New glass to report on...Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 superwide...

<p>I've just secured one of these, and am happy to report that it has surpassed the quality of my Sigma 10-20mm, to the point that I have Ebayed the Sig and am happily using the Tamron now with my A700's.</p>

<p>Those who know me here are familiar with my use of superwide zooms on the A700 with the APS-C sensor to shoot very wide scenics, group shots, etc. I must say that the Tamron is WAY better in the sharpness department (although not as sharp as a prime, or even the CZ 16-80mm), but the sharpness and image quality is certainly better than the Sigma 10-20. It has a bit more reach, going out to 24mm, which is quite handy. And, with the 7 blades and wider aperture, it performs better in lower lighting conditions. Chromatic abberation is well controlled, though present in a minute way if you pixel-peep, but all in all, the lens is just a cracking performer.</p>

<p>The only downside I can see is a) I do prefer the Sigma's matte finish to the black polycarbonate and gold trim of the Tamron and b) the lens hood on the Tamron is somewhat larger than the Sigma, making it a bit harder to grasp and wield. However, it's found a welcome place in my kit, and I do recommend it.</p>

<p>Thanks for your report Steve, glad you've got something you ilke even more too. I've been thinking about this lens to the last couple of months. Can't afford it right now, maybe in a couple of months though. The more I use my fisheye, the more I get addicted to SWA... yet I don't always want things fishy. Anyway, can I ask how you rate the AF speed of the lens? Or whether you even think this is important for a SWA?</p>

<p>Rich</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Glad you asked about the AF performance, Rich. It's FAR more usable in low lighting than my old Sigma. That was always a big problem with the Sig; I would be shooting people indoors at receptions, dancing, etc. with the lens, and it would not be able to figure out the proper focus and the camera would just throw the focus to the infinity setting, resulting in blurry people. With this lens, it's far more accurate in low lighting and other situations. Now, I realize not everyone uses these lenses the way I as a wedding shooter do, but that's a pretty demanding situation, so I figure it says a lot about how well the lens is engineered. And, the AF speed isn't bad, no worse than others that use the Sony internal motor drive.</p>

<p>When I shoot people dancing indoors, I switch from spot AF to wide AF, and let the AF pick one of the zones it can read to choose the focus. When you are shooting people moving around in low light, this tends to work best. However, when the action gets fast and furious, I will switch to manual focus, and then adjust the lens using the distance marks. This lets you shoot rapid action without missing a moment and keeps you from waiting around while the AF finds the subject distance, potentially missing a moment (like a bouquet toss).</p>

<p>Excellent Steve. I'm actually quite suprised. I half expected a 'manual focus & stop down' response... I'm quite impressed. I was looking forward to this lens for a while, but the reviews didnt seem overly keen on it when it came out. Though from your experiences and the real life sample photos I've seen it sounds more than acceptable. I think I will have to get one in the new year... Any comments on flare? Whilst with a spotlight in the frame?</p>

<p>It seems great value for money too. Only around 350GBP new in the UK. Hopefully I'll find a second hand one in 3 months or so.</p>

<p>I haven't had any experiences so far with flare or with spotlights aimed at the lens. I haven't been in that exact situation yet. I know the Sigma did have a cool effect when a spotlight was aimed right at it while shooting people dancing. It had a cool radial streaking effect all around the spotlight, and I would surmise the Tamron would have something similar. I'll post some downsized pics from a recent wedding here as well as a 100% crop.</p><div></div>

<p>And, a 100% crop of the same photo...</p><div></div>

<p>And another group shot...</p><div></div>

<p>And all the blokes for goodness sake...<br>

Note the normal distortion on the outer bloke's heads. You can't have everything!</p><div></div>

<p>This was a night shot of the venue operators and their newly restored Rolls. A couple of south Georgia gentlemen with a British luxury saloon.<br>

A700, at 1/6 sec. handheld using Steadyshot, ISO 2000 @f9. Two Sony 56 strobes triggered wirelessly.</p><div></div>

<p>They are all very nice Steve, but the Rolls shot is spectacular. Congrats.</p>

<p>Thanks, Sam! I thought it was the weakest of the bunch, because I just threw it together at the end of the wedding. But, much appreciated!</p>