 A Great lens for indoor and outdoor work 9 of 9 people found this review helpful.
PROS: PRICE, 2.8 constant aperture, build quality, warranty, sharpness,
CONS: manual focus switch is hard to operate, focus ring could be larger
I recently needed a good wide angle lens for an upcoming assignment. I was on a budget (aren't we all??) and the choices came down to this lens and the Canon 17-55mm IS f 2.8. I rented the Canon lens and purchased the Tamron (here on Ebay for under 350.00 with shipping). I figured if the Canon outperformed the Tamron substantially, I could re-sell the Tamron and buy the much more expensive Canon.
I conducted my test (I am not a professional tester, but have sold enough photographs to consider myself a good photographer) between the two lenses using both inside and outside subjects. Frankly, I was a bit amazed at the results.
The Canon performed well (as expected) but the IS did not seem to be as helpful as I had hoped in low light situations. It actually did a fair amount of searching on auto-focus while the Tamron did seem faster. When it finally locked on, the result was sharper with the Canon, in the beginning. I say this because after using the Tamron for awhile, I was able to steady myself enough, that the results were every bit as good as the Canon's.
As for saturation, contrast and overall color, I shoot RAW format mostly and the most important thing for me is sharpness, but in jpeg (highest settings) I did notice that the Tamron compared favorably to the Canon in all catagories.
I ended up choosing the Tamron lens over the Canon due to cost, saved enough to buy a back-up camera body!! I have not regreted this decision at all!!
Other points to consider, it is made for smaller digital sensors - however, since I doubt that I am ever going to buy a 5D or 1Ds, I think I am safe.
It does not have any type of image stabilization, so if your not able to use a tripod AND your not careful - your results will vary. (though I still believe with some practice, ANYONE can use this lens and be happy!)
CAMERA EQUIPMENT OWNED
40D - body and battery pack (with camera armor on both)
xti (400D) - body and battery pack (with camera armor on camera)
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
Canon 70-200mm f4 L with IS
Sigma 170-500mm
Review ID: 10000000004653821  Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later.  Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is a great alternative to Canon 7 of 7 people found this review helpful.
PROS: Constant f/2.8 aperture, sharp images, nice build quality, compact size and light weight
CONS: Build quality compared to Nikon's tank like build quality, flimsy hood, works with DX sized sensor only
If you are looking for a fast midrange zoom, you are probably staring hard at either a Canon or Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 lens (depending on your system). I was doing the same thing but was also looking at the over $1000 price tag on the Canon or Nikon offering. So I decided to look at the Tamron and I'm glad I did. The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is can be had for $420 and most of the reviews you will find will say that performance is right there with the Canon or Nikkor. My experience so far supports these reviews. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind spending the $$ for quality optics but I need to see the benefit of the extra investment. In this case, it just wasn't there enough to justify spending an extra $$. The only reason I can think of to choose the Canon or Nikkor over the Tamron is if you are rough on your equipment. The build quality of the Tamron 17-50mm is first rate but isn't like the tank like build of the Canon or Nikkor. If you need that build quality, go for the Canon or Nikkor. If you don't, you'll be happy with the Tamron 17-50mm and will have $$ in your pocket to buy some other lens.
Review ID: 10000000002396034 Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our guidelines, it will be posted within 24 hours. You cannot vote on the helpfulness of a review you wrote. Your request cannot be processed at this time. Please try again later. | |
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