A Review of the Successor to the Brilliant Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

Tamron has had some excellent lenses over the years but nothing quite reached the caliber of their 28-75mm f/2.8 which was extremely well-received. Now, with that previous model discontinued, Tamron has released the new version, but can it keep up the earlier model's legacy?

This is the second time I have written about the new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 in the past week and I'm eager to get my hands on a copy. As I have mentioned previously, I originally bought the first version of the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 in lieu of a Sony 24-70mm as it was significantly cheaper and I didn't use that focal length all that much. Nevertheless, I do need one in my arsenal and it will come out at least a few times per shoot, it's just never been my go-to.

When the Tamron arrived, I was blown away by how good it was. So good, in fact, it never left my roster of lenses and I still use it today. It had everything I expected from a mid-range zoom — low weight, sharpness across the board, f/2.8 — and then managed to also tick boxes I struggle to tick. For example, a shot I often do for clients revolves around a reasonably wide lens (preferably zoom) with a minimum focus distance of under 30 cm. The old model had just 19 cm MFD and the new G2 has lowered that further, to 18 cm.

The build quality and image quality of these lenses do not match the low price, in the best way possible. If you're in the market for a 24-70mm, I would certainly recommend giving this Tamron a try.