The Tamron 35-150mm f2-2.8 zoom lens, which makes all fixed focal lengths obsolete!

This review is a little different than perhaps most of our hands ons, because the 35-150mm finally appears for Nikon Z, as a Nikon photographer my gaze wandered enviously to Sony for a long time.

Why does this focal length make the lens so special?

This open-aperture zoom monster does everything right, the focal length from 35mm to 150mm is simply ideal for wedding portraits, portrait shoots or wildlife photography. Because now when you consider what fixed focal lengths are in this focal length range, the price is no longer in question, because take the following focal lengths:

• 35mm
• 50mm
• 85mm
• 70-200mm

The value is probably at least twice as high, depending on the aperture and quality of the lens. These focal lengths are with the standard lenses, which can be found in many photo backpacks, as well as in mine.The weight of 1.2KG on this amount of lenses is then again a light weight, even if you compare these with a 24-70 f2.8 +& 70-200 f2.8 combination, you still save weight here.

All lenses from Tamron

The aperture of the Tamron 35-150mm f2-f2,8

About Bokeh and the release one can always discuss, certainly many say that a large release does not make an artist, but in the evening situations or in the registry office, there one needs probably the one or other time an open aperture of F2 or F2.8. Regularly I photograph much with a flash, today not, but I fade down mostly to f2 or lower.

F-stop steps of the Tamron

For this, we'll just go by the scales of the lens:

• 35mm f2
• 50mm f2.2
• 70mm f2.5
• 85-100mm f2.7
• 135-150mm f2.8

Maximum aperture by focal length

At 35mm the maximum aperture is f16 while at 150mm this aperture is then f22.

What is the aperture?

The bokeh characteristic

Overall the bokeh is very nice and round and is very pleasing to look at, but you do see some onion rings here and there, but that is not surprising for this zoom lens.

Close-ups that resemble a macro?

We have discussed the focal lengths and open aperture of this zoom lens, but what rounds everything off? Exactly the closest focusing distance. Here, Tamron offers a quite solid result with 0.33m at 35mm and 0.87m at 150mm. Certainly, other lenses deliver a better result here, but still very acceptable for a zoom. Still, a fixed focal length performs better here because of its construction.

The other features of the Tamron zoom

This Tamron lens not only offers splash protection, but also a lock switch, which keeps the lens from extending itself when held down. The compatibility of this lens with the Tamron Lens Utility, which lets you fine-tune the firmware of the lens through a USB-C port.

Introducing the Tamron Lens Utility

So, this lens has a switch that lets you set it to three different modes to fine-tune the lens to your individual needs. For example, you can set the A-B focus, which allows the lens to independently drive 2 different focus points.

Sharpness, chromatic aberrations and video characteristics

The lens is very well sharp over the entire focal length range, below we have also compared some examples to the shots of the fixed focal lengths. The lens also offers a balanced result in terms of contrast. We could not really detect any chromatic aberrations. Focus breathing is particularly relevant for videographers; it almost does not occur.

Test images with the 35-150mm f2-2,8

Now let's put the lens to the practical test, here I first took some reportage shots in the form of a behind the scenes of a cosplay shoot of my girlfriend. Afterwards, we dared to take some evening shots ourselves to show the qualities of the Tamron 35-150mm all-rounder.

The chromatic aberrations are good and the bokeh is also quite pleasant to look at, which is already very good for a zoom lens, some fixed focal lengths are worse.

Comparison images against the Tamron 35-150mm

Now it gets exciting once again, I didn't miss the chance to compare the previously described lenses against the Tamron. Here I tried to compare according to the specifications of the Tamron lens.

I didn't really have any rejects with the Nikon Z9 due to lack of focus, only camera shake due to my person caused a reject.

Test images to the video

Conclusion

This hummer, at just under 1.2kg it's not a light lens, but that weight doesn't come from anywhere. The lens is a real joy to use and it's probably the best lens for anyone who likes to cover a wider range of focal lengths for their activities won't go wrong here. The lens is especially good for videographers as well.

So if you're looking for a lens in a variety of uses such as reportage, wedding, concert photography, and even portrait photography, you'll make few compromises here compared to using fixed focal lengths. Those working with an aperture of f/2.8 also enjoy a constant aperture over the entire focal length of the zoom. We were unable to detect any real chromatic aberrations with the Tamron 35-150, only a strong flaring is accepted due to the 21 glass elements, but this can also be seen as a characteristic or stylistic device, in times of nearly perfect lenses, imperfection can also create something perfect.

Tamron brand store

Links to all participants

Photographer Cosplay Shooting: Mond Hoernchen
Model: Selene Hendrick
Casual Photographer +& Author: Terobes Arts

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