I bought it the second it was announced for the Z mount. I absolutely love this lens, and I sold my 24-70 and 70-200 for this one. I use a 17-28mm and this and thats my setup
I did the exact same thing…this and the 17-28 Nikkor (which is totally underrated). I have the excellent 50 1.8s for a prime. AF speed on the Z8 and Zf is equivalent to the Nikon 24-70 & 70-200…at least in my non-scientific comparison. The Tamron is a heavy fella, but worth it!
@@coltoncyr2283I tested the Nikon 24-70 z and this Tamron and tbh the picture quality is so similar that I could not tell the difference. I also tested the autofocus and they both were really good and didn't notice a big difference in the two.
@@coltoncyr2283as always it depends on what you shoot. If you shoot portraits or weddings/events the AF on this lens stacks up nicely. If you shoot birds or sports it may or may not be on par 🤷🏾♂️
I have used this for the last two years with clients. Total game changer. I cannot say enough good things. Using it on the A1. Adventure sports photography and general events. So glad to see your impressions on this.
I purchased this lens on Sony for a trip to Spain. The lens basically never left the body. I loved it. Having a single lens cover basically all my needs was amazing. Especially traveling with family and not having the option to stop and switch lenses constantly.
I've waited for this review for a year! I already own it for Sony, but i've requested this lens multiple times. Thanks for reviewing it. There's a few things I don't like: - It has lens creep. - It is pretty prone to flares from light from the sides (due to the lens hood being so wide) - It takes quite some force to zoom, and i don't like how it feels to zoom, and it zooms externally - Mine has dust inside the lens. Totally harmless, but still don't like it - It is too heavy - It has no aperture ring I still use it a lot, but I mostly use it for "work". I don't have two bodies so it's either swapping lenses, or using this. So I bring this lens for work, and use primes for fun.
@@IngmarHensler that doesn't solve the problem because i want to also see the aperture being set, and "aperture by wire" doesn't really count. Also, to toggle the feature, you have to press a button, which I find very annoying because sometimes I press a button and have the feature disabled/enabled and it suddenly stops/starts working.
@@gamebuster800 I know what you mean about the dust.. I bought one second hand and had some specs of dust in it. Good thing the registration was still valid. Was able to secure that 6 year warranty . Tamron does offer a free yearly clean up with this lens which is cool. the weight aswell! gotta have those big guns to work with it all day. but i love it!
FYI a lot of the dust gets into the lens from the back side because there's a gap between the rear element and the body. Won't help you to get the dust out, but hopefully develop some strategies to keep more dust from getting in.
Incredible review Tony. Thank you! I love my T 35-150, but it is quite heavy. I use it for travel, family events, and weekend fun stuff and it replaced the 24-70 f4. You guys are amazing and we thank you!
Thank you for reviewing this lens that I love. There is one issue that all reviewers seem to miss for some odd reason. The fairly extreme focus breathing, combined with the large aperture and extra long zoom range creates serious issues for sports use and focus tracking. Tony, I suggest you pay attention to the AF tracking performance when coupled with serious zoom racking. The pictures will be soft at best, at worst the camera loses focus and struggles to re-acquire. I strongly discourage relying on this lens for sports critical work, which is a shame.
If you are A Sony shooter, firmware update it to v3.0: most of this problem goes away. It's a pretty killer firmware addition and highly recommended. The Nikon Z version is already equipped with this firmware update out of the box.
@@armandot9137 apologies. Worked well for me. On A1, A7rV, for reference. Rinkside and court side improved immediately. MMA and concerts we're always excellent. Still occasional issues but then... That happens with every lens. And definitely every camera.
@@setaside2A1 and A9. Used as a reference last evening for dance performances. The issue is substantial and worse than any of the lenses i have ever used. Even the original A9 with the original 70-200 GM was known to have this issue that was fixed with firmware and was not nearly as bad.
