Tamron

[LensBaby]

Is Tamron a good lense and also what is a good portrait lense?

[Snappers]

Not heard of Tamron before. Peter will probably know.

[gjtoth]

Is Tamron a good lense and also what is a good portrait lense?

If B&H carries it, it's probably fairly decent.

[LensBaby]

ok thanks I will have to look

[jonrayner]

In a very general sense, and I'm no expert, but the way they have been explained to me is (I'm shopping for a lense to go on my Canon Body), If you can afford it go with Canon, otherwise go for Sigma or Tamron. There was a slight preference towards the Sigma lenses over Tamron though. There is bound to be some kind of overlap between the lenses though, for example a good quality sigma lense will be better than a lower range Tamron, if you get my drift! Not sure if I would notice the difference between them all anyway!

While reading the plethora magazines I seem to be accumulating, I cannot recall any articles or ratings about Tamron lenses, but plenty of articles/ ratings about Sigma. My interpretation on them, is that they are the poorer cousin of Sigma.

Does that help, or have a rambled on about rubbish?!!

[LensBaby]

That helps because I have heard about Sigma being good. Also Carl Zeis which is what my one lense is. I want to eventually be able to get a portrait lense, because I will be taking a lot of those shots.

[jonrayner]

Not sure if I am speaking the truth here, maybe Admin could confirm, but good potrait lenses would be prime lenses, they are generally much better glass than zoom/ telephoto lenses. Only problem is that you will always have a fixed focal length, but I suppose that isn't a problem in most potrait shots. They are also much better in low light.

[LensBaby]

cool I have not got to the portrait section of the course yet, I bet I will find out then!

[Snappers]

I've had a little look around the web and found a few snippets about the lens,

I have a K-mount Tamron 28-200 for my Pentax ME Super. The main advantage
is that it offers a great zoom range. I really mean it. You can go from wide
to an exteme closeup with only one lens. It's also inexpensive. The
advantages really stop stop here.

This lens produces lots of artifacts and distortions around the edges of the
frame. This lens is also dark. f4-5.6. The focus ring, on a hot day will
unglue itself from the lens assembly. This suggests that it's of a cheap
construction. Colors are FLAT, lacking of real contrast. Looks like the
snapshot was taken from a point-and-shoot recyclable camera. Don't take me
wrong, under the right conditions and lighting, you may be able to take some
wonderful photos with it. If it wasn't for it's zoom range, I would't have
it. I just love it's zoom range.

For personal use or for family vacation its' ok. But for professional use,
just forget it. It won't cut it. You get what you pay for.


To be honest, they dont sound that good.

[LensBaby]

thanks for the info

[kumod]

I have a Tamron SP AF Aspherical XR Di 28-75 mm 2.8 lens and have nothing but great things to say about it. I've found it to be very sharp on my photos.

You can read a review of this lens herehttp://www.shutterbug.net/test_reports/1103sb_tamron/index.html

[jonrayner]

Hi Kumod

That review certainly reads well, I will have to look out for the DI range, see if I can get a bargain!

[kumod]

That lens has been out for a couple of years now so you may be able to find a decent deal on one.

[ladyups]

Is Tamron a good lense and also what is a good portrait lense?

I bought a 50mm for my Sony and it makes an awesome portrait lens. Here's an example of my grandson with only north window light. I got mine for $80 on ebay.

Mary

[gjtoth]

I bought a 50mm for my Sony and it makes an awesome portrait lens. Here's an example of my grandson with only north window light. I got mine for $80 on ebay.

Mary




Mary... I'm speechless. Surely you've taken some photog course before! People don't get shots like this without SOME sort of training.

[ladyups]

Mary... I'm speechless. Surely you've taken some photog course before! People don't get shots like this without SOME sort of training.

:o You are making me blush big time and I don't understand why cause I think my images are so mediocre compared to everyone elses. No, this is the very first course I've ever taken and I'm stuck on Lesson 3 assignment cause I won't move on till I get it in my head. I'm completely self-taught and I'm not a good teacher. I read everything I can get my hands on and just put what I've read to practice. My only problem is remembering what I read when I'm out there shooting.

My grandson is a great model for me (when he wants to be) and I had been reading about using available light when the flash was not an option. He had just finished working this puzzle (he's 6 and works 550 piece puzzles like they are kid puzzles...) and I wanted a picture of him and the puzzle but knew I wanted the focus on him. So, I put the 50mm on the camera, pulled the curtains back and shot away...focus was on his eyes. I love this little lens and use it a lot for portrait shots. It is perfect for lower light conditions. I've not tried it yet for large depth of field, only the shallow.

