This Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Lens incorporates a motor built into the lens itself, which gives it the capability to autofocus with all Nikon DSLR cameras (including the D40 and D40x). In addition, with the motor built into the lens, focusing will be quieter and more responsive.
The 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di lens is an ultra-compact lens. Its compactness makes it look and feel like an ordinary standard zoom lens, yet provides the versatility that a fast constant maximum aperture offers and will definitely reshape photographic horizons.
Features like LD glass elements and Internal Focusing put this lens in the same category of professional lenses as much bigger and more expensive Tamron lenses.
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Focal Length | 28 - 75 mm |
| Aperture |
Maximum: f/2.8 Minimum: f/32 |
| Camera Mount Type | Nikon F |
| Format Compatibility |
Nikon FX/35mm Film Nikon DX |
| Angle of View | 75° - 32° |
| Minimum Focus Distance | 1.08' (33 cm) |
| Magnification | 0.256x |
| Maximum Reproduction Ratio | 1:3.9 |
| Groups/Elements | 14/16 |
| Diaphragm Blades | 7 |
| Features | |
|---|---|
| Image Stabilization | No |
| Autofocus | Yes |
| Tripod Collar | No |
| Physical | |
|---|---|
| Filter Thread | 67 mm |
| Dimensions (DxL) | Approx. 2.87 x 3.62" (7.29 x 9.19 cm) |
| Weight | 1.12 lb (508 g) |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
by PowerReviewsPros
Cons
Best Uses
Most Liked Positive Review
The All Around Lens Search is Over!
It's been about 2 weeks that I've had this lens and it rarely leaves my Nikon D40 camera. I purchased this lens after being baited by the constant f/2.8 aperture. It was a ...Read complete review
It's been about 2 weeks that I've had this lens and it rarely leaves my Nikon D40 camera. I purchased this lens after being baited by the constant f/2.8 aperture. It was a toss up between this lens and the 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Autofocus Lens. I was leary going away from the Nikon quality I am used to. I was also looking for an all around lens to leave on and be able to grab those shots of my kids fast.
The constant f/2.8 makes this lens worth every penny. I don't know how I ever got along with my old 18-55 kit lens. Here's a little breakdown of the good and bad of this lens:
THE GOOD:
- Constant f/2.8 aperture (*angelic singing*)
- Extremely sharp even wide open at f/2.8
- Zoomed in at 75mm and wide open at f/2.8, this lens makes beautiful portraits with nice bokeh.
- Focusing is relatively fast and very accurate (about as fast as the 18-55mm kit lens, which is almost always good enough)
- Autofocus/Manual focus switch conveniently located on the side of the lens. Which i have not touched since I am photographing my children 99% of the time.
- Internal autofocus motor! (*more angelic singing*)(Works on my D40, will work on D40x and D60 also)
- Can't go wrong with a metal mount.
- Looks pretty awesome on my entry level D40:)
THE BAD
- Sometimes 28mm will not satisfy, so maybe you could buy a wide angle (and telephoto if you need it) to go with this lens.
- External focus ring moves during autofocusing (yikes! keep your hands away!)
- Focusing is noisy
- In manual focus-mode (which is rarely used in my case), the focus ring is a tad loose
- Lens hood doesn't seem to work too well, looks cheap, in my opinion.
- Rear lens cap is terrible, throw it away and buy a Nikon one.
OVERALL
I'd rate this thing 4.5 stars if I could, but I gave it 4 so as not to give the impression that it is a fault-less lens.
This lens has a great deal of good points and very few bad ones. Optically, the lens is amazing, especially for the price. For me, it's created amazing portraits, and some cool close-up shots. You won't be sorry you have glass other than Nikon on your camera. Can't wait to go on vaction and not have to mess around with switch out lens all the time.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Not Good At 2.8 to 3.5
I'm no pixel-peeper, but it's simply too soft and mushy at 2.8 to 3.5. It improves DRASTICALLY at f4, so that's where I kept it at before I returned it. To give you ...Read complete review
I'm no pixel-peeper, but it's simply too soft and mushy at 2.8 to 3.5. It improves DRASTICALLY at f4, so that's where I kept it at before I returned it. To give you something to compare it to, the Nikon 18-70 wide open at 3.5 is sharper than this lens at 3.5 and the Nikon at 4.5 is very similar to the Tamron at 4.5, so I went with a used 18-70 that I bought for $175. So, I would stick with the Nikon, unless you need a FX lens. This lens might still be worth it for some, even as a purely f4 lens, again, only if you need an FX lens. I've heard of some sharp 2.8 copies, but they seem to be really rare and even those few gems seem to fall out of focus after a couple of years. So, no more 3rd party lenses for me, unless it's a prime like the Tamron 90. By the way, my main camera is the D3 and I was just looking for a backup for my DX body. what "sharp" is.
Reviewed by 174 customers
Sort by
Displaying reviews 1-20
Previous | Next »
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I'm a prime girl and was very nervous buying an off brand but couldn't afford the nikon version. The lens is sharp, so far used at 2.8 at all times and love it. Images are great, so far it's one of my favorites.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I rented the Nikon 2.8 24-70 lens and fell in love with it. I wasn't sure about spending that much money on a lens so I decided to give this lens a chance hoping the reviews were true about how great this lens was. All I've ever used are Nikon lenses, I felt this lens was hard to align onto my camera body. It was more difficult to focus and at 2.8 all the images were not that sharp. I did think the color was vibrant but after 20 shots I packed it up and returned it. Because image quality and sharpness are important to me I am going to bite the bullet and spend the money on the Nikon. Anyone who says this lens is just as good has not used the Nikon.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Quality with reasonable price.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I am giving this lens a five stars for now. I have used it and I think that the pictures are sharp. Compared to the kit lens this lens is AMAZING! It is a little loud but after hearing the first time, I don't hear it anymore. I decided to buy this lens over a NIKON lens because NIKON is made for full frame cameras. For me, it wasn't worth the extra money to juggle another factor I had to consider while taking photos. I am now looking to buy the Tamron 70-300 soon!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Very clear and sharp detail for low light situations. Also amazing clarity on some closeups of flowers that I did. My new go to lens.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Nature, sports & animal photography is what I do. I've only used it one weekend in the mountains and the images were very nice.