I'm rocking the exact combination you're naming for travel photography as well as taking photos of my kids 😊 16-35 GM II on my Sony A7rV and the Tamron on my A7IV 💪
The Sony teleconverters are physically incompatible with the Tamron 35-150 - there's a light baffle in the way. Even if that were removed, when you zoom out the rear element would strike the teleconverter front element starting around 70-85mm. Still an excellent lens with daily uses for a huge variety of activities. The only downside is the size, so if you're okay with an f/4, a much smaller option is the 24-105mm but obviously slight difference in focal lengths. Also don't know if I missed it in the video but this lens does have USB-C for changing custom mode options and focus ring settings in addition to firmware updates.
@@sandyfordd1843or just use a zoom f6 or something with 32 bit float. At the same time, his voice does not attenuate that much so maybe he just set his gain too high?
Sold my Sigma 24-70 and Tamron 70-180 to get this lens. It just lives on my A7IV, and I keep my 16-35 GM on my FX3... when I am not using any of my primes (20/35/85). People say it's heavy, but in real life it feels the same as the Sony 70-200 GM II (1045g). This Tamron is a 100g heavier, but the Sony's lens hood is double the weight of the Tamron's so both lenses are 1200g in use! As Tony mentioned, this lens is perfect for events, travel content and indoor sports for both photo and video. Also my copy seems to be parfocal, not sure it's because I did the latest firmware update, but I don't lose focus meanwhile I'm zooming from 35mm to 150mm.
Its about time you reviewed this lens. The Sony version has been out more than 2 years. I wish you had compared it to more Sony lenses, e.g. the 24 to 105 mm.
I'd love to see a comparison to the Nikon 24-120 f4. I know f2 and f4 effectively put the lenses in different categories, but for walkaround vacation lenses shooting at f5.6-f16 or street photography lenses, I'd like to see how they stack up against one another. I really just want a lens i can throw on my camera when I'm out and not in my "true professional" mindset, to avoid swapping lenses. Edit: And the newly announced 28-400 f4-8! That aperture is getting into "meh" territory in my mind but WOW is that focal range EXACTLY what I'm looking for!
I have that lens in Sony E mount and It is huge. Not a good idea as a travel lens imho. Tamron 28-200 is better choice again in my opinion. I am not logging this on the streets of Paris or Rome.
When I was going back to full frame camera from Fuji X-mount I planning to go back to Canon where I left the DSLR world with a 5D III; however, once I found out Canon no longer support 3rd party like they did in DSLR and saw the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-f/2.8 only in Sony mount few years ago, I went straight into Sony & this lens. For general event, family, newborn, wedding this is the lens I have on the camera 90%-100% of the time and never think about how dark, windy, dusty, rainy the weather were as I have no need of swapping lenses. For sports events however, 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II for outdoor & indoor lighting condition like baseball & hockey and in extreme poor lighting conditions the 135mm f/1.8 GM for sports events like community indoor soccer games and roller derby. When combined with high Megapixel cameras the Full Frame and APS-C mode together make this a beautiful 35-225mm f/2-f/2.8 lens.
Had it for 2.5 years now for A74. Just never comes off the body. Also had the 150-500 but the focus tracking was crap so changed it to Sony 200-600. Just 2 lenses cover almost everything and both sharp enough. Sold my Tamron 20 and 35mm and will add the 20-40 for filming and then over and out with stuff to carry for an old man 😊. My K1-II will all lenses is like day at the gym to walk around with but I still do it for the fantastic outstanding Pentax IQ.
Interesting to see your review on this and how sharp your copy of this lens was. Majority of the reviewers say that the copy that they had to test was too soft to be usable, but write it off to just their copy. I really wanted this lens to work so I rented three of them. All three were not usable for professional work. it seems a shame that you need to purchase multiple lenses and return the bad ones until you get a good copy.
I prefer the 24-120 if I'm doing an extended range mid zoom, you need that wide end for group shots. But in reality I just shoot two bodies with a 24-70 and 70-200 (or whatever else I have need for). WRT the 70-200 v 35-150 (nikon) comparison, I think the nikon might have a higher T value? Like we know they're both at 2.8 but that doesn't always mean it's the exact same amount of light across 2.8 lenses. The 70-200 looked not only a bit more bloomy, but it seemed like the blacks were lifted a touch past the 35-150, and I'm wondering if that's just a difference in transmission.. or the light could have been fluctuating by +/- 0.2 or something. I guess I'll let pixel peepers worry about that one, I've tried every single lens compared in this article and they're all amazing. So no gripes, you can't go wrong with anything Tony is handling in this video. The 35-150 is okay for events if its your only lens, and I've definitely took it to a few. Yes its wider than the 2.8 zooms, which is cool, but realistically at a wedding I'm shooting a 50 1.2 for low light anyway, or [insert your fast prime here]. Working zooms at a reception is not something I'd be doing in the dark, just because I really like the look of a 1.2-1.4 lens and with mirrorless lacking AF assist, you actually sorta need to if you want to autofocus at a decent clip.
