Four years after the release of its popular SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD optic, Tamron has given wide-angle aficionados a new object of desire with a Mark II update.
The SP 15-30mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Model A041) becomes the latest optic to be bestowed with the G2 suffix, following the SP 24-70mm F2.8 Di VC USD G2 and SP 70-200mm F2.8 Di VC USD G2 that surfaced last year.
This second-generation lens sticks to the same basic idea as the original, even repeating its 18-element, 13 -group optical configuration. As a 'Di' lens, it's been designed for users of full-frame Nikon and Canon DSLRs, with the main draw being its combination of a wide angle of view and a fast (and constant) maximum aperture.
The additional sweetener of Vibration Compensation has also been improved from the technology in the first version, and it's now claimed to offer up to 4.5 stops of compensation.
Canon users also benefit from a rear-mounted filter holder, which negates the use of massive (and costly) filters in front of the bulbous front element, while users of both Canon and Nikon versions benefit from nine rounded diaphragm blades to help produce more attractive bokeh.
Three separate coatings
Wide-angle lenses are particularly susceptible to specific aberrations, but ghosting and flare should be minimized thanks to the application of a newly developed AX (Anti-reflection eXpand) coating. This aims to keep the reflection factor for peripheral areas of the lens the same as he central portion, and it joins the eBand (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) and BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) Coatings used in the Mark 1 version to form a three-pronged assault on anything that might mar image quality.
Tamron also claims the lens will deliver "simply outstanding" optical performance courtesy of an XGM (eXpanded Glass Molded Aspherical) lens, together with multiple LD (Low Dispersion) elements to combat distortion and lateral chromatic aberration respectively.
Weather-resistant design
Tamron has specifically crafted the lens to have the same "feel of high quality and operability" as the aforementioned G2 lenses, with a weather-resistant design to prevent dust and moisture creeping in.
Its front element has also been primed with a fluorine coating, which is not only said to help repel dirt, dust and moisture, but promises to do so more effectively than the coating on the previous version.
Tamron reckons the built-in Dual MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) enables "vastly improved AF speed and precision", although whether this is relative to other lenses or the previous version (which employed the same unit) is unclear. Either way, this is once again partnered with a separate processor to handle Vibration Compensation.
The lens arrives just weeks after the company announced the 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di OSD, a lens that's also been designed for full-frame DSLR users.
While Tamron hasn't yet disclosed a price for the new lens, Nikon users will be able to get their hands on one on September 21, a few weeks ahead of the Canon version, which will arrive on October 12. We'll update this page with pricing information as soon as we have it.
