Tuesday 27 October 2009

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II


Other len i had brought after Sigma 70-300mm, due to the reason for better quality and for my friend's wedding, i decide to buy 17-50mm.

I get a very good review and comment from my friends and forum. After i brought the Tamron 17-50, my nikkor 18-135mm is going to retired and rest in peace. And i decide use Tamron 17-50mm as a walkaround len.

The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lens delivers very good image quality in a small, light, fast and affordable package. Add in the very popular focal length range and you have a lens that is just right for many digital SLR camera owners. The early-in-its-lifecycle popularity this lens is enjoying substantiates this claim.

I tested the tamron 17-50mm in the camera shop before i brought. Photo below is a comparison between 17-50mm and my nikkor 18-135mm.

Aperture : F4.73
Exposure Time: 1/40 seconds
ISO: 640
Focus length: 50mm

Aperture : F2.83
Exposure Time: 1/80 seconds
ISO: 500
Focus length: 50mm

Some sample photo shooting after i brought the len. Sharpness is for sure for Tamron 17-50mm, and of course the color contrast is better than the 18-135mm.
Reason for brought this len:
1. F2.8, you will found it very useful for indoor and outdoor shooting
2. Worth for value
3. 17mm, abit wide :) finally i can camwhore

After i use for 2 week, there is some problem i found out
1. Focusing is a bit slow, sometime will hard to detect the object. ( Auto focus)
2. When the object is bright or white, auto focus unable to detect...

However, i had use this len for wedding shooting, portraits, and walkaround len during my trip to amsterdam and hong kong, it didnt disappointed me at all. I will try to update my blog for frequently start from today.


12 comments:

Invisible said...

i oso thinking to get this, sharp enuf? cz i found my sigma 18-200 is too soft, sometimes the pic really not sharp.

i think this will be a gd lens, as wide n sharp as u said?

Johntim said...

Ermmmm I prefer you go to Nikor lens :p hahaha (money it's a problem for u)

but Zoom lens with F2.8 is very interesting =) I will get my F2.8 in very soon =)

Anonymous said...

17-50mm f2.8 is in my wishlist! U use Nikon? I thought u use canon tim. Hahaha!

Samuel said...

Invisible: that's a common problem with the super zoom lens, they are convenient but the quality of the image they produce can't be as good as those zoom lens with narrower focal length (and in fact prime lens produce better image than zoom lens).

Samuel said...

Siu Keong, the lens does not have a built-in AF, and it's depending on your body's AF motor, so it might be a bit slow for D80. And you said the you're unable to focus on subject that's too bright or white, I think mainly is due to that, AF is depending on contrast, if there's no contrast on your subject, for sure it will be harder to focus. And I found this on a review from www.photozone.de, "AF accuracy wasn't overly impressive on the D200.", even on D200, it's not so accurate, so I guess it performs the same on your D80.

Siu KeOnG said...

Invisible: so far the quality is fine for me, i dont think there is necessary go for a 4-5k nikkor len. As samuel say prime lens will produce better quality than zoom lens, if you looking for walkround lens, 17-50mm is a good choice for you. I hear that the version 2 will release soon, maybe you can have a look.

Johntim: My friend which using nikkor also claim there is slow focus, sometime original not always the best too.

Joshua: oo.when u get a DSRL? what model? i am nikonian, sorry bro

Samuel : Please read the review and details again :P
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR:

There is a motor inside, ( sony dont have ). haha time to change ur brand :P

Samuel said...

Ooooh, maybe I mistaken :P. Anyway, most of the lens for Sony does not have built-in AF, as the kit itself has the AF motor, yet, there're some lens with built-in AF, like the Sony 70-200 f/2.8G

XD

Siu KeOnG said...

samuel: hehe time to change lor...come come canon or nikon, dun sony la...sony only can play psp only ..lolx

Samuel said...

此言差矣,it's not the brand that matters, not just Canikon can take good photos. Below is my favorite quote.

“A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart.” -Arnold Newman

And actually Sony did produce good camera, as a newcomer in the market, it works very well. The discontinued A700 can match equally with Nikon D300 and Canon 40D. Some more, Sony now manufactured the cheapest full frame DSLR A850 which is just around RM6000.

So, Sony really only produce PSP? Think again :P.

Siu KeOnG said...

i dont mean sony cannot take good photo also, just say that it could be more advantages for other issue...

you miss understand my meaning, i always believe on what u say, if u have a full frame camera and good lens, but the composition or color is wrong, the photo is fail too

Dear samuel -__-''' dont miss understand me, i nv look down your sony , dude...

Johntim said...

Tai sei... kena people Zat...

Sifu always told you... Passion (Heart) is the most important of photographing and not camera or lens =)

*run

Stanley said...

Funny reading your comments. Actually 17mm not wide enough on DX camera. You will find it out when you shoot at 'Tea Ceremony' and what about the 50-70mm missing range?

Prime lenses is good but does it suit your work and the price aren't cheaper than zoom lenses too.

Nikkor lenses is expensive but a better investment.

Slow focus? Mostly not the lenses problem but body. Example, nikkor 24-70mm 4 stops slower on D90. But superb fast on D300 and D700 even on the D200 i used before.

Sony is great. They produced good quality DSLR and hit the market with low price. Anyway, before you buy a camera think about people around you using what brand so you can borrow acc or lenses from them.

'Tallboyz use D90 if I wasn't wrong'