Customer Reviews

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Update at the bottom (04-dec-2009)

I am an event and wedding photographer and first i was more keen to the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G but i did my research and even asked in a Wedding Photography group on Flickr and a friend of mine told me that he switched to tamron after he discover the performance was comparable to the three times more expensive lens made by Nikon.

You wont get the metal lens or the internal focusing that comes with the Nikkor one, but to be honest that does not matter that much in a lens this small, it comes out like a bit over an inch when you zoom in but i don't see why that would be a problem to anyone. I shoot events that last for hours and the lightweight is a plus.

I have taken over 3,000 pictures already and they are just perfect. I did a test with both lenses mounting the camera in a tripod and taking the picture of the same subject and i couldn't tell which one was taken with Tamron or Nikkor (not even in my big screen).

The focusing is pretty fast, well suited for fast paced situations such as weddings and concerts where everybody is in constant movement, also very quiet! If you are on budget i strongly suggest you to buy this lens and you wont be disappointed. My copy serial is almost 30,000 so i guess previous issues have been solved. The only problem i have found is that on the wide end (17mm) corners are a bit soft (not too much to notice at first sight) but that doesn't bother me because i use it between 20mm and 28mm most of the time.

Note that i have been using the lens on a Nikon D300 and i take around 500 pictures per event average.

I think it's not fair call this lens "junk" just because you have a bad copy, please be fair. If that is your case ask for a replacement and I'm sure amazon will work things out for you, then make a review based on the good copy.

Isaac

Update 04-dec-2009:
The lens it's been focusing really slow for the past 2 months and even though the focusing speed was OK and a bit noisy the pictures were fine, now I'm going to repair it and then sell it, just purchased the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G and wont buy anything from Tamron ever again and stick to Nikkor lenses. Maybe i got a bad copy and i know some of my fellow photographers don't have the money to purchase a 1,400 dollar lens, but if you can do it just don't think of it twice just for the sake of avoid a focusing failure in the mid of a job. If you are just an amateur photographer having fun with the camera, i encourage you to try every lens before spending your hard earned money in something that will just stop working few months later.

I was wary of picking this one up, but so far I haven't noticed anything wrong at all with autofocus: very clear, crisp images, and I'm loving the speed compared to my D40's stock lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6).

About all I could complain about is the motor, which is noisier and seems slower than the 18-55. It works though which is the main thing! Build quality seems solid.

Mine is Japanese-made according to the label, serial number 29xxx. One would hope that after building nearly 30,000 of the things they would have any quality control problems worked out.

Update 01/2010: I posted my review originally 14 months or so ago and in that time I've upgraded from a D40 to a D90 and picked up a few other lenses along the way for specific situations (f/1.4 Sigma prime, 55-200mm Nikon long zoom, 105mm Sigma macro). It's more plasticky in construction than any of those but is still my favorite lens, not just the one I use the most, because of the quality of the images. After 10,000+ shots taken I'm not noticing any mechanical or electrical problems. Seems other people have, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones!

First, rumors have it that this lens is made in two locations:
China and Japan. Amazon gave me a Japan model which I hear is supposed to have gone through more rigorous quality control. The lens is light and feels much cheaper and clunkier than any Nikkor/Nikon I've ever used. The autofocus is slow (not sure if it's slower than the old screw-drive version), but accurate. I have a Tamron 28-300 VC that autofocus similarly (in little baby steps). I use it at indoor parties and it's tolerable so long as people aren't dancing around. The optics are very sharp and I'm USUALLY satisfied with shots at f2.8.
There have also been, however, some unusual problems:
When I first got the lens, I occasionally got the f - - on my D80 indicating a poor electrical connection. I need to wriggle the lens around. Secondly, sometimes when I didn't see that error, the lens would not respond (try to engage autofocus with the shutter but no response). This has happened twice out of the maybe 30 times I've used it so far. Nevertheless, I haven't encountered these problems recently. It's probably nothing to be afraid of.

This is a great alternative to it's competitors. Nikon 17-55 2.8 aside, this lens' closest competitor is the Sigma 18-50 HSM. If you are REALLY bothered by the autofocus, you might want to consider the Sigma. I went with the Tamron after seeing so many good shots at f2.8 and b/c of the 67mm filter size :).

First let me say that I was fortunate enough to get an excellent example of this Tamron 17-55 f2,8(non-VC) lens the first time, so I will not attempt to address the negative reviews of this lens. I use this Tamron with a Nikon D7000, and all I can say is my copy is sharp, sharp ,sharp! Even at f2.8 the sharpness is in the very good range, by f4.0 it is in the excellent range, and at f5.8 it reaches a level of sharpness few lenses could match. I rent 2000+ lenses for weddings, so I know what a sharp lens is. I have rented the Nikon 17-55, and the only thing better about the Nikon is the more robust build, which also includes an HSM motor, instead of the cheaper micro-motor of the Tamron lens, which allows for direct manual focusing over-ride and faster focusing than with the Tamron. If you think the mechanical differences is worth the extra $900 dollars than go for the Nikon instead.

