The concept of the “Super Zoom” has been around for a very long time, and Tamron were right in at the start with a 28-200mm lens. Those early lenses were perhaps not the sharpest, although they were aspiring to be an all-in-one solution, they did not cut it in either terms of quality or in terms of close focus. Here we have what may be a unique lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras, a new 28-200mm that has the luxury of being able to draw on many years of development and also many new types of glass. Can one lens really do it all? Let's find out, using the 42MP Sony A7R III.
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD Handling and Features
We have a compact, weather-resistant lens that weighs in at a very reasonable 575g. This is achieved by the use of plastics, although we still have a sturdy metal mount. A bayonet fit lens hood is provided, which is fine, but of course a lens hood that will give good flare protection for a 28mm lens is not really going to do much for a 200mm lens. Something is better than nothing, and the hood's function to protect the front element is useful. The hood bayonets securely into place. Within the bayonet fit is a standard 67mm filter thread.
The zoom ring is wide and has an excellent rubberised grip. Focal lengths are clearly marked. Zooming in towards 200mm extends the lens barrel considerably, but stability is well maintained. There is a zoom locking switch that will secure the lens at 28mm to prevent zoom creep whilst being carried. With a new lens there is no indication that there is any creep at all, but perhaps with heavy use it may eventually be a useful feature.
There is a reasonably sized manual focusing ring, and the function is selected in the usual Sony way, from the camera menu. This includes AF modes, DMF (Direct Manual Focusing where manual tweaks can be made during AF operation) and MF. Focusing is down to 0.19m (7.5 inches) at the wide end, a maximum magnification of 1:3.1 and 0.8m (31.5 inches) at the telephoto end, a maximum magnification of 1:3.8. This is close enough to deliver very satisfactory images of small flowers, animals and other wildlife and the reach at 200mm makes it ideal for portraits of flowers at the far edge of herbaceous borders.
Finally, the lens barrel tapers in the Tamron style to the metal lens mount. This is of good solid quality and is a firm fit, perhaps a little less smooth than a Sony lens but nonetheless perfectly functional.
Optical construction is 18 elements in 14 groups. There are 2 Hybrid Aspherical, 2 Aspherical, 2 LD (Low Dispersion) and 1 XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) elements. The diaphragm comprises 7 blades. Apart from Tamron's excellent multi-coating, there is a Fluorine coating on the front element to repel moisture, dust and grease. There is no Vibration Reduction built in, this being covered by the Sony Steady Shot system built into the camera bodies.
There are some lenses that are just so well designed in terms of handling and Tamron at the moment seem to have this spot on. Controls also feel good. The AF is quiet, fast and accurate and doesn't hunt at all, even in quite low light. The f/2.8 aperture at 28mm is also very welcome, allowing low light shooting. At one time there might well have been issues with the minimum focus distance of a super zoom, but no longer and here the maximum magnification is very satisfactory. The idea of a lens suitable for all general subjects is a compelling one, perhaps especially for travel, but this all depends on the quality of the results. We look at that aspect next.
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD Performance
At 28mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/2.8 all the way through to f/11 and remains very good at f/16. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/5.6 and very good from f/8 to f/16.
At 50mm, the centre is excellent from f/3.5 to f/11 and very good at f/16 and f/20. The edges are very good from f/3.5 to f/8, excellent at f/11 and very good at f/16 and f/20.
At 100mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4.5 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/25. The edges are very good at f/4.5, excellent from f/5.6 to f/11, very good at f/16 but soft at f/25.
At 200mm, the centre is excellent from f/5.6 to f/11, very good at f/16, good at f/22 and soft at f/32. The edges are very good from f/5.6 to f/11, good at f/16 and soft at f/22 and f/32. This is a drop in performance as expected, but sharpness is maintained at 200mm far better than most lenses.
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD (Model A071) MTF Charts
How to read our MTF chartsThe blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution and sharpness as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R III using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses? |
CA (Chromatic Aberration) is no doubt tied into the electronics of the camera body, but we measure with any in-camera adjustments switched off as far as we can, thus showing the underlying lens characteristics. The net result is that centrally CA control is very good, not up to the remarkable results from some recent lenses, but commendable enough in such a wide-ranging zoom. The edges do let that go somewhat, but even then it is not necessarily a problem for many subjects. The answer lies in software, either in-camera or in post-processing.
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD (Model A071) Chromatic Aberration Charts
How to read our CA chartsChromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Sony A7R IIIusing Imatest. |
Distortion can also be reduced considerably in-camera or in post, but it is reasonably well controlled anyway and as good or better than some expensive zoom lenses. At 28mm we have -1.19% barrel, moving to pincushion distortion of +3.07% at 50mm, +2.86% at 100mm and +2.23% at 200mm.
Bokeh is of course the meat and drink of telephoto lenses, and at longer lengths, the result is very pleasing. This is particularly helpful with portraits and flower studies and does not need an expensive lens.
Flare control is impressive and even with strong light sources in the frame it is not easy to induce any artefacts. Contrast is well maintained against the light.
Vignetting is also well under control and the results are excellent:
| Aperture | 28mm | 50mm | 100mm | 200mm |
| f/2.8 | -2.1 | - | - | - |
| f/4 | -1.5 | -1.3 (f/3.5) | -1.6 (f/4.5) | - |
| f/5.6 | -1.3 | -0.9 | -1.4 | -0.9 |
| f/8 | -1.1 | -0.8 | -1.3 | -0.8 |
| f/11 | -1 | -0.8 | -1.1 | -0.8 |
| f/16 | -1 | -0.8 | -1.1 | -0.8 |
| f/22 | - | -0.7 (f/20) | -1 (f/25) | -0.8 |
| f/32 | - | - | - | -0.8 |
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD (Model A071) Aperture range
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Value For Money
The Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD lens is priced at £799. It seems that Tamron are pretty much alone in flying the flag of the 28-200mm, and there are no direct competitors. This is a pity, because it is obvious that there exists plenty of potential for reasonably priced very versatile optics of high quality.
The equivalent lens for APS-C cameras would be the 18-135mm zooms, of which there are several excellent options, but for full-frame mirrorless cameras the nearest equivalents might be:
Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM, £800
Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS, £929
The new Tamron is such a good lens that it does look to be a strong contender at a very fair price.
For more options have a look at the Top 39 Best Sony E / FE Mount Lenses, Top 14 Best Tamron lenses, or the Top 15 Superzoom Lenses.
Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III RXD Verdict
This lens is very impressive indeed. The quality of results is far better than we might expect, and extremely well held even at the longer focal lengths, often a weak spot with zoom lenses. There is also the option of switching in the in-camera corrections if desired.
This is a lens that is hard to fault in terms of handling or results and the snappy, sharp images obtained are testament to this. The focal length range may be a little more restricted than some would like, but the compact and light form of the lens may make this an advantage for travel in particular.
It seems that Tamron are firing on all cylinders at the moment, and they well deserve here the accolade of an Editor's Choice.
| A beautiful lens to handle and a very impressive set of results. |
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