Of course since it is 2.8 lens, it is heavier than my older lens that I replaced this lens with.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
My rating is for use on the D7000 with a crop sensor (DX). I tested the lens on a D700 with the full sized sensor (FX), and the vignetting at f2.8 to f4 was really bad.
However, I bought the lens for shooting video on my D7000. I haven't used it much, but I've run it through a series of tests across it's aperture and zoom range. The image softens at f2.8 @ 28mm focal length. It's sharp from f4 up across it's entire zoom range and it's sharp from f2.8 up starting around 50mm to 75mm.
The contrast and color look good. I also saw some ghosting around bright objects when I was just shooting various subjects to evaluate the lens. The ghosting was pretty significant, and it could be a reason to not buy this lens for someone shooting critical still images (weddings, etc.). For relatively low resolution video, I decided I'd live with some ghosting. It only happens in certain conditions and a perfect image isn't as important to me as a constant aperture, good contrast, and color. Sharpness is also a plus, and the lens holds up well except as I mentioned above. In my video tests, I didn't notice any loss of sharpness. The sharpness tests I did were on 16MP still images.
I always manual focus on video. In the few test shots I've done, I did some critical focusing and did not seem to have any problem. The lens breaths when focusing, but not badly. The zoom doesn't creep, but it's stiff enough that it's hard to do a smooth zoom. I think a lever on the zoom ring will solve that problem.
So, for video on a D7000, I think the lens will do the job. I'm not saying it's perfect, but the results are pleasing to me, and I'm pretty picky.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I bought the lens to take on vacation, so I would not have to truck along my 70 - 200. I did not want to dish out the cash for another Nikon, so I settled on the Tamron.
Great lense for the money!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Great for low light and nighttime photography!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I bought this lens to shoot a wedding, so I'm practicing a lot. I like how the lens feels on my D3000..it really balances it out.
Takes nice photos and focuses quite quickly. Highly recommended.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I bought this lens after much debate over Nikon 24-70 vs this Tamron lens. It 1/2 the price and works on both my D60 and D700, which is great for me. It delivers sharp images. I'm normally a prime girl, but love this zoom! Works great for everyday use, portraits, and weddings. I have used the Nilon 24-70 and loved it, but the price is not where I wanted to go,so this was great alternative.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I was looking for a zoom lens with f/2.8 to shoot basketball and volleyball in a poorly lit gym. After researching several - nikkor, sigma and tamron, I bought my first Tamron lens. Reason - overall research indicated it was a very good lens but not quite at the level of nikkor but not far off and it was a good value. While I prefer to stay with nikkor, I needed something I could afford now. Shot with it last week for the first time in the gym and it performed very well. Able to use a high shutter speed to capture stop-action at wide open. Only con I noticed was lack of smoothness of extending or retracting lens as compared to nikkor lenses. Not a big deal but not super smooth.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I'm using this primarily for portrait and event photos. Also some close up commercial. It's fast focusing and the constant f2.8 across the zoom range is a big improvement from other zooms I've used.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I love this lens, it combines great quality with affordable price!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Excellent lens for daily use, I photograph often in darkness
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I bought this lens as an upgrade to my Nikon kit lens. I was hoping for a good, fast, walking-around lens I could use for just about everything. It's OK for that, but the auto focus really struggles sometimes and I miss a lot of shots and sometimes miss the candor in a portrait. The lens is also very capable of a nice, clear sharp photo, but it's inconsistent. Maybe one out of 8 shots is sharp no matter what range and aperture I'm shooting at. It's magic when it works, but frustrating too.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
I actually was afraid to buy a non-Nikon lens...but this has totally changed my mind about it!! I have used the Nikon 24-70 many times and this seems close to the same as far as quality. It seems as fast...I absolutely have recommended to all my other photographer friends and LOVE it!
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Very sharp, light, and just the right range for portraits and group shots.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Wedding photography can be very complicated and crazy. I was using an 18-200mm as my catch all lens for a lot of shots. But with such a wide range it was a little soft around the edges.I needed a lens that gave me the clear group and low light shot for weddings but didn't break the bank. Enter the Tamron 24-75mm f/2.8.[...]Second, I got a chance to try the lens a day later for a wedding. The pictures came out very clear and crisp. I got a chance to use it in a variety of shots. Since it was a wedding we did outdoor, indoor, natural light, flash light, and low light shots. I have to say I am very impressed with it.Now as for downfalls, the only thing that seemed a little off was the autofocus. From time to time the lens seemed to have difficulty autofocusing. But when it did the shots were clear.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus Lens for Nikon SLR:
Paid [$] for this lens. Nikon equivalent was around $1800. This one works just dandy for the [$] price cut. I use Nikon body and flash, but some Tamron lens-mostly shooting weddings. portraits, events. No complaints whatsoever.
Displaying reviews 1-20
Previous | Next »