samyang got mixed reports on social media, but near equal on youtube-reviewers. i would say, their quality-management is ... interesting. If you are lucky, you get a cheaper but near equal lens - but the samyang needs this usb-lens-stand, the tamron has an app fot that ,-)
@@CapturedByKen ya I am sure there are some videos comparing these 2, however I have more faith in Tony’s review than some other random guy whose opinion may be paid promotion biased
Planning to buy this one for hiking on mountain and forest trips, and use Sony 16-35f2.8gm2 and 70-200f2.8gm2 for tripod landscape and bird respectively. Less to pack less to carry! Really nice… may be can be beaten by the rumored Tamron 28-180 mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD lens in September
This is the next lens I want. I have just bought the Tamron 150-500 z mount which works great. So having the 35-150 as well as a wide angle prime. It should work in most situations.
The Sony 70-200 gm2 is stellar! I owned the Tamron 35-150 for E-mount. I sold it for the 24-70 & 70-200 gm2’s. The Tamron had soap bubble bokeh and was too heavy.
I'm using this lens for nearly 2 years now and it has become my favourite all around events photography lens, it's sharp, it's fast AF, it's mostly all day one lens solution, unless it's a tight space, never had a feel to change to a wider one. My only issue is a little tight zoom ring, and maybe the weight, it's a huge lens and for all day shooting, even on A7 RV or A7 IV, I would recommend getting a battery grip. Speaking of those, I found the cheap Meike would take forever to start camera once switched off, or if left on, it drains battery, so don't skimp on it, just get the Sony grip right away.
@@Knowbody42yes that is an excellent lens also that others do t have. My guess is this, those who don’t like the 28-70 would be the same ones saying they want the 35-150. But when they get it are going to complain like 28-70. It’s to big, it cost to much, 2.8 is not enough, 35 is not wide enough, 150 is not long enough, etc.
This lens is one of the main reason why when I returned to full frame sensor I did not went back to Canon. When paired this lens with the new Sony 50MP IBIS body, the 50MP FF combined with the 21MP APS-C images the combo provides an incredibly flexibilities that covers most of my needs. Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-f/2.8 focal range combined with APS-C mode: @ f/2.0 Total available range: 35mm-58.5mm (FF range: 35mm-39mm + APS-C range: 52.5mm-58.5mm) @ f/2.2 Total available range: 40mm-88.5mm (FF range: 40mm-59mm + APS-C range: 60.0mm-88.5mm @ f/2.5 Total available range: 60mm-118.0mm (FF range: 60mm-79mm + APS-C range: 90.0mm-118.0mm) @ f/2.8 Total available range: 80mm-225.0mm (FF range: 80mm-150mm + APS-C range: 120.0mm-225.0mm) This lens has been living on the camera body 99% of the time when I shoot regular events. For indoor sports like hockey or roller derby I still have the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II & the 135mm f/1.8 GM for extra reach or extra shutter speed when needed.
I have this lens for Sony and it is amazing. I use it for travel and for portraits. It is heavy but it beats having to carry multiple lenses. I usually carry the FE 20mm f/1.8 if I need a wide shot but this lens stays on my a7iv 95% of the time.
Thanks for the reminder for why I mainly use primes: focal shrinking. I'm generally in controlled situations, so it's fine without the convenience of zooming.
ive had this lens since it came out (maybe 3 years ago). I hope a version 2 comes out soon. The zoom barrel remains stiff, and there is no good tripod solution (not even those new camera ring mounts), especially if you routinely flip between horizontal and vertical. Good optics though. I use this for indoor sports action, senior nights, and T&I portrait sessions. It does pretty much replace the 24-70 and 70-200. Tony’s focal breathing issue is only when you do close up subjects at full zoom. Not an issue with anything I shoot.
