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Photo Forum / Film Photography / 35 mm / February 2005Tamron Vs Nikon: Lens question
Can anyone shed light on the myth that Tamron produce the (70-300 LD zoom) lens that Nikon market as their own (70-300mm ED). I want to buy one or the other but would appreciate your views as to whether image quality will differ much between the two. Thanks in advance. P Run, don't walk, far away from the Tamron as quickly as possible!!! Bob > Can anyone shed light on the myth that Tamron produce the (70-300 LD zoom) > lens that Nikon market as their own (70-300mm ED). I want to buy one or > the other but would appreciate your views as to whether image quality will > differ much between the two. > Thanks in advance. P When one compares the sales diagrams of the two lenses, both appear to have identical arrangements of elements and groups. Could be that the same factory makes both. I have the Nikkor 70-300 f/4-5.6 AFD-ED. It is ok for snaps but it is not the sharpest lens in my collection. It is one of the least expensive Nikkors I own. I think that the 50mm f/1.4 may be the lowest cost Nikkor I own. Even if Tamron does produce it for Nikkor, it would be under contract with Nikkor and would be made to Nikkor's specifications. Which one would hope would be different than those of the Tamron brand. > Can anyone shed light on the myth that Tamron produce the (70-300 LD zoom) > lens that Nikon market as their own (70-300mm ED). I want to buy one or the > other but would appreciate your views as to whether image quality will > differ much between the two. > Thanks in advance. P >Even if Tamron does produce it for >Nikkor, it would be under contract with Nikkor and would be made to >Nikkor's specifications. Which one would hope would be different than >those of the Tamron brand. I asked Nikon USA about this about a year ago. The reply I got was that the 70-300mm was designed by Nikon and is built by Nikon, and also that the Tamron does not have a common design or manufacturing source. The email specifically prohibits me posting it here, but the case number was K451212.  SignatureMichael Benveniste -- mhb-offer@clearether.com Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email address only to submit mail for evaluation. i find it hard to believe that they would be made in the same factory since the glass is different. i doubt that nikon would sell its ED glass to tamron or use tamron's glass with an ED label... >Run, don't walk, far away from the Tamron as quickly as possible!!! i see absolutely nothing wrong with the tamron. from what ive experienced, there is virtually no difference in image quality and the tamron is cheaper. not to say that its the greatest lens, but it does the job. I guess it depends upon the job you want done. My experience has shown over the last 50 years that you get what you pay for , particularly with pro photo glass. I can't include Tamron in that group because "doing the job" in my eyes includes the complete ownership experience - use & service. That completely eliminates Tamron and their distribution chain from my equation. As they say - "your experience may differ" - mine didn't!! Bob >i find it hard to believe that they would be made in the same factory since > the glass is different. i doubt that nikon would sell its ED glass to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > there is virtually no difference in image quality and the tamron is > cheaper. not to say that its the greatest lens, but it does the job. >>Even if Tamron does produce it for >>Nikkor, it would be under contract with Nikkor and would be made to [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > manufacturing source. The email specifically prohibits me posting it > here, but the case number was K451212. Very interesting. The optical specifications and even the Photodo.com MTF tests sure make them look similar. Of course the Nikon exterior is different and likely "designed by Nikon". Note that they don't say "wholly designed by Nikon". Also they say "Tamron does not have" a common design, not "Tamron never had" a common design. This could be due to Tamron having changed the design when filter size increased from 58 to 62 and 2:1 macro was implemented. Several years ago Nikon announced that there was going to be a technical alliance of sorts with Tamron. Tamron has some patents on lens optics that put them on the map with their 28-200 back in 1993, specifically the glass and asperic acrylic sandwich that allowed for unparalleled quality in long range zooms. I assume Nikon wanted to tap into that technology. Shortly after the announcement, Nikon came out with the 70-300 ED lens at an incredibly low price of $400 - low for a Nikon lens anyway. Although the lens certainly felt and operated nicer than the Tamron, the number of elements, groups and placement of those groups was exactly the same. Whether or not all the glass was the same I don't know but the performance seemed identical. The coating on the lenses did seem different. Tamron has since redesigned their 70-300, coming out with two versions the 75 and the 70. I have first hand knowledge that both lenses are identical with the exception of the macro focusing on the 70. The numerical difference is simply there to more easily differentiate between the two. The new Tamron performs as well as the origianl but I think the build quality has lessened and I find the lens more awkward to use than the original or Nikon version. I think either lens is good for the money, but if you want really sharp pictures go for the Nikon 80-200/2.8. Put a 1.4X Tamron SP converter on it and you've got up to 280mm at f4 that's performs better than any of the 70- 300's. I hope this helps. |
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