Tamron 10-24 compared to Sigma 10-20

I did some quick test shots yesterday, indoors as weather sucked. Before I say anything, I have to say, I know I got a good copy of Sigma. Probably the best one there is in stock. I got it straight from the distributer here in Slovenia and he told me himself he checked it.
As for the Tamron, I got the only copy available in the country.
We all know that quality control is not that great with "3rd party lenses" as we like to call them, so margin for error in this kind of comparison test is wide. I'd probably have to compare 3 or more same lenses to get some accurate/average results.
But anyhow, first comparison done, to put it in one sentence: Sigma wins in sharpness hands down.
Sun is out, I'm packing my gear, so check back in few hours for comparison shots and final words.

Update #1:

Ok, I did manage to get some shots, despite the fact the weather is against me and it started to rain again.
All shots done on D300, aperiture mode & matrix metering. Shot in NEF, imported into Lightroom, comparison view for same show of both lenses, screenshot, saved in Photoshop CS3, quality level 10. It's for show, not trying to get the best out of the images. Same process for all of them, so post process in not a factor.

10mm, Tamron f3.5 vs Sigma f4, border


10mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, border


10mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, border


10mm, Tamron f11 vs Sigma f11, border


I guess no comment needed, right?

10mm, Tamron f3.5 vs Sigma f4, center


10mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, center


10mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, center


10mm, Tamron f11 vs Sigma f11, center


20mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, border


20mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, border


20mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, center


20mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, center


I noticed that on almost all the shots Tamron appears to be one stop brighter. Just did a quick controlled test in a closed environment and this is not the case at it appears. Both lenses produced virtually the same exposure data on all apertures and focal lenghts. So it must have been the weather again..


Close up shots..
Tried some shots from the minimum focusing distance.

10mm, Tamron f4 vs Sigma f4, border


10mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, border


10mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, border


10mm, Tamron f4 vs Sigma f4, center


10mm, Tamron f5.6 vs Sigma f5.6, center


10mm, Tamron f8 vs Sigma f8, center



Some CA tests. All 1:1 crops from the edge of the images.

Tamron f5.6 CA sample:


Sigma f5.6 CA sample:


Tamron f8 CA sample:


Sigma f8 CA sample:



Update #2:

Vignette test shots:


Another handling observation: Sigma has about 1.5cm space between the rings (plus some extruded lines on both sides), so it's easy to get a good grip when you're replacing lenses. Tamron has only around 0.5cm and it's a lot harder to hold it and replace it. Especially if you're in a hurry.


Conclusion:
Judging by my two copies, Sigma is a clear winner. It's overall sharpness is better then Tamrons, far better on corners and better in the center. CA appears to be similar, but Sigma is still ahead slightly. Tamron is brighter, has less vignette and has easier distortion to fix. Tamron has a bit longer range, is a bit brighter, costs less, weights less, but I'm not sure those factors overpower the clear image quality advantage Sigma showed? Not for me anyhow.. If you're thinking about buying one of these wide lenses, or any lens for that matter, try to test and compare your copies yourself if you can. One copy can really be totally different then another.

UPDATE (03.12.2008):
I've received some images from a friend overseas, who has tested his copy of the Tamron lens. His results were A LOT better. I talked with our distributer and we have concluded the copy they got is a really bad one. So, I'm awaiting a new copy and as soon as it arrives I'll do another test and comparison with Sigma. Stay tuned.

Tamron 10-24 3.5-4.5, day 2..

Got some more shots done today, all posted in original size, shoot on D300 NEF, exported from Lightroom to tiff and saved as JPG in Photoshop CS3, quality setting 10. Size are from 2.5 - 5.5MB, so bare that in mind while downloading.

I'm not a fan of those "lab test" shots, so I didn't make them. You're not going to use the lens in a lab, are?!? Yes, ok, ok, 0.00000000001% of you probably are, for the rest of us, it's the real life shots that count.

