Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD review

Take a step up the quality ladder from your A7-series kit zoom lens with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD

5 Star Rating
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD review
(Image: © Matthew Richards)

Digital Camera World Verdict

There’s an f/2.8 sized hole in the ‘affordable’ range of Sony own-brand lenses for its full-frame E-mount cameras. That’s neatly filled by the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD lens, which delivers fabulous image quality, has great handling characteristics, and is comfortably compact and lightweight. It’s tailor-made for Sony’s mirrorless full-frame bodies and is hard to beat, at any price.

Pros

  • +

    Faster aperture than the Sony 28-70mm

  • +

    Constant aperture through the zoom range

  • +

    Great image quality and all-round performance

Cons

  • -

    No optical image stabilization

  • -

    Lacks the wider viewing angle of a 24-70mm zoom

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The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD is a welcome addition to the Sony mount lens market. This is because, while the Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS is a top-seller, it’s widely bundled as a kit lens with A7-series cameras. It’s certainly small and lightweight but the aperture shrinks to a disappointing f/5.6 at the long end of the zoom range, and it delivers lacklustre sharpness away from the central region of the frame. If you want to step up to an own-brand Sony standard zoom with a fast and constant f/2.8 aperture, you’ll need to invest in the mighty FE 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master, which costs around £1,800/$2,200 and weighs nearly a kilogram, negating the advantage of a slimline, lightweight mirrorless camera. That sets the stage perfectly for this class act from Tamron.

• Read more: Best Sony lenses

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.