Tamron releases its 28-75m f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 for Nikon Z mount

Tamron has announced an expansion of its Nikon Z mount lens lineup. It’s not an entirely new lens, though. It’s the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 (buy here), which was released in October 2021 for Sony E Mount (buy here).

Now, the lens has also been announced in Z mount flavour. It has a slightly increased price point over its E mount counterpart. The new release brings Tamron’s Nikon Z lens count up to four.

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 for Nikon Z

The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 has proven to be quite a popular lens with a decent track record. It’s not much of a surprise, though. The company’s original 28-75mm Di III VXD was also quite popular amongst its users.

The new Nikon version is fundamentally identical to the E mount version in every way. Well, except for one. It’s got a Nikon Z mount instead of a Sony E mount on it. The firmware will also be tailored toward Nikon’s autofocus protocols rather than Sony’s.

Tamron’s Z lens lineup stands at four

This makes the fourth lens in Tamron’s Z Mount lens lineup. The Tamron 28-75mm Di III VXD G2 lens joins the 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD (buy here), 70-300mm F/4.5-6.3 Di III RXD (buy here) and 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (buy here).

When it comes to Sony, Tamron has 18 lenses currently in the E mount range. That still leaves 14 more potential options for the next Nikon Z mount lens to come from Tamron. Or will it be a completely new design? I guess only time will tell.

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 Specs

It’s interesting that this lens is being announced. Nikon has essentially said they’re only going to allow 3rd-party lenses that don’t directly compete with their lenses. Well, this one most definitely does.

Focal Length	28-75mm
Lens Mount	Sony E, Nikon Z
Format Compatibility	Full-Frame
Focus Type	Autofocus
Optics	17 elements in 15 groups
Minimum focus distance	18cm (wide) / 38cm (Tele)
Maximum Aperture	f/2.8
Minimum Aperture	f/22
Angle of view	75°23′ – 23°11′
Aperture blades	9, rounded
Stabilisation	No
Filter Size	67 mm (front)
Dimensions	75.8 x 117.6mm
Weight	540g

Nikon has their own 28-75mm f/2.8 lens (buy here), which has been rumoured to be a rebadged version of this Tamron’s predecessor. It’s surprising to see Nikon approve this one.

It’s also going to be interesting to see how the future of third-party lenses looks for Nikon as we go forward, given that Tamron is releasing a direct competitor to one of their own. Other third parties aren’t going to like that without responding.

Price and Availability

The Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 is available to pre-order now for $999. This is around $200 more than this lens typically sells for with a Sony E mount. I expect the Nikon lens might also drop to about this price…

…once initial orders have been satisfied, and the company has restocked from the inevitable shipping delays due to unexpected high demand.