Great video review Tony. This lens has been on my wish list for a little while. Hearing you run through the various technical factors of this lens actually gave me an idea for a video or series you could do. As someone who recently has begun to suspect a defect in a pretty important lens in their collection, that is now out of warranty... I would really love an easy and accessible video guide on how to actually test a lens myself. A repeatable process I could follow with new lenses or used lenses etc.. It would be great to know what to actually look for and what may or may not be an issue in terms of performance. Just a thought!
Too late I already bought one of these 2 months ago. Took you long enough to review this lens Tony !!!!!!!!!! I have never had a big issue with the focus breathing on my lens. I have just tested my lens now, I really don't have any noticeable focus breathing. I even checked to make sure there was no in camera corrections being applied. I think it might be your specific copy tony. The one I am using is the Sony version of this lens
Thanks for this video, very interesting. Will you do the same one for the copy of this lens by Samyang? Or a comparison between the Samyang and the Tamron? Would be very interesting to hear your results.
I don't know anything about optics except that everything is a trade off. So if Tamron had stuck to a constant aperture of 2.8 instead of diving down to 2 at the lower end, what else might have been gained in this lens? Would it be shorter? Smaller? Might the focal length go lower than 35mm? Etc
Definitely agree. Could it have gone to 28mm on the wide end, or 175 on the long end? I have to think it could have been lighter. Or how much lighter and smaller if the focal range remained the same. All that said, I love this lens. I have had it for a couple years on the Sony mount and rented on the Nikon mount. It’s honestly the reason I haven’t bought into Canon. I don’t want to switch between 24-70 and 70-200. Cheers!
FYI for Sony there's also Samyang 2-2.8/35-150 available, at about 2/3 price of the Tamron one - and it's parafocal, which is always nice for some video work :)
I bought it for my Nikon's and have been really impressed. It rarely leaves my z7II. I just wish someone would come out with a F2.8 14-30( or 16-35) for z mount. I could just have to travel with two lenses for landscape and astro. I just ordered a Tamron 14-30 f2.8 for F mount to try out. Glad I kept a ftz adapter.
I own my for 4 months now , great and useful lense. I did notice 2 issues on top of what you mentioned: 1. the AF is not as fast or accurate as the Nikon 24-70/70-200 pair (which are instant) 2. My Z9 startsup is slower with it than with any other Nikon Lense , not sure why , nothing significant but i's there.
Interesting. I have an older Tamron, w FTZ and the AF is dreadful. I miss SO many shots using eyeAF. Im trying to sell that lens. IF the AF w/ this lens struggles, eeeeh making me consider selling my Z6ii now lol. Nikon IMO has failed w the Z6 series. The AF sucks!
@@coltoncyr2283 Tamron did update the AF for Sony not too long ago , hope they update it for Nikon as well. It's not bad , but not quite with Nikon's native lenses. My slowest lense is the 85 1.8 though , by far!! As for the Z6 well they were 1st and 2nd gens , so they are behind ( the z6 II might even be more like z6 1.5 lol) Well the z6 III seems to be around the corner , wait a bit or go Sony , that's up to you :) I love my Z9 / ZF though I am tempted to the a7 CII / R ( add not replace)
I do a lot of mountaineering and this is my go to lens since it came out, so versatile! I would say the only downside is that it is a really heavy glass when you carry it around the whole day
We have two of these for our Sony bodies. We use them court side (basketball and volleyball), for weddings and portraits. Focus can be an issue if you are tracking a subject coming towards you and you are zooming out or in, they will often loose focus with the Sony A1. The little testing we have done with the A9M3 is the focusing is much improved. Also, you have to be careful outside. They will suck in dust like no bodies business.
Hi Tony, Thnx for always keeping it professional ( or trying to 😋) Question/i was wondering: what effect will the extension tube have on the wide(r)-angle of the lens ?
