Which Tamron lens?

Question

I own a Nikon D70s with a Tamron 28-80mm lens. Images seem rather 'soft.' I'm thinking about purchasing either the Tamron 70-300mm ($200) or the Tamron 28-300mm ($400). Which would you pruchase, and why?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, I've experienced the same problem as you. In fact I had a Nikon 35mm and bought the D70 so that I could use the lenses and strobe etc. that I had already for the 35mm. The lenses I had for the 35mm were Tamron as well. When they wouldn't work as effectively and my strobe wouldn't flash I took the Tamron equipment and my D70 to a local photo shop.

They informed me that the sad thing is....with the D70 only Nikon equipment is compatible (even though Tamron's fit--they don't connect with digital responders) - whereas with the Nikon 35mm you could use Tamron's with no problem. Sorry to give you the bad news but you'll have to get authentic Nikon equipment to work with your D70. More $$$

For more info regarding this, I recommend you take your equipment to your local photo retailer so they can show and explain in more detail.

Answer 2

If your images seem soft with one Tamron lens, you're better off trying a different manufacturer. I prefer Nikon lenses with my Nikon cameras. However, you would be better off with the 70-300 mm if these are your only choices. Zoom lenses are always a compromise between sharpness and versatility. What you would gain with the 28-300 is a length already covered by the lens you own, and the more you ask of a lens in terms of zooming power, the less sharp it will be at any given length.
That being said, several things can make photos soft. If you are having trouble holding the camera perfectly still, you can add blurring without even realizing it. The best rule of thumb is to use a tripod or other support at shutter speeds longer than the mm length you are zoomed to. For example, if you are zoomed to 125mm, don't handhold at speeds longer than 1/125th of a second. Secondly, use your f stops to gain sharpness. The bigger the number (i.e. f22) the sharper your pictures will be. This only works with a decent amount of light. Thirdly, digital images look softer than film images until you put them into a program like Photoshop and do a little bit of sharpening to them. It has to do with how the pixels are different from film grains.

Answer 3

I love my tamron lenses but it seems that half of them are soft and I have gone nbback and forth with Tamron to finally get some sharp lenses. Your best bet to to go to Nikon and buy Nikon lenses. make sure you get pro quality lenses that are all glas and have a min aperature of 2.8 at the largest. You'll have to shell out a few ducks for them but the 2.8 lenses I bought 10 years ago are still razor sharp and they work well with my D70. Don't sacrifie your quality for $. Save up and buy good glass. Once you do it will be very rarely that you'll have to replace a lens. my Ninon lenses have been used on my FM2, F-3, F-4, N-90, F-100, D-70 and my D-1x. What ever lens you buy make sure the next IMMEDIATE purchase is a UV filter to attach to the end of it. Filters are much cheaper to replace then having to replace a front element or having it recoated. Good Luck!