Overall I'm still happy with this lens. There appears to be less CA then with Sigma 10-20, which was my main concern. Even that can be mostly fixed in post process. Same with all the distortions, Photoshop makes that an easy fix. Compared to Nikons.. well, let's not go there.
My widest lens that I used on a day-to-day basis was 14mm, so this 10mm is a BIG difference. It's a lot "harder" to frame a shot and does take some time to get used to. Corner sharpness is not that great wide open, but what did you expect at 10mm?

10mm @ f3,5


10mm @ f4,5


10mm @ f5,6


10mm @ f8


10mm @ f11


Set 2

10mm @ f4,5


10mm @ f5,6


10mm @ f8


10mm @ f11


10mm @ f16



Some closeup shots and bokeh preview.. kinda..
All shot from around 30cm (1 feet) distance, central focus point.

10mm @ f3,5


10mm @ f4,5


10mm @ f5,6


10mm @ f8


24mm @ f4,5


24mm @ f5,6


24mm @ f8


24mm @ f11



I have lots more shots, might upload a few more during the day. If not, tomorrow's another day.


Update #1
Some random shots:

14mm, f7.1, 1/640, ISO200


21mm, f8, 1/320, ISO200


10mm, f3,5, 1/40, ISO800



Update #2:

Some 1200px images.

10mm, f4,5, 1/200, ISO200


10mm, f4, 1/50, ISO500


10mm, f4,5, 1/160, ISO200


10mm, f5,6, 1/320, ISO200

Tamron 10-24mm 3.5-4.5

Today I got the long awaited Tamron 10-24mm 3.5-4.5 lens for a test drive. I had it for a few hours now and I can already say, it overtook Sigma on my "wide lens" shopping list.
First impressions were good. Solid build, good plastic, no cheap look and feel like you get on Sigma after a month use. Both focus rings are sliding nicely, not too easy and not too hard. Focus is quite fast, faster then some other Tamrons like 17-50 2.8, but not as fast as Nikon brand SWM lenses. Still, more then enough for this kind of lens imo.

I made some quick test shots. As always, Murphy was present and the weather sucked today, fog and rain, so I'm hoping for better conditions tomorrow.
All shots done on Nikon D300, NEF, exported from Lightoom with default settings as tiff, saved in Photoshop CS3 as JPG, quality setting 10.

10mm @ f3,5


10mm @ f4,5


10mm @ f5,6


10mm @ f8



Some random shots @10mm:



More tomorrow..

Sony Alpha 900

Today I received the new Alpha 900, a 24Mpx full frame beast from Sony. While the specs showed promise and the cam delivered in final resaults, there are things I dislike in this cam.
It starts with the design. Thin(er) and deeper grip (while you might thing this is a good thing, it's not really. You have to work more with your fingertips, then the whole fingers and until you're not used to this, it does make it awkward to have a good grip on the cam), proprietary hot shue, awkward compact flash slot (CF slides out only about 5mm from it's slot. While this might make it a bit more secure, it's also a pain to get it out if you're in a hurry or have gloves on. It's almost impossible.), button layout, two hand start (on/off button is on the left side of the cam, so when you pick it up and hold it with your right hand, you can't turn it on as well, have to use the left hand as well), way to basic top LCD screen, strange preview options for main LCD screen, etc, etc.. Cam with a good lens, something like 24-70 2.8, is heavy, really heavy. Optional grip would help to hold it, but would also add more weight.

There are good sides as well, the viewfinder is big and bright, a joy to work with. The actual speed of the cam, from processing files to focus is impressive. 25Mpx RAW + JPG and it hardly broke a sweat in normal photo conditions. It offers dual memory slot Compact Flash Type I & II + MemoryStick Duo, but sadly no saving options like duplicate or backup.
Images are mostly great straight off cam. It does produce a bit warmer tones, but that can be easily fixed. Same with auto white balance.

Once you get used to the buttons, the menus, have the settings to you liking,.. it's easy and fun cam to use.