Stockholm Night Portraits Tamron 28-75/2.8 (2)

Here are some more portraits and night shots during the Tamron 28-75/2.8 test. Have a look and read also the last words.

Nikon D600, Tamron 28-75/2.8 @ 75mm, f/2.8, 1/13s

Nikon D600, Tamron 28-75/2.8 @ 75mm, f/8, 1/2s

Nikon D600, Tamron 28-75/2.8 @ 28mm, f/11, 1/10s (-1.0EV)

Nikon D600, Tamron 28-75/2.8 @ 75mm, f/2.8, 1/8s

Nikon D600, Tamron 28-75/2.8 @ 75mm, f/2.8, 1/25s

The last words: Well this is just a non-scientific test of the Tamron lens and in no way ruling out the Nikon 24-70/2.8 or saying this is as good as that one. Off course if you pay more than four times the money you must expect something more. But what is it you get? Sharper far edge and corners, no doubt, faster auto focus, better build quality, more glass and more metal but also more weight and much larger lens. So the question is are you ready to pay that much more money for the "little" extra you get? Or are you happy with the result of the cheaper lens?

Stockholm at night with a Tamron 28-75mm/2.8 on a Nikon

Is it possible to get reasonable images with a reasonable priced lens? Or do you need a top of the line which requires a considerable wealth to buy?
I have wondered about his question long and hard, drooled over super expensive lenses and images taken with them a long time. Almost everybody that is somebody publish photos taken by those lenses.

Well in some situations you will no doubt have benefit to have the top pro lenses, where you are working in low light and you want to freeze movements and cannot use flash or hate using a tripod . But I have realized that those situations are just 1% or less of all the ones I normally work at. To test it for myself I took my Tamron 28-75/2.8 lens and went out to take some photos at night to see if I am happy with the results. This lens only costs about $550 compared to a Nikon 24-70/2.8, which costs in the region of $2000. In the evening I chose a couple of places, sat my camera on tripod and snapped a couple of shots and just thought I share this experience with whoever comes across. All images in this post were taken with a Tamron 28-75/2.8 on a Nikon D600.

Stockholm by Night
28mm, F/11, 1/10s

Stockholm by Night
28mm, F/8, 1/8s

Well, the colors are amazing and scenery is out of this world. But let's just look at how it performs for portraits. No tripods but a small flash.

F/2.8, 1/25s
75mm, F/2.8, 1/25s

 Totally acceptable, don't you think?
And another one...

75mm, F/2.8, 1/10s

Well, I am happy with the results, I can now with peace of mind forget the purchase of the very expensive lenses.
I softened the last photo a little bit, to knock down to the sharpness and make it a little dreamy.

I'll post more photos from the evening/night photo session later on...