Tamron 28-200mm Long Term Review

I bought the Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 back in January and have been using it since then. Now more than half a year passed, I think it’s a good time that I write a long-term review for it.

In my early career in photography, I was told not to buy these kinds of super zoom lenses as they tend to perform badly. When I was checking out the review of this lens, however, many reviewers say that it performs “not like a super zoom lens” which caught my attention. Before switching to the Sony system again, I went to Chongqing and realized how important a telephoto lens is in travel photography. I do not want a dedicated telephoto lens as they’re heavy, that’s why I decided to give this 28-200mm lens a go.

Compared to other competitors on the market, the Tamron 28-200mm has some pros and cons. It’s compact, lightweight, and relatively cheap with a brighter than normal aperture. But it lacks 24mm and image stabilization got some criticize. To me, its pros outweigh its cons, so it should serve me well.

Before having this lens, what I would take with me was usually a 24-105mm lens so having 105-200mm is a huge benefit. This means I can take pictures of subjects that are far away thereby eliminate distraction.

Nevertheless, telephoto lenses do more than that, it also compresses the scene and makes it dramatic.

This lens also provides some sort of macro capability which makes it suitable for some product shots.

While we lose that 24mm focal length, we do get a brighter aperture which makes a difference when you’re shooting in a dark situation and you need that shutter speed.

Since it has a zoom range from 28mm to 200mm, you can make different compositions in a scene without swapping the lens.

Sharpness-wise, I found it adequate for the 42-megapixel sensor.

This image is cropped to 5.5 megapixels and it’s still usable for social media sharing.

Admittedly, Sony 24-105mm gives you more resolution but it’s more heavy and expensive, not to mention the abbreviated zoom range.

Lack of image stabilization means you need to rely on the IBIS and let’s be honest, Sony’s IBIS is very poor. For me with multiple tires and errors, I can make 1/30s at 200mm.

Consider its price, quality, and size, I do not have any complaints about it. However, I would recommend the Tamron 17-28 f/2.8 as a complement to it and with 17-200mm, you’re pretty much covered.

Bonus: Some photos took with 17-28mm