Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:11:34 GMT

Don,

This Tamron is 2 full stops faster than your Pentax lens at 200mm. That will make a huge difference when light is at a premium.

The shutter speeds that are giving you blurry shots at f/5.6 will roughly quadruple at f/2.8. Check the EXIF data on some blurry shots for the shutter speed and multiply by 4. If that new number is fast enough to freeze action, say 1/500 and up, then this Tamron lens should work for you.

Zooms are convenient for changing focal lengths, but they're slower than primes. That's the tradeoff. If f/2.8 gets you there, this is a slick lens.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

DonF — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:48:08 GMT

I currently have a standard Pentax lens 50-200 F4.0-5.6 and set it at 1600. It is is blured slightly during fast motion but I can rarely get it to 5.6 when zoomed in that's why I thought the 2.8 over the full length would work.

I will look at the Prime lenses but I'll probably have to buy two of them so I can get the close up and distance shots. You don't normally get to move around that's why I went with the zoom.

Thanks

Don

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:21:06 GMT

Don,

Depends on how the lighting is in the gym. Maybe go in there sometime with a lens you already have, open it up to f/2.8, and see what your camera's meter is telling you. You need really fast shutter speeds to shoot action.

Just a guess, but I suspect that you could probably use this lens to shoot the competition at ISO 800 and above. I haven't had the pleasure of shooting with a K10D, does it do pretty well at ISO 1600?

Personally I'd grab a prime lens that can open up a bit more than f/2.8 for indoor sports. I'm not real familiar with the current Pentax lens lineup, but if they have an 85/1.8 or 100/2 or something like that it would probably give you better indoor sports shooting results. Might want a monopod, too.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

DonF — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:23:38 GMT

I was looking at this for my K10D. I shoot gymnastics and no flash allowed. Have you tried action shots in low light?

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:55:23 GMT

THA - it'll work wonderfully on the D5000. Previous users have reported it working well with the D40.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

THA — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:43:00 GMT

Does this work on the Nikon D5000?

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:50:00 GMT

VC (image stabilization) is always nice to have. Problem is, in this price range you're not going to get both the bright max aperture (f/2.8) and image stabilization in a lens. So what you're trading here is two extra stops of light at 200mm for image stabilization.

Personally, if my budget allowed only for one or the other, I'd take the f/2.8 aperture over the image stabilization. But that's a matter of preference, because I don't mind toting a monopod with a lens this size.

What this lens has to offer is (1) f/2.8 aperture, (2) great sharpness, and (3) macro capabilities (at 200mm) that are unmatched by other zoom lenses.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

redwaters — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:08:35 GMT

Isn't the lack of VC at long focal lengths a matter of concern.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:34:22 GMT

Aditya -

Check your email for a response.

-Zak

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

Aditya C Panda — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:57:32 GMT

Thanks for the kind words Zak. The worst thing about being a Pentaxian is that finding a lens can take weeks. Or months, as is my case. After three months of waiting and not finding satisfying compatible lenses, I have boiled down search to the following, in order of desirability:

Sigma 100-300 f/4 + 1.4X TC

Pentax DA* 300 f/4 + 1.4X TC

Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 + 1.4X TC and 2X TC

In the worst case, if none of these are available immediately, Sigma 50-500 f/4-6.3, which I am very skeptical about as 1. its a superzoom and that HAS to have an effect on IQ, 2. I hear its not really 500mm and is actually only 460mm and that too at near infinity focus, 3. Its the same price as the lovely Pentax prime and the Sigma zoom mentioned above and is more expensive than the Tammy set up and 4. Although it will be a big leap as far as reach is concerned from my older Tamron 75-300 f/4-5.6, I doubt if it is any superior when image quality and sharpness are concerned. I'm ready to sacrifice 100mm at the long end for excellent IQ and sharpness.

What would you advise?

Cheers!

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

ZakB — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:35:11 GMT

Aditya -

First of all, your wildlife photos are amazing. I know it takes not only a lot of skill, but also patience to get the shots you do. Well done.

As for a 2x teleconverter with this lens, I would think it would perform very well. I found this to be a very sharp lens, even wide open. The 2x converter would make it a 400mm f/5.6 wide open, not bad, but of course the sharpness would vary with your choice of teleconverter.

I did find this lens a tad slower to focus than my Canons. Probably this is due to lack of an ultrasonic focusing motor. But overall, it was more than adequate. I'd expect it to be a little slower with a 2x teleconverter, just because less light is getting in.

I did not test it with a teleconverter, unfortunately, so I'm only guessing. Unlike you, I don't spend my days sneaking up on birds and lions. But if sharpness is your thing, this is a fine lens.

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

Aditya C. Panda — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:41:02 GMT

Has anyone tested this with a 2X TC? I'm wondering how the performance would be. Obviously AF will be slower, but has anyone noticed significant reduction in IQ and sharpness?

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

Peter — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:39:07 GMT

itt will work on D40/40X/60 becouse it has an AF motor, DC type, not HSM, but it is OK. I tried it in Germany - Münster at Saturn.

But make a little research on Tamron website! :D

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

Lisa Neeb — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:38:44 GMT

Does this work on the Nikon D40?

re: Tamron's 70-200mm f/2.8 helps you see the light

simeon — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:17:09 GMT

I just bought it last week. I've used it and it works great so far. But I'm still in the 'test"stages with it. I'll try some outdoor shots this weekend and really put it to the test