...and my first outing with the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 G2 lens.
As it's Golden Week here in Japan I ventured into Shiga Prefecture to escape the crowds and to enjoy a small, historical old town not too far from Kyoto. I brought a newly acquired Tamron 24-70mm G2 lens attached to a Canon EOS RP body. The Tamron worked flawlessly via the EF-RF mount adapter and, although a little heavy was a pleasure to use.
The difference between this and the Canon RF24-105 f/4-7.1 kit lens I had been using was remarkable, as I expected. What I didn't expect was just how much I would enjoy using it. The whole lens has a quality, solid feel to it. The zoom ring is nicely damped and the focus is snappy and accurate, indistinguishable from the Canon.
Coming in at 905g it's a little front heavy on the mirror less RP body but not prohibitively so. I'm looking forward to trying it on the 5D Mk 2 where I'm sure it will balance better.
While doing some pixel peeping I could see that images are super sharp in the centre of the frame from f/2.8 and are only a little softer in the corners. It sharpens up in the corners from f4.
The image stabilization (or VC as Tamron calls it) gives a claimed 5 stops worth of stabilization. I don't know if this is true but the image below was shot at 1/20 of a second at 51mm. The VC felt just as good as the Canon's image stabilization.
To get to something more intangible I was struck by how this lens inspired confidence compared to the Canon kit lens, which feels like a toy by comparison. I know it might not make sense but I found myself taking shots that I wouldn't have with the Canon kit lens.
I've heard it said that you only date your cameras but you marry your lenses. And with this lens I totally get it. It's in a totally different league than the Canon kit lens but only cost $220 more.
Bokeh looks very smooth both in the foreground and the background giving a very pleasing look. The first image in this post, shot at f/2.8, has a nice 3D pop to it.
If you're looking to upgrade your kit lens you might like to consider this one. It comes in $350 cheaper than the Canon RF 24-105 F/4 L, and $1,300 cheaper than the Canon RF 24-70 F/2.8 L.
It works flawlessly on the mirror less RP body and I'm looking forward to it breathing new life into my 5D Mk 2. Needless to say its performance and build far outstrips that of the aging EF 24-105 F/4 L Mk 1 lens that came with my 5D.
Really looking forward to bringing you more images taken with this great lens.
To learn more reach out to me at info@classic-kyoto-photography.com or take a look at my Kyoto photo tours at https://www.classic-kyoto-photography.com/tours
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