Tamron 28-75 Review - Professional Performance on an Amateur Budget

What lens is on the front of your Canon Digital SLR?

Since my 30D usually has a third party lens on it, and the images are top notch, I thought I would do a Tamron 28-75 Review.

At the time that I decided to move from a point and shoot camera to a digital SLR, I determined that I would not get the kit lens that came with the Canon Rebel 300D. At the time, the kit lens was not highly regarded at all by most photography websites.

After doing a ton of research and fretting over which lens would be the best one that I could buy for my budget, I landed on the Tamron 28-75. I have upgraded my camera body a couple of times, but my trusty 28-75 lens has remained my prime all purpose lens.

Since it is not a Canon L lens, it does not get the respect that those highly revered lenses get in all the reviews, however, this little Tamron lens is really excellent.

There are two things I have come to appreciate about my main walk-about lens.

First is the wide aperture of f/2.8. It is stable across the whole focal range, meaning that no matter what focal length you choose, you will be getting the fastest shutter speed. This is really important when you are shooting in less than optimum light situations.

Second is the quick focus. I have used some Canon L lenses, and my Tamron performs just as good as those high priced models. The bokeh is really nice too. If you are not familiar with the term "bokeh", it is the nicely blurred background of a photo. This happens when you shoot your picture at a fairly wide aperture (like 2.8). The plane of focus is quite shallow, rendering the background and foreground as blurry.

Recently, I was talking with a photographer friend of mine who was doing some work at my school. He knows that I am also a photographer. As he was moving around and shooting his images, he mentioned that he had just purchased this "awesome little lens" for his Canon 5D. He said that I should really think about getting one because of how light and versatile it was.

It turns out that he was referring to a Tamron 28-75 Canon lens. I was quite surprised that a professional photographer would even think to attach a third party lens to such an amazing camera as the 5D.

But, I guess I should not have been surprised. After all, I have been proclaiming the virtues of this great lens for years. But I had always thought of the Tamron 28-75 lens as a beginner Canon digital slr lens.

Apparently, I was wrong. It is a fantastic choice for amateurs and pros alike.

So, just to recap, you will be pleasantly surprised after shooting a few frames at how well the lens handles, the crisp, clear images that it produces, the fast focus, and the pleasing bokeh. Oh, and the price. You will save a bundle of cash if you buy this lens instead of an L lens of the same focal length and aperture.