The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is a lens that has been sorely needed for a while: it delivers a wide angle zoom option to APS-C DSLRs while putting in weather sealing, good autofocus performance, light weight, and overall great image quality. It’s a fantastic option for the photographer that has been looking for a way to shoot wide landscapes and cities with their APS-C DSLR while on vacation–or even just for fun. When you consider the weather sealing abilities built into the lens along with the relatively recent major improvements that Tamron has been making to their lenses, there is almost no reason to not consider the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD lens.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Compact
- Lightweight
- A lens that feels like it should always stay attached to your camera
- Fast autofocus
- Weather sealing
- Pretty good colors
- Wide angle coverage that otherwise you’d only get on a full frame DSLR and mirrorless camera
- 100% focusing accuracy performance with the Canon 77D
Cons
- Not much honestly. Some folks may complain about fringing, but it only happens in very extreme circumstances.
Gear Used
We tested the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD with the Canon 77D.
Tech Specs
Specs taken from the Tamron listing page
Model | B023 |
---|---|
Focal Length | 10-24mm |
Maximum Aperture | F/3.5-4.5 |
Angle of View (diagonal) | 108°44′-60°2′ (for APS-C format) |
Optical Construction | 16 elements in 11 groups |
Minimum Object Distance | 0.24m (9.4 in) |
Maximum Magnification Ratio | 1:5.3 |
Filter Size | Φ77mm |
Maximum Diameter | Φ83.6mm |
Length* | 84.6mm (3.3 in) Canon 82.1mm (3.2 in) Nikon |
Weight | 440g (15.5 oz) Canon 440g (15.5 oz) Nikon |
Aperture Blades | 7 (circular diaphragm) |
Minimum Aperture | F/22-29 |
Image Stabilization Performance | 4 Stops (CIPA Standards Compliant) For Canon: EOS-80D is used Nikon: D7200 is used |
Standard Accessories | Front Cap, Lens hood |
Compatible Mounts | Canon, Nikon |
Ergonomics
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is a lens that is compact, and really nice in the hands when you’re talking about the ergonomics. Not only is it lightweight but it is also pretty small. The lens is an interesting balance between both metal and rubber. Of course, the rubber has more to do with the zoom and focusing rings. But the metal is incorporated into all the other areas.
When you look at the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD you’ll find the front filter area to be accommodating to a 77mm filter thread. Then there’s the lens hood.
Turn to the side of the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD and what you’ll find are two controls. One is for vibration compensation and the other is the AF/MF switch.
Now here’s another really cool part, the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD. The size of the lens doesn’t tend to change a whole lot when zooming in or out.
Build Quality
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is like all of the company’s other new lenses–it incorporates weather sealing. Where this is most prominent is at the base of the lens where there is a rubber gasket to protect the camera that you’re mounting it onto.
Ease of Use
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is a stupidly simple lens to use. You slap it onto your camera, autofocus, shoot and enjoy the photos. The two switches aren’t accidentally hit at all. The target market for this lens, who tends to be the enthusiast and hobbyist, will have a joy using it. Believe it or not, my favorite times using this lens were when I set the camera to P mode.
You know, P for professional! 😉


Autofocus
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD’s autofocus performance surely depends on what camera you’re using, but considering that it’s a wide angle lens it’s going to be tough to not able to focus it. In fact, the Canon 77D and the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD nailed 100% focus accuracy when I used the duo in various lighting conditions.
That’s incredible!
Image Quality
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD isn’t just built well, but it also is capable of capturing and delivering great photos. Due to its very close focusing abilities, you’ll be able to get that bokeh that you really like. But you’ll also be able to enjoy great colors, sharpness, etc. Where some folks may complain will have to do with fringing–which will happen in the most extreme situations.
Before you go further, please note the way that I typically test cameras and lenses. My white balances are stuck to 5500K or 3200K; from there I can adjust colors with more consistency when it comes to post-production.
Bokeh
The best way to get any sort of bokeh with the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is to zoom all the way in and focus closely. You’ll get bokeh. It’s not bad. But it’s also not spectacular. However, for a wide angle zoom I can’t really complain that much.
Chromatic Aberration
While the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD keeps the distortion down fairly well (and can be corrected easily in Adobe Lightroom) you’ll find fringing in the most extremely high contrast areas. However, that’s also fixable.
Color Rendition
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD renders very saturated and beautiful colors when it comes to photographing full scenes. They’re not as saturated as some Rokinon primes though, so if you’re a landscape shooter then you may want to reach for those.
Sharpness
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD exhibits pretty darn good sharpness at f5.6 and up to f7.1. Otherwise, you’re sort of just wasting a good lens.
Extra Image Samples
Conclusions
Likes
- Compact
- Weather sealed
- Good image quality though not the absolute best
- Fast autofocus
- Light weight begs the lens to basically be glued to your camera
Dislikes
- This isn’t exactly an issue with the lens, but I’d love for this lens to come to mirrorless cameras.
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is a very good lens overall for the price point for $499.00. Whatever this lens doesn’t give you right out of the box you’ll be able to fix in post-production. It should be praised for its build quality, light weight, overall pretty decent image quality, fast autofocus performance and compact size. Tamron is filling a niche that has been needed to filled for a while. So overall, kudos to them!
The Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD receives four out of five stars!