Tamron in E-mount frenzy | 28-200mm for full frame hands-on
Reading Time: 6 minutes - June 11, 2020
We tested the new Tamron 28-200mm for Sony E-mount for you. We walked through beautiful D?sseldorf for you and put it to the test in comparison with the Sony 24-240mm and Sony GM 70-200 and were surprised! Thanks to the latest technical advances and innovations, Tamron has managed to go one step further. You can find out what has been optimized and what progress has been made in this blog post.
The world's first travel zoom lens for full-frame format
The Tamron 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 is the world's first travel zoom lens with an aperture of F/2.8 at a wide-angle focal length of 28 mm. The optical design is optimized for use with the current generation of high-resolution digital cameras. Several special lenses ensure high image quality over the entire focal length range, allowing you to make full use of your creativity. It combines the ease of use of a travel zoom lens, which offers a wide focal length range despite its compact design, with the excellent image quality of a fast F/2.8 zoom lens. This combination not only pushes the usual limits of technical possibilities, but also expands your photographic potential.
Compact and lightweight - ideal for everyday use and travel
All lenses in the Tamron E-mount series for mirrorless full-frame cameras are characterized by their optical and technical performance and ease of use. In addition to a uniform filter size (67 mm), the developers paid particular attention to the compact body design and low weight when designing the 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6. The new travel zoom lens is only 117 mm long and weighs just 575 g. The diameter of the body is also remarkably small at 74 mm. These key data make the new zoom lens the ideal companion for a carefree photo tour.
Weatherproof construction, fluorine coating and zoom lock
The bayonet ring and other critical areas of the lens body are sealed against moisture and splash water, allowing you to shoot outdoors even in adverse weather conditions. The front lens is protected with a water and grease-repellent fluorine coating, which is easy to clean and less susceptible to dirt, such as fingerprints or water droplets. In addition, the zoom lock function prevents the lens barrel from being accidentally extended during transportation.
Comparison between Tamron 28-200mm vs. Sony 24-240mm vs. Sony GM 70-200mm
Wide angle at 28mm
Sony 24-240 at 26mmLight telephoto at 70mm
Maximum at 200mm
Uncompromising image quality for limitless creativity
The optical construction of the new travel zoom lens consists of 18 elements in 14 groups, including several special lenses such as GM (Glass Molded Aspherical), XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) and LD (Low Dispersion) elements and hybrid aspherical elements, which minimize optical image errors and enable high resolution values. The lens surfaces are coated with Tamron's renowned BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coating, whose anti-reflective properties reduce distracting ghost images and flare, thus ensuring sharp and brilliant images. The camera's internal distortion and vignetting correction is also supported, guaranteeing consistently high image quality right up to the edges, regardless of the focal length selected.
When developing its travel zoom lenses, Tamron has always concentrated on setting new standards in this class in terms of image quality. The 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 is no exception and is therefore just as suitable for spontaneous snapshots as it is for sophisticated, composed photo shoots.
Outstanding close-up capabilities
For a travel zoom lens, the 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 has exceptionally good close-up capabilities. The 28 mm wide-angle lens can focus on the subject from a distance of just 0.19 m, achieving a maximum reproduction scale of 1:3.1. Thanks to the large aperture of F/2.8, the background can be beautifully blurred. When shooting with the 200 mm telephoto lens, the shortest focusing distance is 0.80 m, which corresponds to a reproduction scale of 1:3.8. The user can therefore take impressively composed close-ups with any focal length.
Quiet autofocus with RXD technology
The autofocus system has a sensor that determines the current focus setting of the lens and an RXD stepper motor (Rapid extra-silent stepping Drive). Both ensure fast and precise automatic focusing so that the focus can be continuously tracked even with dynamic objects. The autofocus works so quietly that virtually no disruptive focusing noise is recorded during video recording. The compact RXD technology also contributes significantly to the compactness of the 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6.
Compact top lenses for mirrorless system cameras
The 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 is the latest model in the new Tamron E-mount series, which was developed for mirrorless system cameras with a full-frame sensor. Photographers now have a large selection of attractive interchangeable lens combinations at their disposal, with which individual image ideas can be realized even without heavy equipment. For example, the zoom duo 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 and 17-28mm F/2.8, which covers the entire focal length range from 17mm ultra-wide-angle to 200mm telephoto, together weigh less than one kilogram (995 g). If the 28-200mm is combined with the fixed focal lengths of the Tamron E-mount series, such as the 20mm F/2.8 or the 24mm F/2.8, the total weight even remains under 800 grams.
All models in the Tamron E-mount series have a filter thread with a diameter of 67 mm. This makes it even easier to use several lenses, as there is no need to carry several filters of different sizes (e.g. polarization and UV filters) or lens caps. As a result, users benefit twice over: they save both money when buying and time when taking photos.
Compatible with advanced camera functions
The Tamron 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 is compatible with many advanced functions of mirrorless system cameras. These include:
- Fast Hybrid Autofocus
- Eye Detection AF
- Direct Manual Focus (DMF)
- integrated lens correction (vignetting, color fringing, distortion)
- Lens firmware update via the camera
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