As an avid sports and nature photographer, my kit tends to favour long telephoto lenses, big zooms, and macro optics, but for the past two months I have been enjoying a wide-angle adventure, exploring the world through the perspective of the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 zoom.
At first, I was unsure of the photographic potential that this unique lens would provide… but as I began to see the world from a wider perspective, I soon realized that I had been missing so many unique images that I soon became completely enamored with this very special lens.
For the past two months, I have used the Tamron 15-30mm f / 2.8 in a variety of situations, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. After seeing the crisp results, the exquisite rendition of colour and contrast, and the vast potential to see the world through a wide-angle lens, I made it my goal to shoot as many different situations as I could think of – and what began with curiosity turned into some of the most creative images I have made in years – and learning how the lens could give me a new way to shoot familiar subjects was a revelation!
While you may think that a lens of this focal length range is ideally suited for landscape and architectural photography, you may be surprised to discover how many situations benefit from the wide-angle treatment. I took the liberty of shooting some extreme sports photos with the Tamron 15-30mm, and the results were spectacular – I tried it in several areas where you would not normally think of using this type of lens, such as motorcycle racing – as the racers passed within 3 meters at high speed, I snapped away, and the results were amazing!
A Very Creative Lens!
The Tamron SP 15-30mm f / 2.8 VC is a versatile, professional-grade lens designed to capture extremely wide-angle images which are ideal for architectural and landscape photography – and it has proven to be a great addition to my team for sports photography. With its impressive optical performance and a constant f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range, this lens is also an excellent selection for low-light photography, and for astrophotography.
With built-in image stabilization (Tamron’s proprietary VC system) the 15-30mm zoom provides up to 4 stops of compensation for handheld shooting.
For my landscape images, I got up very early to capture the sunrise at the lake a few meters from my home. The photos turned out to be impressive. It is easy to compose and create a natural perspective with this lens, making the viewer feel like they are part of the scene.
I took the opportunity to use the 15-30 on my recent trip to Gaspé. I found the lens to be ideal for photographing specular highlights – an object that photographers seek. The results had good contrast and excellent sharpness.
The advantage of the 15-30mm f/2.8 lies in is its versatility – allowing you to capture a wide perspective without moving from your photo location. The series of images shows the effect from 15mm to 30mm.
Why choose a 15-30mm zoom?
When you can’t get any farther away from your subject, but still need a wide viewing area in the frame, you need an ultra wide-angle lens. An even better reason is that you are able to choose an ultra wide-angle lens to achieve a unique perspective. An ultra-wide-angle lens has the ability, via perspective, to make a foreground object (ideally something interesting or attractive) appear tall and emphasized compared to a distant, but potentially sharp and sharp background. Your images can be spectacular and very intriguing for the viewer, with a main subject juxtaposed against a fascinating view of the background. To achieve this effect, special attention should be paid to compositions using ultra-wide-angles of view – try this on your next photo adventure, and I am sure you will find the ultra-wide results to be extremely rewarding!
By Jacques Dumont
