Tamron SP AF 10-24 mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) review - Build quality

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Tamron SP AF 10-24 mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF)

29 June 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

3. Build quality

Tamron 10-24 mm looks quite typically for lenses of this company. It starts with a metal bayonet, right behind which, on the left side, we find a small AF/MF switch. Even further we have a wide and convenient zoom ring. It turns smoothly with an appropriate resistance. Right behind it there’s a gold stripe with the name and the parameters of the lens, and above it a ring for manual focusing with a distance scale in feet and meters imprinted on it. It’s hard to have anything against its work, it’s convenient and allows precise settings.

Tamron SP AF 10-24 mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) - Build quality

The tested lens doesn’t differ much from the competitors of similar parameters, in terms of dimensions, which is clearly indicated in this table and the picture below in which it’s standing between Canon 10-22 mm and Nikkor 17-35 f/2.8 designed for full frame.

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The front system of lenses changes its position depending on the focal length. It’s maximally hidden at around 14 mm, protrudes by 0.5 centimeter at 10 mm and by 1.5 centimeter at 24 mm. These moves don’t cause the rotation of filters’ thread of 77 mm diameter. The rear system of lenses moves even more. It’s aligned with the bayonet at 10 mm and hides deeply in the barrel (around 4 centimeters) at 24 mm focal length. Manual focusing is done by moving internal elements.

As usual with Tamron, we weren’t refused a long name, which is the result of using different glass types. And so the tested lens consists of 12 elements set in 9 groups, with two lenses made of LD (low dispersion) glass, three others were given an aspherical shape, and the front big lens is also a special aspherical element made in technology of manufacturing aspherical lenses by mechanical shaping of heated glass. Inside we also find a 7 blade diaphragm which can be closed to f/22-29 depending on the focal length.