saahild
31st May 2012, 10:22 PM
General purpose/walk about lens. A very big step up from the kit lens.
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR LD DII (Canon fit)
Price
£289 new
Where to buy
MPBPhotographic (forum sponsor)
Rating
9/10
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Build Quality
Overall excellent quality of build. Metal mount, good texture of both focus and zoom rings. Both rings well sized and spaced for my hands. Feels solidly built and yet a nice weight in that it's not too heavy and not too light.
Ease of use
A very easy lens to use for the most part. I personally find a slightly heavier lens helps me to steady me when hand holding in lower lights. The large aperture again helps here a lot. Only criticism is that the angle of adjustment on the focus ring is too small. You go from infinite to close focus in about a third of a turn which makes it a bit hard to manual focus, or at least a bit slower. The ring is well damped with good feedback so tiny adjustments are very possible. Autofocus I find to be fast and accurate in all lights and distances I have tested from very close to very far.
Value for money
Worth every penny of it's price tag in my opinion, the high second hand prices show this. Comes with hood.
Features
Internally focusing,
LD Glass,
Crop sensor ONLY
---------------------------------------------------------------
Recommendation
---------------------------------------------------------------
I would have no qualms recommending this lens to anyone that asked me "what lens to get" on a decent budget. At the longer end it makes for a good portrait lens and near the shorter end it's a good landscape lens. I would not, however, use it too much at 17mm in close range as there is quite obvious distortion when up close to a subject but is not apparent at all if the subject is more than a 1.5m away. I am sure it could be easily corrected in photoshop by someone more skilled however and the amount you can see is just amazing. It's almost what you see with your naked eye is captured.
The large aperture allows for good shallow DoF and the bokeh is just so smooth and creamy is the best way I would describe it. The large aperture also makes it a great lens to use for indoor functions or at dusk and dawn where light is limited. The lens looks sharp at all apertures to my eye but I lack sufficient experience to comment on it at a pixel peeking level.
As mentioned previously autofocus is fast and accurate, however it should be noted that it is not silent. It is quieter than the Canon 50mm MK2 I have on hand to compare it to and also focuses noticeably faster than the Canon. Personally I find the noise pleasing but some may not like it. Worth a listen if you can get a hold of one if you think it may bug you. It is also worth noticing that the focus ring does rotate during focusing but it shouldn't be a problem for most as it is right out in front and out of your way unless you are actively focusing. Further to this the lens does not extend at all during focusing (only zoom) and the front element does not turn allowing use of filters without issue.
I have used the lens for a recent shoot of a baby in the family and in an intimate setting it was a small enough lens to not be intimidating, it was wide enough to allow framing of the whole family in a small area, it was fast enough to allow decent shutter speeds to hand hold and capture the baby's expressions and it had enough reach to capture a few moments without being noticed. The large aperture helped to create a pleasing blurring of the background to really draw attention to the main subject (the baby). I have also used the lens in the park for the model shoot I did and found it optically brilliant though a little short sometimes for a tighter portrait and I had to get closer to the model than I would have liked. I really felt if this lens had another 10-15mm at the long end it would simply be perfection. It should be noted however that I came from a 28-105mm lens that had a lot more reach and I am fairly new and was quite nervous so this probably won't be a problem for the more seasoned or those used to the kit lens. It should be said, this "limited" range did force me to concentrate on my composure a lot more which ultimately lead to less cropping and better photographs overall.
To conclude I feel this lens is a very well priced, perfectly sized and optically brilliant piece of glass that will not disappoint all but the most discerning of photographers. It is almost the perfect focal range on a crop sensor camera to be a walk about lens for street photography and it's wide aperture makes it suitable for indoor and reasonably low light work too all for a very modest price. It's wide range also makes it very suitable for landscape work, especially dusk and dawn scenes.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Pro's
Large aperture, compact size, good weight, accurate and fast AF
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cons
Slightly noisy AF, not enough angle of rotation for focus ring.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Varied use left very positive impressions and inspired great confidence in the lens.
I am a young amateur who's just started finding his feet and getting his eye in. Still a lot to learn but not a complete beginner either.
This lens is aimed at those who have outgrown their kit lens and want an upgrade in IQ that will last them right up to the pro-am photographer who does a lot of low light and indoor work but requires the flexibility of a zoom that he can not find with a prime. I am sure there is better glass out there but not without a significant investment that is not justifiable for most non-professionals.
As long as I use a crop body, I shall be keeping this lens.