Thanks, Gary! You are giving praise to the unworthy..:o I know not what I'm doing only that I love what I'm doing.

Mary

[LensBaby]

Mary ...Gary is right your photos look like you have had some training in photography before. This photo of your grandson is so adorable. I love portrait photography! Keep up the excellent work.

[ladyups]

Mary ...Gary is right your photos look like you have had some training in photography before. This photo of your grandson is so adorable. I love portrait photography! Keep up the excellent work.

I think the reason I'm so hard on myself is because of the amount of photos I take to get one good one. I want to go out and take a ton of good pictures and one bad one...:D then I will be able to hold up my head and say I'm a photographer! :rolleyes:

Thanks, Susan...but no training..just a love bordering on addiction.

Mary

[Snappers]

:o
Thanks, Gary! You are giving praise to the unworthy..:o I know not what I'm doing only that I love what I'm doing.

Mary


No he is not. You are worthy of the praise, it is a great picture. Dont worry about taking loads to get a good one, just think how many a professional takes at a wedding and how many proofs you end up with!

Your passion for photography is obviously helping your photography no end. :)

[dkippen]

Mary -

This is a wonderful shot. Both eyes are almost completely in focus, which at this angle is very difficult to do. A 50mm lens is usually pretty good for portraits and good DOF. I have a Canon "nifty-fifty" and it takes great shots. I just don't use it enough.

And Mary, I'm very hard on myself as well. I took close to 200 pictures this weekend and I think I like about 3 really well (and if I shut up long enough - I'll get some posted.)

[ladyups]

No he is not. You are worthy of the praise, it is a great picture. Dont worry about taking loads to get a good one, just think how many a professional takes at a wedding and how many proofs you end up with!

Your passion for photography is obviously helping your photography no end. :)

It's easy to get good photos when you have great subjects and Gavin is my favorite subject...I love taking pics of him and he knows it but sometimes he gets real tired of granny and tells me to put my camera up...:D

Thanks Andy!

Mary

[ladyups]

Mary -

This is a wonderful shot. Both eyes are almost completely in focus, which at this angle is very difficult to do. A 50mm lens is usually pretty good for portraits and good DOF. I have a Canon "nifty-fifty" and it takes great shots. I just don't use it enough.

And Mary, I'm very hard on myself as well. I took close to 200 pictures this weekend and I think I like about 3 really well (and if I shut up long enough - I'll get some posted.)

I took about a dozen of him this way, so my chances of getting both eyes in focus were pretty good. It was a good day to take it cause he wanted it taken...:D

I took close to 300 this weekend and most all of them were sent to the trash but I wasn't really taking anything special, just trying to practice that dang lesson and it wasn't a good practice...

I finally realized the importance of shooting raw...I had been taking some indoor shots and had set the camera to tungsten. Bill and I went for a walk and I took the camera to practice taking moving object shots and forgot to change the WB back to daylight. I had about a dozen BLUE pictures before I realized what I'd done. Now, these aren't pictures I really would have saved, but I was able to fix them real quick in the raw conversion. Would have saved my butt had it been something special...

Thanks, Debbie..

Mary

[jonrayner]

I think the reason I'm so hard on myself is because of the amount of photos I take to get one good one. I want to go out and take a ton of good pictures and one bad one...:D then I will be able to hold up my head and say I'm a photographer! :rolleyes:

Thanks, Susan...but no training..just a love bordering on addiction.

Mary


If it is any concellation, I have taken a few thousand pictures now, and I have not had one that I am pleased with!

[jerryph]

When we talk about lenses, we have to be careful not to do too broad a statement concerning quality. All lens manufacturers make mediocre lenses and all make some very nice ones.

Portrait lenses are lenses usually between 35-100mm in focal lengths.

Primes are lenses with a single focal length, and one market that Nikon and Canon both seem to offer a real deal is on the 50mm primes. These are very sharp, usually quite sensitive to light (F/1.8 or better) and very affordable. The Nikon version is available for well under $120 and is the best deal out there.

For me, though I have the 50mm, and like it, I seem to prefer versatility. The Sigma 18-50 HSM F/2.8 Macro is a very well tested lens. It outperforms lenses costing as much as 3 times more in tests by several photography magazines. As a portrait lens, this one serves me very well, and I get some excellent results:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2227/1592734652_141f1c703d.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2356/2219046921_12020217f7.jpg

[dkippen]

Jerry - I love the B&W. You can almost see her thought process, whereas the color looks like it may have been two pictures combined. I do however, like the sharpness of the color one.

[Snappers]

I too like the B&W one, I'm not sure about the colour one.