Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di AF zoom lens
by Paul Fisher

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS

On removing the lens from its box one is immediately struck by its small size and light weight, but it has a feeling of being solid. Although not built to the same quality as the professional Nikkors, this lens looks and feels like a serious optical instrument. In keeping with Tamron's range of XR lenses, the 28-75mm is smaller and lighter than might be expected. Some comparisons under the specifications section.

The 28-75mm on a D100. Perth train station at rush hour.

Despite its constant f2.8 aperture, the Tamron is almost identical in size to the Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D. In fact, seeing them side by side on my shelf, it's not easy to tell them apart at a glance. Unlike the Nikkor, the Tamron is supplied with a flower-shaped lens hood as standard.

The lens is of polycarbonate construction, with a nice black finish. All numbers and scales are silk-screened rather than engraved, which is unfortunately the norm these days. The lens name and identifying letters are printed in gold, in keeping with Tamron's SP tradition.

The zoom ring has a nice, smooth feel. It is nicely weighted, and there is no suggestion of "zoom creep". There is a switch to lock the zoom at the 28mm setting, but it is not really needed. Both the zoom and aperture rings are clad in textured rubber to provide a comfortable firm grip. The texture pattern is different on the two rings, making it easy to tell them apart by touch alone.	..
At right, a simple rose garden, to illustrate the creamy quality of this lens' bokeh. Manual focusing is smooth and well damped. However the amount of rotation needed to focus from close up to infinity is only 45 degrees. This is extremely short, and can make accurate manual focus tricky. The lens rotates clockwise towards infinity, which is the "wrong way" for those of us used to Nikkors. In summary, this lens evokes a feeling of confidence that it has been built up to a good standard, while at the same time keeping the price within most budgets.