HELP! Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

[ronyzmbow]

There are not too many reviews of both the Tamron 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._8_di_iii.html

and the Olympus

M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II Lens

The Tamron comes with 5 years warranty and is cheaper in Europe.

Wonder how do they compare in reality?
Wonder how good is the Tamron and is it 100% compatible with Micro4-4-3?

[raichea]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I bought the Tamron 14-150mm as a solution for occasions when I don't want to carry multiple lenses around. A 10x zoom that is relatively compact has its compromises, but it does what it does pretty well. No compatibility issues that I'm aware of.

dpreview has some sample images and there are a few reviews around, as you've probably found.

Steve

[Miketoll]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I read a magazine fairly recently which tested lots of "superzooms" including the Panasonc 14-140, Olympus 14-150 MK II and the Tamron 14-150. I can't remember all the detail but it said the Olly was the sharpest at wide and middle focal lengths but went rather soft at the long end, the Panasonic was a bit less sharp than the Olly at those wide and middle focal lengths but was sharpest at the long end while pointing out that the Panasonic only went to 140. The Tamron was reckoned to be the worst of the three at all focal lengths. The conclusion was the Panny was the best buy especially after considering price difference between the Olly and the Panasonic which did not take into account the present cashback on the Olly. The Tamron was rather dismissed.

[raichea]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I read a magazine ..... The Tamron was rather dismissed.

Interested to know what magazine that is... dismissing the Tamron doesn't seem to fit that well with other reviews on the web. My own experience is that it does the job reasonably well with an Oly body (hence IBIS). Panasonic bodies might not fare so well.

[Miketoll]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

Interested to know what magazine that is... dismissing the Tamron doesn't seem to fit that well with other reviews on the web. My own experience is that it does the job reasonably well with an Oly body (hence IBIS). Panasonic bodies might not fare so well.

The magazine is the June edition of Digital Camera. I quote: "It's the least impressive lens in the whole group for sharpness at either end of the zoom range, although mid-zoom sharpness is marginally better than the Panasonic MFT lens. Fringing is more noticeable than from either of the the other MFT lenses, but there is less barrel distortion than from the Panasonic lens at the 14mm focal length."

The whole group mentioned included 5 other superzooms for APC format cameras as well as the Olly and Panasonic MFT. The list included Canon, Sigmas, Nikon and another Tamron.

Another quote: "The lack of wide-angle and telephoto sharpness is disappointing and the Tamron doesn't score as highly as competing MFT lenses in other areas." Given three stars out of 5.

[Grimbleweed]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I have this lens as well as a 40-150 2.8 and I am delighted with it. It is manageable and has given me several club competition winners.
Most reviews are positive?

[Miketoll]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

Well what I quoted is one reviewer with one lens thats all. I remember I was once considering a Canon 70-300 L zoom and one review said it was terrible others said it was a good lens. I eventually bought one and it is a superb lens so just goes to show.

[raichea]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I have this lens as well as a 40-150 2.8 and I am delighted with it. It is manageable and has given me several club competition winners.
Most reviews are positive?

That matches my experience too... maybe the reviewer had a bad example or perhaps over-critical? Sometimes (from my experience in other fields) reviewers lose sight of what's important in the real world and rely too much on specmanship.

[Ralph Harwood]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

With the reference to fringing in that review - does the E-M1 correct for fringing automatically with that lens - I believe that it should for Olympus lenses , but maybe the Tamron isn't covered in the version of firmware he was using?

[Melaka]

[Miketoll]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

Splashproof means that water splashing onto the lens shouldn't get inside the lens. If the marks are on the outside i.e. on the outer surface then that is impurities in the water being left behind when the water dries off so should come off with a gentle clean with lens cleaning fluid and a microfibre cloth. That is to be expected as only distilled water is pure! If the marks are inside the lens then off to Portugal.

[Who's_E]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I don't think you will be disappointed with either of those two lenses, or the equivalent Panasonic. I have just bought the Panasonic v2 because it was a secondhand bargain and takes a 58mm filter for my polarizer and 10-stop. I spent ages looking, weighing up the options etc and went for what suited me best, figuring that image quality was mainly driven by my ability not the lens.

Furthermore, I value the flexibility and "one size fits all" over absolute image quality (for which I have lenses for all occasions!) I recently traveled with it and it fitted the bill perfectly.

For your information, my opinions were:

Pana mk1 - too bulky (I used 4/3 matching and Google images to compare)
Pana mk2 - nice but too expensive (it also zooms the other way from Oly lenses)
Oly mk1 - didn't like the aesthetic of it
Oly mk2 - too expensive and I don't take photos in the rain
Tamron - nice price but 52mm filter

Hope this helps, but I didn't choose on image quality. In fact I would have a Tamron if I didn't get the Pana for a good price, although cashback on Oly may change that view.

[David M]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

And of course, reviewers aren't influenced by advertising revenue or being told they can keep the product if they 'like' it.

[Shaw]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I also have the Tamron 14-150, and find it a super lens, and because of it's compact dimensions, I now use it more than my Leica 14-150.
I also note that 'Photography Blog' gives it a 4 star rating for image quality, as opposed to 3.5 stars for the Olympus 14-150.

[birdboy]

Re: Tamron 14-150 VS/ Olympus 14-150

I have the Tamron 14-150 lens and think it is a fantastic lens. I cannot comment on how it compares with the Oly or Pany. I brought this lens August 2014 and if I only had to keep one lens in my bag it would be this one. Its light small very good quality (for my likes). I have only one neg and that is the focus ring works the opposite way to my other lenses. It is the most used lens on my EM1. Enough of the waffle here's some examples;