Lubow Photography -- Lens comparison: Tamron vs. Canon

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LENS COMPARISION SHOTS

UPDATES TO THE BELOW "ORIGINAL COMPARISON SHOTS"

Reflections of a Digital Shooter contains my final comments on : Canon 24-70 F2.8 L IS lens vs Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Autofocus Lens

30 July 2006:

Based on the results of the below comparision, I sent my Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM Autofocus lens to Canon. On looking at the lens, they said there is an autofocus problem. They suggested that I send them my camera body so as to allow them to perform a complete repair. I complied. When I receive the lens, and when I can find the time, I will perform another comparision test and publish the results on this page.

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7 January 2007

I received my 24-70 back from Canon per the above update and finally tested it against the Tamron. It lost. The Tamron remains the superior lens.

I also recently tested the Tamron against the Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS lens. I found that they were very close, with the Tamron giving me a brighter (though not necessarily more clear) result. I recently shot some boxing matches, thinking I would use the Tamron, but switched to the Canon 24-105 because (1) I found I didn't need the additional f-stop, (2) the Canon has twice the range, and (3) the Canon has a faster autofocus. The result: click here While the 24-105 is bulkier than the Tamron, it is smaller than the 24-70.

Unless I absolutely need the additional stop of the Tamron, I now generally park the 24-105 on my camera.

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added note to 7 January update:

I recently visited a site that reviewed the EF-24-70 (click here), and found the following comment to be interesting relative to my experience with the 24-70:

The Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L proved to be a worthy representative of the pro grade lens league ... if
you can get a good sample. During the last two years four lenses have seen the lab with only one within specs - this
is disappointing especially for a lens of this price class. If you´re lucky enough to get a decent sample you can expect
a very high performance level, especially when stopped down a bit.

ORIGINAL COMPARISON SHOTS

1. Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS
($319.00 as of 2/04/04 )

2. Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Autofocus Lens
($1,299.00 as of 2/04/04

All shots were taken in RAW with a Canon 10D at ISO 400, on a tripod, at autofocus, using a cable release, within one minute of each other.
The images were converted by Capure One DSLR LE, cropped by Photoshop CS, and left in their original condition -- i.e., no adjustments or modifications were made.

CAVEAT: Several days after these shots were taken, I realized that I had neglected to take a high-grade UV filter off of the Canon lens. While my research indicates that this mistake would not noticeably impact the result, some may disagree. Also, fourteen months after these shots were taken, I purchased a 1DS and performed a similar test with no filters on the lenses. While the results are not being published, they matched the below results.