Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Lens Review

Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Performance

At 70mm and f/2.8, sharpness in the centre of the frame is already outstanding, and the clarity recorded towards the edges of the frame is very good. Peak sharpness for this focal length is achieved between f/5.6 and f/8, where clarity is outstanding across the frame.

Zooming the  lens to 135mm results in a very slight reduction in clarity at f/2.8 in the centre of the frame and a slight increase in clarity towards the edges of the picture area. As with at 70mm, peak clarity across the frame is achieved between f/5.6 and f/8, where sharpness hovers between excellent and outstanding levels.

Finally, at 200mm sharpness in the centre at f/2.8 is reduced a little more, but is still very good, with good clarity towards the edges of the frame. Peak quality for this focal length is achieved at f/5.6 , where sharpness in the centre is excellent, and very good clarity is produced towards the edges of the frame.

MTF@70mm		MTF@135mm
MTF@200mm		How to read our charts The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges. Averaging them out gives the red weighted column. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II using Imatest.

Chromatic aberrations are well controlled throughout the zoom range, thanks to Tamron's use of XLD glass in the optical design. Fringing is most prevalent at 70mm where it just exceed 0.5 pixel widths. This low level of fringing shouldn't pose too many issues, even in images with high contrast edges towards the periphery of the frame.

CA@70mm		CA@135mm
CA@200mm		How to read our charts Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc. to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II using Imatest.

Falloff of illumination towards the corners of the frame is quite pronounced. At 70mm the corners are 1.85 stops darker than the image centre and at 200mm the corners are 2.09 stops darker. Stopping down to f/5.6 results in visually uniform illumination across the frame throughout the zoom range.

Distortion is very well controlled throughout the zoom range. At 70mm only 0.645% barrel distortion is present, which is replaced with 0.42% pincushion distortion at 200mm. If straight lines are paramount, then you'll be pleased to learn that the distortion pattern is uniform across the frame, making it relatively easy to correct in image editing software afterwards, although this distortion is so mild, very few people will actually need to apply any corrections.

During testing, there were very few issues with flare and ghosting, even when shooting into the light. A deep petal shaped hood is supplied with the lens, which does a decent job of protecting the front element from extraneous light that may cause issues.

Add your message