The Tamron 24-70/2.8 VC delivers a pretty good overall performance – only the FX-corners disappoint especially at 35mm. On an unforgiving 36MP full-frame body you need to stop down to f5.6 to lift FX-corner performance to near good levels. Use it on a 12-16MP full frame/FX-body and you might be more satisfied with border/corner performance. Nonetheless the lens is a worthy (not to mention cheaper) alternative to the original manufacturers’ offerings. On a DX-body it mostly delivers good to very good performance, even reaching excellent levels in the center (at 50-70mm from f4 onwards).

But there’s one thing that definitely sets it apart from the competition: The first image stabilization ever in such a lens! That alone would be worth a recommendation. Canon and Nikon need to rethink their designs and see whether they could equip their professional work-horse zooms with image-stabilization too – or offer bodies with built-in sensor-based stabilization. Tamron’s VC extends the useful range for their 24-70/2.8 lens 2-3 stops further into low-light shooting or simply help you avoid shake that could ruin an otherwise perfectly sharp shot – especially on sensors above 20MP (be it APS-C/DX or full-frame/FX). And this in a package that is much cheaper than a lens from Nikon or Canon.

On the other hand there’s an even cheaper alternative – at least for Nikon shooters: The new AF-S 24-85/3.5-4.5G VR. It has 2/3 to 4/3 of a stop slower maximum aperture but 20% more reach on the long end. And it performed quite convincingly, as you can read in my Nikon AF-S 24-85/3.5-4.5G VR review, and earned a Recommended rating.

So there’s no doubt that the Tamron earns a Recommended rating. But whether this should be upgrade to “Highly Recommended” will only become clear after my up-and-coming Nikon AF-S 24-70/2.8G review and my final 24-xx shootout.

For the time being I have listed the good and bad points of the Tamron 24-70/2.8 VC for you below.

Summary Good points Good to very good image quality in the APS-C/DX image-circle. Image stabilization. Weather sealing. Quiet and fast AF operation. Cheaper than the original manufacturers’ 24-70mm f2.8 lenses. Bad points Needs stopping down to f8 to produce good full-frame/FX-corners. Flare and ghosting not too well controlled on the long end.

If you have any question, comment or suggestion regarding the review head over to our forum here. A selection of my shots with this lens in full resolution can be found here.

Und wenn es irgendwelche Fragen, Kommentare und Anregungen zu meinem Review gibt, hier gibt’s die Möglichkeit für unsere deutschsprachigen Besucher im DSLR-Forums. Und dort ist eine Auswahl an Bildern in voller Auflösung, die ich mit dieser Linse gemacht habe.