My Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II VC exceeded expectations

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 - March 18th, 2010 @


Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II VC Mounted on a Canon Rebel XSI have an updated review of the lens here. You can read it when you’re done here. Thanks. I Not really a thorough review, just my impression and experience with this great lens.
I bought my Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) Zoom Lens for my Canon XS from Amazon on January 11, 2010 and since then it has been my primay lens. Before this Tamron 17-50mm, I was using the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, which is a good lens with a impressive optical quality, but I wanted a better lens that doesn’t cost too much,  has better low light capability, has a more advance image stabilization and a lens that has a good build quality, that’s where the Tamron and it’s F/2.8 and the VC features comes in.

Below were the lenses that I compared:
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens
MSRP : $1179.00
Amazon : $1179.00 As of 03/18/2010

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens
MSRP : $839.99
Amazon : $749.99 As of 03/18/2010

Tokina 16mm – 50mm F/2.8 Pro DX Autofocus Zoom Lens for Canon EOS Digital SLR Cameras
Amazon : $549.00 As of 03/18/2010

Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC SLD ELD Aspherical Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
MSRP : $660.00
Amazon : S$419.00 As of 03/18/2010

Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
MSRP : $649.00
Amazon : $632.33 As of 03/18/2010

Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
MSRP : $499.00
Amazon : $459.95 As of 03/18/2010

Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC Specifications

Model B005
Focal Length 17-50mm
Maximum Aperture F/2.8
Angle of View (diagonal) 78゜ 45′ – 31゜ 11′
Lens Construction 19 elements in 14 groups
Minimum Focus Distance 0.29m (11.4 in)
Max. Magnification Ratio 1 : 4.8
Filter thread 72mm
Length 94.5mm * (3.7 in)
Diameter 79.6mm (3.13 in)
Weight 570g ** (20.15 oz)
Diaphragm Blade Number 7
Minimum Aperture F/32
Standard Accessory Flower-shaped Lens hood
Compatible Mount Canon, Nikon (with built-in AF Motor)

Date of Launch:
For Nikon with Built-In Motor : 2009 / 09 / 17*
For Canon : 2009 / 10 / 29*

Why I choosed to buy the Tamron :

So you maybe wondering why I choose to buy the Tamron, well actually, my first choice was to get the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM because of the great optical and image quality, and the build quality, my second choice was the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens, and the third is the the Tokina 16mm – 50mm F/2.8 Pro DX Autofocus Zoom, the Tokina has more on the wide end, has a bright F/2.8 constant aperture, but no image stabilization, in which to many people doesn’t matter especially in these range, 16-50mm or 17-50mm, but for me I prefer lenses with image stabilzation. Now I’m down to two choices, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens and the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC, it all came down to price, since I still have to buy 2 more lenses, the 70-200mm F4L IS USM and a ultra wide zoom lens and a 580ex II flash, i decided to save the money and went ahead with the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC.

My Impression:
First the good things:

  • It’s sharp, really shrap, compared it to my friends Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, it’s almost identical starting F/4.
  • VC  (vibration compensation) works very well.
  • Build quality, for me it’s excellent.  It’s made of hard plastic, heavy, very solid.
  • I love the feel rubber grip on the zoom ring and focus ring.
  • Auto Focus, consitent, fast and  accurate, never failed yet.
  • Weight, well balance.
  • Lock, the focal length lock is a great addition, maybe when the lens gets old the lock will surely prevent zoom creep, which is really common on most zoom lenses. It’s a problem with my ef 28-135mm.
  • Manual Focus, the focusing ring works great, it’s smooth
  • It includes a petal lens hood, which is great for protection and shade.
  • The front panel doesn’t rotate just like the ef 17-40mm F 2.8L and the EF 28-135mm which is great if you are using a Circula Polarizing Filters.
  • Constant F/2.8 Aperture.

The Bad :  I  found 2. A little soft at F/2.8, and 2nd is, there is no full-time manual focus.

The lens is now two months old and is being use regularly every weekends, sometimes everyday to take snapshots of everything that I see around me, who knows, maybe one day I’ll find some bad things about it, and I’ll surely post it here.

One thing I have never tried is to turn off the VC, maybe I’ll try that and see what happens.

If you have plans to upgrade to a Full Frame in the near future, you might want to go with Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM , if not then you are left with too choices the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM for $1179.00 or the Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) for $632.00(at the time posting). I bought the Tamron because of it’s predecessors excellent reputation and I wanted to save some money, I can always use my feet to zoom in and out to compensate for the extra 5mm offered on the long end. If I’m going to buy a lens in the $1000 + price range I’ll make sure that I get myself an L quality lens. I’m happy with decision, this is a great lens that’s why I decided not to return it, you won’t regret it.

Here are some of the photos taken with my Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 SP XR Di II VC (Vibration Compensation) Zoom Lens:

Where To Buy:

Canon Mounts

Nikon Mounts:

Review update for the tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 VC here:

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