Excellent review, and I am thinking I'd like a little more range, so I am thinking Nikon 70-200 f2.8. Internal focusing native lens, longer reach, better 150 to 200 performance, and stabilization. B&H has the 70 200mm F2.8 on sale for 300.00. That extra 300.00 for stabilization reach and native focusing is worth it in MY opinion. For an all in one lens solution The Tamron 35-150 f2-2.8 is a no Brainer. However; size wise getting the new Tamron 28 75mm g2 is lighter, it is still as heavy as the 70-200 f2.8. Remember that the F2 is only used at the wide focal lengths not throughout the 35 150 range. After 105mm other sites has the Tamron starts to weaken in sharpness. It really depends on what you want and how much you really want to spend. If money is no option, I'd do a 24 70mm and a 70-200. That 24 70mm lens is lighter than the 35-150 f2-2.8.
Nice video and the explanation..love it I have a planning to buy this lense but im gonna ask you first before buying it. Sorry just to ask. Base on your experience is it good in indoor shoots? Thanks
bought the tamron and a new sony a7IV body last year! added the 70-200 to my kit last week for horse sport photography. I love both lenses! The Tamron is more versatile. I however don't like the weight, so might be looking for a lighter kit for vacation or to easily take along. Thanks for the review! seems like sony is really on top of its game :)
Tony I appreciate your honest opinion I have all 3 of the lens your compared, in this video I never knew just how good the tamron was I just knew it was turning out some amazing images thank you your amazing, photography would not be the same with out you.
Thanks Tony. This lens is a gem and nice to see it getting some deserved love. Nikon shooters don't have a 16-35mm so looking at you Tamron if you can make it happen. Pairs very niceley with the 14-30mm for travel though. My only "gripe" is it is a chonker but very manageable to carry all day for Travel which is where it truly shines.
managed to get one of these at launch for my sony bodies, intending it to be my go to travel lens (one body one lens). its fantastic. but a bit heavy for sure. that setup is now my setup for dedicated photography trips. random trips now I just bring a pocketable rx100vii
I shoot mostly video of dance concerts and this lens has become my favorite. I have the Sony version. The weight is a bit off-putting at first, but you get used to it. Sharpness is amazing.
Many people have bought it as it s WOW spec lens and later on find themself not be able to put up with its weight so they sold it out 😅 We will see Sony 20-70 f2 , that might be another good option 🎉
I love Tamron but cannot rely on it for critical situations. Tested the 35-150 on A1 and while the range and image quality is good I cannot trust the af. Back when I switched to Sony I bought Tamron 17-28/2.8 and 70-180/2.8 before springing for the 70-200/2.8 GM II. I appreciated the 70-180 when I had it because the Sony GM1 version of the 70-200 was too heavy. However, in critical situations the Tamron seem to misfocus or images soft especially when tracking. I am using A1 with 24-70/2.8 GM2 and 70-200/2.8 GM2 and they are incredibly sharp, responsive, and you arent limited to 15fps. I still kept the 17-28 instead of getting the 16-35GM as I don't use that range as often. It's a great lens and incredible value.
I was seriously considering one of these and IMHO, after getting to look at one in a camera store, I walked away thinking that optically I was REALLY impressed. The lens however is VERY heavy. That in and of itself isn't a problem, but I do a lot of landscape photography and I wasn't comfortable with the amount of torque this lens would place on the lens mount if I were to shoot from a tripod. If it had a tripod foot, it would be hard to beat this lens. I understand that there are some aftermarket 3rd party tripod feet available, but these typically do not allow the user to shoot in a vertical (portrait) orientation. It is an amazing lens, but this one limiting factor would make it a hard pass for me. If you shoot hand held, & can support the lens, it would be an outstanding choice.
Not sure about the Nikon mounts, but E-Mount bayonet has no issues waving this lens around and supporting the glass from the body. There's no play at all and no sag or misalignment as a result. A number of Sony lenses are heavier than this and I've also allowed them to hang from body during a variety of shooting conditions. A larger concern would be balancing on the tripod; the mount is robust. You can demonstrate the strength of the mount by putting a lens cap on and supporting the lens (carefully over a soft surface in case you drop it) by the plastic cap. You can shake it, wave it, whatever, and the cap will hold the weight of the lens.
