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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.
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