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

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 lens that has greater optical quality, great low light capability and a more advance image stabilization, that’s where the F/2.8 and the VC features of the Tamron 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

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.
• VC  (vibration compensation) works very well.
• Build quality, excellent. It’s built like a tank, very solid.
• 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 : Sorry, I still can’t find any.

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. I bought the Tamron because mainly because of it’s 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. This is a great lens, you won’t regret it.

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

Here are some expert reviews for the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 VC:

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