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR LD DII (Canon fit)
Price
£289 new
Where to buy
MPBPhotographic (forum sponsor)
Rating
9/10
---------------------------------------------------------------
Build Quality
Overall excellent quality of build. Metal mount, good texture of both focus and zoom rings. Both rings well sized and spaced for my hands. Feels solidly built and yet a nice weight in that it's not too heavy and not too light.
Ease of use
A very easy lens to use for the most part. I personally find a slightly heavier lens helps me to steady me when hand holding in lower lights. The large aperture again helps here a lot. Only criticism is that the angle of adjustment on the focus ring is too small. You go from infinite to close focus in about a third of a turn which makes it a bit hard to manual focus, or at least a bit slower. The ring is well damped with good feedback so tiny adjustments are very possible. Autofocus I find to be fast and accurate in all lights and distances I have tested from very close to very far.
Value for money
Worth every penny of it's price tag in my opinion, the high second hand prices show this. Comes with hood.
Features
Internally focusing,
LD Glass,
Crop sensor ONLY
---------------------------------------------------------------
Recommendation
---------------------------------------------------------------
I would have no qualms recommending this lens to anyone that asked me "what lens to get" on a decent budget. At the longer end it makes for a good portrait lens and near the shorter end it's a good landscape lens. I would not, however, use it too much at 17mm in close range as there is quite obvious distortion when up close to a subject but is not apparent at all if the subject is more than a 1.5m away. I am sure it could be easily corrected in photoshop by someone more skilled however and the amount you can see is just amazing. It's almost what you see with your naked eye is captured.
The large aperture allows for good shallow DoF and the bokeh is just so smooth and creamy is the best way I would describe it. The large aperture also makes it a great lens to use for indoor functions or at dusk and dawn where light is limited. The lens looks sharp at all apertures to my eye but I lack sufficient experience to comment on it at a pixel peeking level.
As mentioned previously autofocus is fast and accurate, however it should be noted that it is not silent. It is quieter than the Canon 50mm MK2 I have on hand to compare it to and also focuses noticeably faster than the Canon. Personally I find the noise pleasing but some may not like it. Worth a listen if you can get a hold of one if you think it may bug you. It is also worth noticing that the focus ring does rotate during focusing but it shouldn't be a problem for most as it is right out in front and out of your way unless you are actively focusing. Further to this the lens does not extend at all during focusing (only zoom) and the front element does not turn allowing use of filters without issue.
I have used the lens for a recent shoot of a baby in the family and in an intimate setting it was a small enough lens to not be intimidating, it was wide enough to allow framing of the whole family in a small area, it was fast enough to allow decent shutter speeds to hand hold and capture the baby's expressions and it had enough reach to capture a few moments without being noticed. The large aperture helped to create a pleasing blurring of the background to really draw attention to the main subject (the baby). I have also used the lens in the park for the model shoot I did and found it optically brilliant though a little short sometimes for a tighter portrait and I had to get closer to the model than I would have liked. I really felt if this lens had another 10-15mm at the long end it would simply be perfection. It should be noted however that I came from a 28-105mm lens that had a lot more reach and I am fairly new and was quite nervous so this probably won't be a problem for the more seasoned or those used to the kit lens. It should be said, this "limited" range did force me to concentrate on my composure a lot more which ultimately lead to less cropping and better photographs overall.
To conclude I feel this lens is a very well priced, perfectly sized and optically brilliant piece of glass that will not disappoint all but the most discerning of photographers. It is almost the perfect focal range on a crop sensor camera to be a walk about lens for street photography and it's wide aperture makes it suitable for indoor and reasonably low light work too all for a very modest price. It's wide range also makes it very suitable for landscape work, especially dusk and dawn scenes.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Pro's
Large aperture, compact size, good weight, accurate and fast AF
---------------------------------------------------------------
Cons
Slightly noisy AF, not enough angle of rotation for focus ring.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Varied use left very positive impressions and inspired great confidence in the lens.
I am a young amateur who's just started finding his feet and getting his eye in. Still a lot to learn but not a complete beginner either.
This lens is aimed at those who have outgrown their kit lens and want an upgrade in IQ that will last them right up to the pro-am photographer who does a lot of low light and indoor work but requires the flexibility of a zoom that he can not find with a prime. I am sure there is better glass out there but not without a significant investment that is not justifiable for most non-professionals.
As long as I use a crop body, I shall be keeping this lens.