Tamron 24-70 2.8 G2 Lens for Canon Short Review

The Tamron 24-70 2.8 G2 VC was released back in September 2017 and has made an impact for those photographers on a budget.

Sigma released it’s own version around the same time, for a hundred dollars more.

Although I previously owned a Sigma 24 1.4 Art lens, I had to test this new Tamron lens out

Price

Starting at around $1,199.00 USD, this lens is versatile for all around photography including travel, portrait and landscape photos.

Price wise, this beats the Canon 24-70 2.8 II in both price and with image stabilization, this is a great deal.

Comparing this with the Sigma 24-70 Art version, price and weather sealing. Yes, the Tamron is weather sealed (if you place a front filter on the lens that is).

What more do you want from a stylish, affordable lens? I’ll tell you what you want.

Features

A great feature of the Tamron 24-70 2.8 G2 lens is the image stabilization(IS) that works incredibly well.

I used my Canon 6D full frame camera and have gone all the way to 15th of a second, while still obtaining sharp quality images (see below).

This is great for photographers that are working in low-light situations.

However, there are two downfalls to this IS.

Whenever you find yourself shooting long exposure photos, turn off the IS on the Tamron 24-70 or the images will come out blurry.

This is due to the IS motor moving inside the lens and you don’t want that happening especially for important client work.

Another downfall to the IS is zooming all the way to 70mm while the IS is still running ruins shots.

I learned this the hard way and wanted to immediately return it.

Thinking it was a faulty or bad copy, I tested it out more and realized that the IS motor was the problem.

This was my first zoom lens, so I was also at fault for not being prepared (guilty). It is a great feature, if used correctly.

Auto-focus(AF) blew my mind and it was picking up subjects faster than my previous Sigma 24 Art lens.

The minimum focus distance is around 15 inches and even with the 6D’s 11 AF points, it can detect moveable subjects quite quickly.

This is impressing with the kind of technology in a zoom lens.

The manual-focus(MF) ring is smooth if that is your cup of tea.

Sharpness is spot on as well.

At 2.8, the Tamron 24-70 G2 produces quality image as if photographed from a prime lens.

The bokeh at 2.8 is moderate to spectacular.

It does have some onion bokeh, if you are a pixel peeper, but I have seen worse.

Zooming in and out is a breeze and not stiff at all.

Cons

• First off is the weight. Boy, is this monster heavy! It’ll probably tilt when not mounted on the correct tripod, so you have to be extra careful!
• Second, this is for those new to zoom lenses. It’s going to be tough getting use to because of the IS motor(mentioned above), if not used properly. Frustrated at first, but I played around with it and haven’t looked back.
• Last but not a deal breaker for me is probably the reverse zooming in and out. I really don’t mind this at all because I never owned a zoom lens before.

Final Thoughts

Seriously, Canon and Nikon have been around so long with their 24-70’s, respectively, but both very pricey.

The first generation of this Tamron wasn’t all that great either.

But you work with what you got.

If you are in the market for an excellent mid-range zoom lens, this is it. What are you waiting for?