wondering if anyone has this lens and thoughts. I am a sucker for sticking to my "brands", so need encouragement.

Tamron are OK, but I'd stay away from Harveys! Shop around and use the Internet to find the best price.... even better, get a 2nd hand one, but check for scratches, fungus and of course signs of wear.

Get the Canon if you can as they are often better built, but Nikkor are pretty good too.... you get what you pay for though. Sigma are also OK if you are looking at the consumer end of the market (like me!)

IS is good, (I have VR on my Nikon) but effectively gives you 2 shutter speeds for hand held photos, and doesnt matter if you are on a good tripod.

So with the 70-200 lens, if you get the IS version, the best you can do is a 1/100 sec shutter speed (if that is 2 steps on your shutter adjustments)... without the IS then best would be a 1/200sec shutter speed. Anything slower and you'll get some blurring just from camera shake

[rocco]

Thanks. I have decided to stay away from Tamron and stick with Nikkor. I'm saving hard for the 70-200 VR.

I would never buy from Harveys either, complete rip-off and know nothing about the products they sell. They once quoted me $1500 more then Camera House on a lens. I just use them as they are close to trial the lenses on display.