Thanks for a wonderful review, Tony. I am thinking about this lens for run&gun videoography with my Sony A7S. Today i am using different Sony prime lenses, and run&gun i have used the Sony 24-105mm F4. This Tamron lens seems very interesting, but my little concern was into the Focal breathing on 150mm when focusing up close - my question is then, what does "up close" mean here? Are we talking about 2-3 metres away or closer/far away?
If I was still shooting events I would probably grab this. Idk, maybe it would be good when I shoot indoor basketball, but I rarely need more than 24-70 GM II. I just want a reason to spend the money on this great lens. Side note: Sony always absolutely crushes it with the bokeh on their GM lenses. It's always so wild to see how much effort they put into that.
I shoot events and seem to always need 70mm, so I have to take both lenes but end up leaving one back at the hotel room. I've already decided that I'm going to buy this but I was wondering how it compares to my Nikon 24-70 and now I know. Thanks Tony!
I wouldn’t put too much faith in the sharpness comparison. Multiple sites have measured both and the 24-70 is sharper, significantly so towards the edge of frame. Idk what’s going on here.
I bought this for the Sony E-mount, but then bought the Nikon Z8 and I've been using it with the FTC adapter and it's been great and essentially replaced my 70-200 (and I've never purchased the 24-70).
Better late than never. I went with the Rokinon version when B&H had a daily deal for just shy of a grand - used it in Vietnam, Malasia, and Thailand…. Incredible lens.
I got the Samyang 'version' of this, as it was in a sale in the UK last black Friday for £800 (about $1000 including tax), so a huge saving and it was perfect for some Xmas parties without having to resort to flash!
I own a sony 24-70 f2.8 and a sony 70-200 f400. Will I be unhappy if I sell these two lenses and buy Tamron? Or can I get rid of 2 lenses and have the freedom to travel with a single lens?
Do you have any comment on the Focus Breathing affecting the effective focal length at 35mm wide open if focus on something far away or at infinity? thinking landscape or astro-photography. I'm curious about the opposite use case to close subject focus at 150mm that you covered. Amazing review, thank you!
Interesting review, but I find that the review misses the mark a bit. What should have been compared. - This lens at 50 MM at 2.2 vs. 24-70 at 2.8 vs 50 mm Prime at 1.8 - This lens at 35 2.0 vs 24-70 at 35 MM 2.8 vs 35 prime 1.8. - Those are the attributes that make it unique. This reviewconcentrates on focus breathing and differences in bokeh at 150mm etc...wheras, the pirmary reason this lens is a game changer is that it bridges the gap between needing primes at 35, 50 and 85mm 1.8 - and it's way better than having 24-70 at 2.8 - You get anywhere between 1/2 and a full stop between 35 and 75mm pick-up with this lens vs 24-70 2.8 - It's not all the way to the 1.8 primes....but you get the zoom which makes up for it. - So, for sporting events and other types where things move fast and you can't change lenses often. This lens is like nothing else ever made. That's why I bought and love it.
I have this lens and 14-24 sigma art in my photo travel to Thailand with my Sony A7RV , and really don't use 14-24 at all , this lens cover all my needs ( landscape and waterfall ), oh and its cheaper on Sony ( 1600$) and its the reason I chose Sony A7RV over Nikon Z8 because its not available on Nikon last year
I had this and it's a brilliant lens but I ended up selling it and getting the Samyang version for half the price! It loses a little corner sharpness but is slightly sharper in the centre, and has a slightly higher reproduction ratio, at the long end. A great value alternative to the Tamron
Got this lens recently and expected to like it - but not as much as I do. The only thing I would change about it if I could is add an aperture ring. Other than that it's basically perfect for a zoom.
It's an amazing lens and in my opinion a special lens for people photography (weddings, events, concerts, ...) and not travel (too large and heavy) or landscape (not enough wide angle range).
I don’t have time to completely watch the video till tonight or tomorrow but I have owned that lens since 2022 and it is amazing! My only two complaints (and I’m sure you mentioned them) are it’s prone to flare in back lit situations and it can’t achieve 30 fps on my A1. I took a leap of faith this past weekend and used it shoot bull riders and wow did it perform well! (not to plug myself but you can see the bull shots on my fb page). This lens is now almost permanently attached to my camera unless I’m shooting wildlife. I’m so in love with it.
