Are you a photography enthusiast in search of the perfect lens for your creative endeavors? Look no further than the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2. This lens has garnered attention and praise for its exceptional performance, impressive build quality, and advanced features, making it a formidable challenger to its GM counterparts. In this blog post, we will provide a comprehensive review of the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2, delving into its key features, image quality, autofocus capabilities, and overall performance. Join us as we explore why this lens could be Tamron’s GM fighter and a worthy addition to your photography arsenal.

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Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 Review | Tamron’s GM Fighter?

Introduction

Foreign hi I’m Dustin Abbott and I’m here today to give you my video review of the Tamron 70 to 180 millimeter F 2.8 VC vxd G2 or second generation lens one of the few highlights of 2020 was the release of tamron’s original 70 to 180 millimeter F 2.8 vxd lens which provided A valid alternative at a much lower price point to the okay but not exceptional Sony 70 to 200 millimeter G Master lens now obviously since that point Sony has seriously upgraded the G Master into the incredible Mark II version and so Tamron is following suit with their own G2 version or second Generation version of their 70 to 180 millimeter lens this lens adds Optical stabilization more features faster autofocus and a truly incredible Optical performance all for about 1299 US Dollars which is fifteen hundred dollars cheaper than the GM Mark II so the question is is this lens worth buying or even upgrading to If you have the original 70 to 180 millimeter what we’re going to explore that right after a word from our sponsor today’s episode is brought to you by Phantom wallet the minimalist modern wallet that is now even better with the new Phantom X that is crafted from Aluminum right here in Canada it is 22 percent smaller and 35 percent lighter while still making it easy to access your cards and money when you need them thanks to their unique Fanning mechanism you could even customize your wallet due to its modular design with accessories Like a money clip cash holder ID display and even chipolo and air tag tracking integration visit store.phantomwallet.com to check out their unique sizes Styles and finishes that span from aluminum to Wood to carbon fiber and use code Dustin 15 for 15 off when you’re ready to check out

Build and Features

The second generation lens boasts a number of improvements over the first generation lens when it comes to the overall build and feature set here now it has grown a little bit it has added on some weight it went from 810 grams in the original version to 855 grams here Or 30.15 ounces but of course that still makes it by far the lightest lens in this particular category it’s still about 200 grams lighter than the very light Sony G Master Mark II lens and so if you’re looking to travel light this is still I think the best option out There it is ever so slightly wider two millimeters wider a total of 83 millimeters now and it is seven millimeters longer at 156.2 millimeters so that’s 3.26 inches in diameter by 6.2 inches now I will note that as you can see it does extend a little bit about an additional 25 Millimeters but that still makes it about 25 millimeters shorter than what the G Master is at 200 millimeters in length and so this still is the most compact and lightweight option in the class I’m presuming that they’re going to drop and discontinue the Mark 1 lens Just like they did with the original 28 to 75 millimeters a priority for Tamron has been the uh sticking to a formula of a 67 millimeter front filter thread and they’ve done that with almost all of their lenses with only a couple of exceptions and so we still have that 67 millimeter front Filter thread here which means that you can now share filters across a wide variety of Tamron lenses in Sony email they’ve also added a number of new features here that includes a custom button a three-way custom switch and a USBC Port which is weather sealed by the Way all of these things work together in that you can use the connect the lens via the USBC port and you can use tamron’s free lens utility software now that software allows you to do a lot of things you can directly apply firmware updates to the lens but when it Comes to these new functions you can also assign various functions to the three position custom switch so basically what that’s doing is allowing you to have three different setups for how you’re going to have direct control on the lens itself now you can leave one of those options to just be the camera Default and so if you typically have a Sony Focus hold button assigned to some function just set one of those settings on that and whenever you use the custom button or the focus hold button you will access that function but you have two other things you can program in and you Can see here there’s a drop down of various things that you can apply to that so that will not only change the behavior of what this Focus hold or custom button does but in certain instances it will also change the behavior of the manual focus ring and so You can make that an aperture ring for example you also have the ability through the lens utility software to control the behavior of that Focus ring namely you can make it linear or non-linear and you can choose three different Focus throw links and so all the way up to a 360 degree Focus Rotation and as little as 90. you can set that all up there so this obviously is very very useful adding a lot of Direct Control onto the lens itself on the other side there is a zoom lock because this is an externally zooming lens I will note that the actual Zoom action is very light and very easy um it doesn’t feel all that different from an internally zooming lens because they’ve really I think engineered that quite well now I will also note that there are those that don’t love having an externally zooming lens because they Feel like it doesn’t seal as well Tamron has offset those concerns by adding a number of seal points here there are 11 seal points as you can see from this diagram starting at the the lens mount itself throughout the various switches and Rings there up to the front where we Have a flooring coating that makes it easy to clean and also helps to protect that front element so all told here we have a nicely built lens that adds on some more interesting Contours it’s a better looking lens and I think a more functional lens because there are those Contours that make the Actual Rings fall to hand and are defined a little bit better so definitely an upgraded lens so I will note it still feels a little more plasticky to me than what the new G Master lens does how be it this is a vastly improved lens that feels more professional grade at this point Now we also have two different minimum focused distances uh and so if you’re at the 70 millimeter lens you can autofocus as close as 30 centimeters and get a 0.38 times magnification however you can manually focus and get even closer than that and get up to about a one to two Macro level or a 0.50 times magnification on the telephoto end you can autofocus as closely as 85 centimeters and you can get a magnification of 0.21 times magnification so lower but because your working distance is longer you also get a flatter plane to focus and you know in Some cases a little bit better in result very useful obviously adding that near macro capabilities to the lens now on the negative front there is no tripod collar included you can see that this middle section now occupied by these switches it’s not really designed around adding a tripod color some people really Prioritize that but I will point out as you can see here this lens is lightweight enough that I didn’t have any kind of issues aligning my test chart for example there was no kind of downward drag and even on this mini table tripod which by the way people Always ask me about this…

Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 Review | Tamron’s GM Fighter

Q: What is the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens?

A: The Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens is a high-quality zoom lens designed for use with various DSLR camera models. It offers a versatile focal length range and a fast aperture of F2.8 throughout the zoom range.

Q: What features does the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens offer?

A: This lens incorporates advanced optical elements to deliver excellent image quality, including three low dispersion elements and multiple specialized glass elements. It also features a built-in VC (Vibration Compensation) system for improved stability and sharpness, as well as a VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor for fast and quiet autofocus.

Q: Is the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens suitable for professional use?

A: Yes, the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens is often regarded as a professional-grade lens due to its exceptional image quality, durable construction, and versatile focal length range. It can be used for various genres of photography, including portraits, sports, and wildlife.

Q: Does the lens come with any accessories?

A: The Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens comes with a lens hood to reduce flare and protect the front element, a lens cap for added protection, and a lens pouch for easy storage and transportation.

Q: What are the main advantages of the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens?

A: This lens offers several advantages, including its compact and lightweight design, impeccable image quality, excellent low-light performance due to the wide aperture, effective image stabilization, and quick and precise autofocus performance.

Q: Which camera models are compatible with the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens?

A: The Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens is available in various mounts, including Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sony E-mount, making it compatible with a wide range of DSLR and mirrorless camera models from these manufacturers.

Q: What is the price range of the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens?

A: The exact pricing may vary depending on the retailer and location, but generally, the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 lens falls within the mid-price range compared to other similar professional lenses.

I hope you find useful my article Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 VC VXD G2 Review | Tamron’s GM Fighter?, I also recommend you to read my other posts in my blog at this link.

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