Nikon full frame midrange zoom comparision - Tamron 28-75 vs Nikkor 24-120 VR

puddleduck

puddleduck

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Andy Drake
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Background: I've had a 24-120 VR before (it came with my D700 in kit form) and frankly it only took a few shots to realise it was a subpar as a compliemt to this excellent camera.

I was lucky enough to pick up another sample which arrived today, so decided to see if I was unlucky with the first sample or Uncle Ken really is right about this lens..

I took my D700 and my Tamron 28-75 and new 24-120 for a quick test. I only had half an hour, so decided to shoot them stopped down to f/8 which is what I would use for landscape - at 28mm and 70mm on both lenses.

28mm:



Test Scene:

DSC_3939-full.jpg





DSC_3939-crop.jpg

100% centre crop (Tamron 28-75)



DSC_3944-crop.jpg

100% centre crop (Nikkor 24-120 VR)



DSC_3939-rhcrop.jpg

100% edge crop (Tamron 28-75)


DSC_3944-rhcrop.jpg

100% edge crop (Nikkor 24-120 VR)



​

At 28mm, the Tamron is sharper in the center but the Nikon is no disgrace. At the sides, its a different story - the Nikkor shows very poor edge performance.

Lets look at 70mm now...

70mm:



Test Scene:

DSC_3947-full.jpg





DSC_3947-crop.jpg

100% centre crop (Tamron 28-75)



DSC_3946-crop.jpg

100% centre crop (Nikkor 24-120 VR)



DSC_3947-rhcrop.jpg

100% edge crop (Tamron 28-75)


DSC_3946-rhcrop.jpg

100% edge crop (Nikkor 24-120 VR)



​

At 70mm, the Tamron / Nikon gap widen - the Tamron is sharper in the center. At the sides, its the same story - the Nikkor shows very poor edge performance, and really is not up to snuff for full frame owners



Summary: Nikon bundles this as a D700 kit lens, but having tried two copies now, IMHO the Nikkor 24-120 VR really isn't good enough for full frame onwers if decent edge performance is important.
 
good comparisons there Andy

the Tamron looks like a cracking lens and as you say the Nikon looks alittle poor as can be seen
 
I really rate your Nikon knowledge and experience and the 85mm is great so it looks like one of my short list is a no no. I am buying either the D700 or its replacement and wanted a decent lens that would do it justice and that I could use as a general purpose lens. So whats going to be best in the range of approximately 20 odd to around 100 ?
 
I had the Nikon for a good while, bought it with my D70. The one thing that I really loved about it was its range. Image quality was OK, but nothing to write-home about.
 
Interesting to see the difference:thumbs:
I dont understand why Nikon sell the D700 with 24-200mm lens.
:shake:
 
cowasaki said:
I really rate your Nikon knowledge and experience and the 85mm is great so it looks like one of my short list is a no no. I am buying either the D700 or its replacement and wanted a decent lens that would do it justice and that I could use as a general purpose lens. So whats going to be best in the range of approximately 20 odd to around 100 ?
Click to expand...

Shortlist the following:

Sigma 24-60, Tamron 28-75, Nikkor 28-105 (this is really good too).

For general walkabout, the Tamron 28-300 VC is surprisingly good.

The Nikkor 24-70 is probably the "best" - if you don't mind the size, weight and price (especially now!) In reality I never use my 24-70 due to size, its just not practical on hikes / backpacking, but thats a personal preference due to my lifestyle.
 
puddleduck said:
Shortlist the following:

Sigma 24-60, Tamron 28-75, Nikkor 28-105 (this is really good too).

For general walkabout, the Tamron 28-300 VC is surprisingly good.

The Nikkor 24-70 is probably the "best" - if you don't mind the size, weight and price (especially now!) In reality I never use my 24-70 due to size, its just not practical on hikes / backpacking, but thats a personal preference due to my lifestyle.
Click to expand...

Cheers I shall start reading up on them. I have a good few months yet so plenty of time......
 
24-70 AF-S, that's AFing-Sexy ... shame about the weight.
 
If there's one lens Nikon should get out there it's a 24-120/f4 VR. I can't understand why they haven't.
 
Radiohead said:
If there's one lens Nikon should get out there it's a 24-120/f4 VR. I can't understand why they haven't.
Click to expand...

I get the impression they just arn't interested in the whole constant f/4 thing.

I'm not convinced we'll see a 24-105 IS competitor, or a 70-200 f/4 VR.
 
Nor me - it's puzzling, maybe they see it as a bit me-too re: Canon but they're missing a trick. I'd love one alongside my 24-70.
 
puddleduck said:
Shortlist the following:

Sigma 24-60, Tamron 28-75, Nikkor 28-105 (this is really good too).

For general walkabout, the Tamron 28-300 VC is surprisingly good.

The Nikkor 24-70 is probably the "best" - if you don't mind the size, weight and price (especially now!) In reality I never use my 24-70 due to size, its just not practical on hikes / backpacking, but thats a personal preference due to my lifestyle.
Click to expand...

I don't suppose you've got a 28-105 Nikkor you'd consider selling have you Andy? :thinking::):lol:??
 
I'm not buying F/4 one bit, especially in this mid-wide zoom range.
I mean why would they :shrug:, the 24-120 is 3.5 - 5.6, what's the point of f/4, and with the greatest respect, vary app zooms are hardly likely to match constant app, so whilst its not a fair comparison it does still prove the Tamron is better, would you expect any other outcome.
The Nikon is disadvantaged in 2 ways, vari app and length coverage, that extra 45mm means performance is gonna take a dip in some way or another.
Who's to say what lens is acceptable as a kit for any particular body, I wouldn't buy it personally, anyone considering dropping a pile of dosh on a body with a kit lens ought to be aware of its strengths and weaknesses, like they would with anything else.
 
Having just picked up a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 on Andy's recommendation I think I am pleasantly surprised but happy to see these results!
 
nictry said:
Having just picked up a Tamron 28-75 f2.8 on Andy's recommendation I think I am pleasantly surprised but happy to see these results!
Click to expand...

I chose f/8 as for this its a nice general aperture, but the Tammy is very nice wide open too.


tamron28-75100crop.jpg

​

I like the 28-75 as it doesn't have much field curvature so nice for landcape work.
 
This particular Tamron is well known. I still have a copy at work. For the price and the range, I really don't think you can buy better. My only nit is that the noise of the zoom - maximum half an hour of continual shooting is all that I can bear!
 
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