Tamron af 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 aspherical lens review and specs

Reasons to Buy Tamron AF 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Aspherical Lens

Here we’ve included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Tamron AF 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Aspherical lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.

PROs

Autofocus

Aperture Ring

Hood supplied

Covers Full-Frame Sensor

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Buy Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 from or B&H PHOTO

CONs

Lens Extents while zooming

Slow Aperture at Tele end

Variable Aperture

Lens Mount

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 is compatible with cameras that have a Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A99 II, Sony A68 and Sony A77 II.

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (FX) and Pentax KAF mounts.

Size, Weight and Filter Thread

Size and weight is a very important decision factor when searching for your next lens. Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 has a maximum diameter of 72mm and total length of 70mm when not extended. It weighs 237g / 8.4 oz.

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 has a filter thread of 58mm. Below are links to the filters that we recommend you to consider for your Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6:

Optical Image Stabilization

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 doesn’t have an optical image stabilization system so the only option to stabilize the image taken with this lens is to mount on a camera body with IBIS (sensor based In-body image stabilization).

Alternatively, you can check the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC USD in Sony Alpha mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.

Lenses Similar to Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 With Optical Image Stabilization

Model		Coverage	Weight	Focusing	Street Price
	Tamron SP 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC USD Compare	35mm FF	825gr	AF

Zoom Method

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 features Rotary (extending) zoom method where the length of the lens changes as you zoom in or out. This makes it possible to design the lens with a smaller minimum length ( generally when it is zoomed out) compared to internal zoom lenses. The disadvantages of this design are being harder to seal against dust and moisture, weight balance shifting while zooming and zoom creep in certain lenses.

Below are the 3 Standard Zoom type Sony Alpha mount lens alternatives with highest max magnification ratios:

Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS HSM: 0.37x — (Compare)
Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC OS HSM C: 0.36x — (Compare)
Sony DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM: 0.34x — (Compare)

Aperture

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 is a variable aperture lens with a max aperture of f3.5 and a minimum aperture of f22 at 28mm, and a max aperture of f5.6 and minimum aperture of f22 at 80mm .

Focal Length	Max Aperture	Min Aperture
28mm	F3.5	F22
80mm	F5.6	F22

Lens Hood

Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 comes with a removable lens hood which is handy to reduce lens flare and glare in your photos.

Popular Comparisons of Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6

Top Alternatives of Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 Lens

	Coverage	Weight	Focusing
Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM Compare	35mm FF	565 g / 1.24 lb	AF
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG Macro Compare	35mm FF	715 g / 1.57 lb	AF
Tamron AF 28-75mm F2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical IF Compare	35mm FF	510 g / 1.12 lb	AF
Tamron SP 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC USD Compare	35mm FF	825 g / 1.82 lb	AF
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM Compare	35mm FF	790 g / 1.74 lb	AF
Sony Vario-Sonnar T 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM II Compare	35mm FF	974 g / 2.14 lb	AF
Sony 24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Compare	35mm FF	955 g / 2.10 lb	AF
Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM Compare	APS-C / DX	565 g / 1.24 lb	AF

Tamron 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical AF User Reviews

7.8/10
average of 4 review(s)

Build Quality
7.3/10

Image Quality
8.0/10

10 out of 10 points
and recommended

LIGHT WEIGHT , SHARP IMAGE,GOOD SIZE, SHORT THROW, GREAT PRICE
USING MANUALLY, PLASTIC, SLOW

USING THIS LENS WITH SONY NEX-5, SHARP COLORFUL PICTURES 98%, IF I USE MF-ASSIST AND FOCUS PEAK, I BARGAIN STARTER LENS, PRO-LENS NO. GOOD ALL-ROUND DAYS LENS FOR CASUAL USER. YES, I LIKE IT SO MUCH I ORDERED TWO MORE $50 TOTAL. SOMETIMES A GOOD CAMERA MAKES A DIFFICULT LENS BETTER

reviewed March 27th, 2020
(purchased for $25)
9 out of 10 points
and recommended

really sharp lens, stopped down a few very sharp
some CA’s

for this low price good sharpness, stopped down to f 8-11 very sharp,
nice colors, high contrast, but some few CA’s (must be eliminated with PHSh for bigger prints)
with achromatic macro glass on the top of it and f11 good macro shootings possible
no distorsion remarkable on wide angle
therefore 9 points

reviewed April 27th, 2014
(purchased for $45)
8 out of 10 points
and recommended

light, small, rugged, good sharpness and color…and have I mentioned, "cheap"?
plastic construction & limited zoom

I’m giving it an 8 rating across the board simply because I don’t want to seem like I’m overselling the lens.
But good grief this lens does everything that I really need it to do. It’s sharp (and quite sharp) across the frame at F8-F11 maybe even F13 at least on a film camera, which is pretty-much what I’d expect from most D/SLR lenses. I’m shooting it on a Nikon N80 which I picked up on eBay for $25, bought this on eBay for $40, got a multicoated UV for it for $8.50.
The combination is not fast, doesn’t have an ultra-wide or even medium-long zoom, doesn’t even have IS, but boy does it take nice landscape pics with ISO200 film handheld even after the sun goes below the horizon. *Plenty* of speed in anything resembling decent light. I can’t say much about the bokeh but if that’s not really your bag this lens is just fine especially for the price. The *most* that I’ve seen it for is $80 retail. Another «winner» from Tamron, just goes to show that a basic lens, done right, really doesn’t have to be all that big, heavy, fast or expensive to perform well.
Just don’t ask me how well it works in a rainstorm.

reviewed November 22nd, 2010
(purchased for $40)
4 out of 10 points
and recommended

cheap, light
poor BOKEH, no focus indicator, plastic lensmount

This is a light weight, cheap lens. It is slow, and not too great on the zoom range, but the cost and weight of the lens make it good for carrying the camera around to shoot snapshots when you don’t want to drag around a heavier lens.
The lens works well on both film and digital cameras, and is good for general shooting. It comes with the lens caps and a lens shade. Since the manual focus ring is a bit on the narrow side, I often find that I focus it with the lens shade on the FM2.
I don’t use this lens too often, except when weight is a consideration and I don’t expect to need a longer or faster lens.

reviewed December 10th, 2006
(purchased for $140)