Focusing with the D7000 is very accurate using phase detection or contrast detection in Live-View. The focusing could be a little faster (HSM would be a nice improvement over the micro-motor), but it works well enough for what I use a lens like this for.
All in all, this Tamron lens is a real bargain in terms of optical quality and well worth consideration as an alternative to the very expensive Nikon 17-55 f2.8. For me, the Tamron 17-55 f2,8(non-VC)is my favorite "go-to" lens that stays on my D7000 most of the time and I'm so glad I have it!

Okay
I've had this lens for couple of weeks with around 1000+ shots.
I've been using 18-200VR and 50/f1.8 for indoor no flash purpose. I needed a wide angle for my indoor shot so I bought a Tamron by reading on-line reviews. I read that new version with motor built in focusing is slow so I search for non-motor one knowing that it may prone to focusing accuracy problem. So far I have not had any unusual focusing problem with Tamron. I've had similar result with 50 & 18-200. They all had some out of focus photos but I usually shoot least 3 or more shots of same subject when I am shooting in hurry to capture those moments. One of the best part of this lens is contrast. Color really pops out. Even at 2.8 I have had no major issues that I can not use this lens. I've used many nikon lens but every nikon lens is different on different body. You just have to experiment alot with your camera body. It's not a magic lens so you really have to experiment. But for everyday carry lens I think it's excellent. It's light and it's fast. Focus well and quick in low light. People rave about 18-200VR, it's a good lens and I will be using this only out door from now on. Even with VR it's not built for low lighting situation. With 2.8f you can stop action in decent lighting. You can not do that with 3.5 or 5.6 f-stop and get a decent result. I wanted get a Tokina in same specs but coloring is alot bleached. So for anyone who is looking for good solid lens that just plain works this one is well made lens. For price around $400 it's a huge bargain. Compare to Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 I think Tamron has better/more saturated photos.

This is one of the best walk-around lens you can buy for your Nikon camera. This new version has a built-in motor, which makes it compatible with D40/D40x/D60 AF-S only cameras (using it with D40). The lens is very sharp, fast and well made.

I bought this lens in August of 08 for my wife to use for on-location shoots. She tried it for a few months before deciding to go the Nikon route. She says she had focusing issues with the lens.

Instead of selling the lens, I decided to keep it and try it out myself. I love the lens and have had maybe two focusing issues with it, but they were expected (low light, direct sunlight). It is tack sharp in the apertures I use for portrait work (mainly 2.8-4 at the most).

It does have distinct sound when auto-focusing, but it isn't a deal breaker (I actually like the noise it makes).

Overall a great little lens at a bargain price.

I was a little hesitant to purchase this lens after some of the experiences people were having with front focusing on Nikon bodies. However, I decided to buy anyway and do some tests of my own. First off, I think what some people are seeing as front focusing is a combination of a few things: handholding the camera at slow shutter speeds and using a wide aperture. All lenses are at their sharpest when stopped down about two stops from their widest aperture, so for this lens expect to get your sharpest photos at apertures around f/5.6. It really helps to mount the camera on a tripod whenever you're photographing to eliminate any blur caused by handholding. Use a cable release as well. If you must hold your camera while photographing, use a shutter speed that's at least the reciprocal of the lens focal length. In other words, if you're shooting at the 50mm setting with this lens, make sure your shutter speed is at least 1/50 sec. or faster.

If you're shooting in RAW format, remember that these images need a little sharpening during post-processing because in-camera processing is usually not applied to RAW images like it is with jpeg images. This may be another area where people are seeing front/back focus problems where they don't really exist.

In my tests, I haven't found anything that would indicate front or back focusing with this lens mounted on a Nikon D90. I did get a Japanese-made lens by the way with a serial number of 029xxx.

So much of this lens I liked -- the size, the 2.8 throughout, the price, and it looks good, too. But, I shot a fashion show event for my first time with it and I wished I left it home. The focusing was very inconsistent -- mainly way behind the subject. One shot I remember of two models right in front of me and I focused right on them but only the store fixtures way behind them were sharp. Maybe I got a bad copy, but I returned it and probably won't go to Tamron for a lens soon. I've had two other Tamrons and they just don't justify the lower price to me. I don't want to go through trying alot of different copies -- I want something that works correctly now. Thanks to Amazon for being so quick with their refund.

I got this lens after using the stock 18-135 Nikon lens, which I find too slow for indoor use, and a sigma 18-35 lens which is too heavy and not very versatile. The Tamron lens is very good for all around use. I like the 2.8 aperture all the way through. It is a bit soft and some times focusing takes a bit longer than I'd like it to, but I am very much using this lens exclusively now, unless I am outside and want something with a stronger zoom.
The construction is solid: the lens is on the heavier side, but it feels nice and the camera (a D80) feels nice and balanced. Zoom action is smooth. I like the zoom lock so I don't have to worry about it creeping on me.