[News] Tamron Announces Availability of 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC Lens

[News] Tamron Announces Availability of 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC Lens

Today, Tamron announced the availability of what they are calling "the new super performance full-frame zoom lens features class-leading resolution and Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization and USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) , with resolution at the top of its class." It is available for pre order now from B&H Photo.

The lens will be available starting April 26, 2012 for $1299.00 in Canon mount with Nikon mount following. Delivery of the Sony mount version has not been released.
                        
Product Features
1. World’s first full-size, high-speed standard zoom with built-in VC (Vibration Compensation) . Even when shooting in low-light conditions with a slow shutter speed to render sharpness, Tamron’s acclaimed VC allows for stable handheld camera work, to more fully enjoy the benefits of this high-speed zoom lens.
2. Uses specialized high-grade glass in the three LD elements, three Glass Molded Aspherical Lenses, one Hybrid Aspherical Lens and two XR (Extra Refractive Index) glasses, delivering top-of-the-class quality images suited to this high-grade lens. Using a rounded diaphragm , the lens achieves gorgeous blur effects.
3. Features USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) to power a speedy AF drive together with a continuous manual mechanism.
4. This high-speed standard zoom lens has a wide-end focal length of 24mm that expands the photographic area.
5. The lens adopts the new technology including the latest optical design, VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization and USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), all in a lighter and more compact package.
6. Moisture-resistant construction helps prevent water from penetrating the lens.

VC (Vibration Compensation)
VC (Vibration Compensation) is Tamron’s proprietary image stabilization system. Tamron’s VC is a three-coil system, whereby three driving coils activate the shake-compensating VC lens group electromagnetically via three ceramic balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the ceramic balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance. And as the VC lens may be moved in parallel using only the motorized control, the mechanical structure has been simplified, enabling the creation of a more compact lens.

New VC system (moving coil method)
Tamron’s original VC image stabilization mechanism utilized a moving magnet system whereby a heavy magnet was positioned near the moving VC lens element. In the new VC unit the positions of the magnet and the coil are reversed, because of this the VC optical lens element is attached to the coil. The new VC mechanism employs a moving coil mechanism with a lightweight coil, and the lighter coil reduces the load on the drive system. Thus, the lighter, more compact new VC unit contributes to the lens’s overall light weight and compact size.

Because the 24-70 mm F/2.8 Di VC USD is a high-speed zoom lens with maximum aperture of F/2.8, its VC system must drive a lens that is larger and heavier than other zooms. Therefore, the shape, size and layout of the drive coils are all designed to obtain sufficient thrust. The result is a full-size, high-speed zoom that provides the same high level of compensation effect.

About the ultrasonic motor
In the ultrasonic motor, a piezoelectric element arranged in a ring formation generates ultrasonic vibrations in a metallic ring stator, and the vibration energy is used to rotate a metallic ring rotor that is attached to the stator. The rotation energy is in turn transferred from the metallic ring rotor to operate the focus lens.

For you Sony shooters out there, take note: The Sony mount does not include VC, because the body of Sony digital SLR cameras includes image stabilization functionality. The product name for Sony cameras is “SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di USD” without the VC designation.

What do you think? Does this lens interest you? What do you think of the $1299.00 price point? Share your thoughts comments section below.

Jaron Schneider's picture

Jaron Schneider is an Fstoppers Contributor and an internationally published writer and cinematographer from San Francisco, California. His clients include Maurice Lacroix, HD Supply, SmugMug, the USAF Thunderbirds and a host of industry professionals.

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12 Comments

I have the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 for Canon. It's an awesome piece of glass, especially for the price. (under $400) Since both the 28-75 and the new 24-70 are so close in terms of focal lengths, and they're equal in terms of speed, I'd like to see them reviewed side-by-side before I'd even consider spending over 3x the cost of the 28-75 on this new one. 

 agree... i also have 28-75 for nikon )

 exactly the same situation here for my Canon as well.

It's a shame for both Canon and Nikon that Tamron is the first company that has actually heard the customers claims. We've been requesting IS, VR, VC, OS or however you wanna call it in our 24-70 lenses for years. We (me, at least) had the hope that Canon would update the 24-70 with an IS-enabled version, but had no luck.

There are a lot of purists that would never use a non-Canon lens in their Canon cameras, but god knows Canon will be in a lot of trouble if this Tamron turns out to be optically up to the 24-70 Mark II.

Exactly. I just did a spec by spec comparison and on paper, these lenses are identical except for Tamron's VC- which is badass. Now I would like to see some image comparisons. 

This is great news on the IS front. it's disappointing that the 24-70 mkii wont have IS. 

A question for the canon people: I'm curious if anyone can provide more detail as to whether the new tammy zoom ring will be Canon's [wide long] or Nikon & Sigma's [long wide]? the picture shows the non-Canon type ring.  not a deal breaker for me but it can be for many others.

Well, I own the Tamron 17-50/2.8 and the 70-200/2.8 in Canon mounts, and both have the zoom ring setup the Nikon way.. so I think it's safe to assume the 24-70 will be identical in this aspect. Not a dealbreaker for me either, it's a really quick and painless adjustment :)

I love my 28-75, so I'm really happy to hear this! I am curious to see how good the ultrasonic drive is. I can't wait for a side by side comparison to both the 28-75 and the canon and nikon variants 

can't wait to see pictures made with this lens compared to canon's 24-70......

I am SOOOO excited about this lens!  The Nikkor 24-70 is my most used and relied upon lens for certain but if you ever want to shoot handheld video you HAVE to have VR.  Tamron's 17-50 has been behind most if not every Fstoppers Original and I look forward to pairing up the 24-70 VC with the D800s and D4s....come one Nikon, we need new 17-55 2.8s and 24-70s with VR if nothing else but for video!

I just purchased the 24-70mm so I hope it's not coming out with VR soon :) lol 

Sadly the Sony version do not have VC. With stabilization could be a nice lens for Nex 5n/7 with the LA-EA2 Alpha adapter.