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Tamron 15-30mm vs Nikon 14-24/2.8G [Bad Sample] (Pescadero Creek, Nikon D810)
The Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD appeared in March 2015 in both Nikon and Canon mount. Here we test how it performs on the 36-megapixel Nikon D810 against Nikon’s top-end ultra-wide zoom the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.G ED.
As it turns out, this comparison would almost be funny if the behaviors were not so devastating to image quality, and frustrating:
- The Nikon 14-24/2.8G shows a severe focus shift. Focus shift is a damning flaw on high resolution digital in particular. Indeed without constant mitigation by the user, it could be called a fatal flaw. As it turns out, this particular series makes the Nikon 14-24 a poster child for the damaging effects of focus shift. Various case studies of focus shift with the Nikon 14-24/2.8G are shown in Making Sharp Images.
- The Tamron 15-30/2.8 often (but not always) delivers a blurred image on a tripod if the image stabilization function is enabled. The Tamron image at f/13 is visibly blurred for this reason, with the other apertures looking reasonable.
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Diglloyd DAP is DSLR-oriented, but also contains workflow and other topics. Much of the focus is on Canon and Nikon but also Pentax and Pentax medium format.
Special emphasis is placed on lens evaluation, focusing on Canon and Nikon and Sigma lenses, but with a few others like Rokinon/Samyang.
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