For several years I had called Tamron’s old 28-75 f/2.8 lens the best bargain in photography. At $1,200 nobody is going to put a bargain tag on this lens, but I will give it ‘worth the money’. It’s clearly sharper than the Canon 24-70 f/2.8 (the Mark I version), but it’s not quite as sharp as the Mk II version. The vibration control is a good thing. Even if you don’t think you’ll need it, you’ll use it. And like it.

Autofocus doesn’t seem quite as fast as the Canon 24-70, but it’s reasonably fast. There’s some vignetting in the corners on a full-frame camera (about 2 stops) but that’s easily removed in post processing. And given the molded and hybrid aspheric elements, it’s not surprising that the lens has ‘onion bokeh’ but that’s not a major problem for most people. The corners are softer at the 24mm end than at 70 on a full-frame camera but the difference isn’t noticeable on a crop sensor camera, and isn’t severe.

It’s not quite as good as a Canon Mk II 24-70 f/2.8 version, but it’s a lot less expensive. It’s every bit as good as the f/4 IS version of the 24-70 and brings an extra stop of light to the table. Overall it is, for the money, the best 24-70 f/2.8 zoom available.

Due to availability concerns, the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC might come with a generic hood, rather that the Tamron branded hood.