Conclusion

The new Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is a versatile walk-around lens with a fast maximum aperture that consistently delivers great images. It's very sharp throughout most of the zoom and aperture range, even at the edges of the frame, with sharpness only falling off a little shooting wide open at f/2.8. The new SP 24-70mm G2 also produces very nice bokeh effects thanks to the 9-blade iris diaphragm, although there's some very obvious vignetting and some barrel distortion at 24mm, plus slight pincushioning at 70mm. Overall, though, there's little to complain about in the image quality department.

The build quality is excellent, following the example set by other recent G2 edition lenses, and Tamron have generously included a good lens hood and padded case. Auto-focusing was very quick on the Canon EOS 5DS R that we tested the lens with, and manual focus over-ride at any time is a great feature, as is the built-in optical image stabilisation system, which we found to be slightly more effective than the one on the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens.

The official retail price of the Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 is certainly very attractive, significantly undercutting the rival lenses from Canon and Nikon. Its nearest competitor is the recent Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG OS HSM Art lens, with Tamron having the edge in terms of the optical image stabilisation system, but Sigma delivering slightly sharper images wide-open at f/2.8. Otherwise, both are excellent lenses that are very similar in terms of their specification, and both are very serious rivals to the Canon and Nikon alternatives.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	5
Features	5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image quality	4
Value for money	4.5