Digital Camera World - UK (2019-08)

K i t Z o n e

122 DIGITAL CAMERA^ AUGUST 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

vailable in Canon and Nikon

mounts, this Sigma lens

is up against own-brand

legends like the Canon EF

16-35mm f/2.8L USM III and the Nikkor

AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. It beats both

of them for image quality and price.

Build quality and handling are

excellent in both Sigma lenses on

test but the zoom gains a full set of

weather-seals, whereas the prime

lens only has a sealed mounting plate.

Both feature a fluorine coating on the

front element and are compatible

with Sigma’s optional USB Dock for

customisation and firmware updates.

Performance

Even at the shortest focal length

with the widest aperture, sharpness

is excellent across the entire frame.

Vignetting is remarkably minimal and

barrel distortion in real-world shooting

is negligible. Lateral and spherical

aberrations are very well controlled.

niquely in this group,

Tamron’s wide-angle zoom

for full-frame Canon and

Nikon cameras sports

an optical stabiliser, with 4.5-stop

effectiveness. That’s useful at dusk

or indoors, but of zero benefit for

long exposures in astrophotography,

where it’s best switched off.

There’s little change in the optical

line-up, although the G2 gains an

additional anti-glare coating and a

more durable fluorine coating on the

front element. Unlike the other zoom

lenses on test, the Tamron has a large

zoom ring at the front and a relatively

small focus ring at the rear.

Performance

The Tamron delivers impressively little

barrel distortion and vignetting at its

shortest focal length. Sharpness is

less impressive away from the central

region and there’s a little more coma

and astigmatism towards the corners.

AU

Sigma

14-24mm f/2.8

(JژR³x۴

£1,169/$1,299

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Lens mounts C a n o n E F ,

Nikon FX, Sigma

Tamron

SP 15-30mm

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£1,279/$1,299

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Lens mounts Canon EF, Nikon FX

Sharpness

This zoom lens does very

well to retain excellent corner

sharpness at wide apertures.

Sharpness

At 15mm from f/2.8 to f/4,

sharpness is lackluster

outside the central region.

Fringing 0.5

There’s practically no colour

fringing, even at the extreme

corners of the image frame.

Fringing 1.96

There’s slightly more lateral

aberration in the corners

than with the Sigma zoom.

Distortion -4.99

In real-world shooting, you’ll

be hard-pressed to spot any

distortion at all.

Distortion -4.5

The Tamron exhibits very

little barrel distortion at

its shortest focal length.

Digital Camera verdict Digital Camera verdict

5.0 A best-in-class product 4.5 Outstanding

4.5 5.0

Features Features

5.0 4.5

Performance Performance

4.5 4.5

Value Value

5.0 5.0

Build &

handling

Build &

handling

For full-frame Canon

and Nikon cameras,

this is simply the

best ultra-wide,

fast-aperture zoom

lens on the market.

It delivers exceptional

image quality.

The Tamron G2 is a

solid performer and an

improvement over the

original. Its image

stabilisation system

works well, but isn’t

of any benefit for

astrophotography.

GOLD

AWARD

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

Centre Edge

Corner

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

Centre Edge

Corner

Group Test Stargazing lenses