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Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8 Review RSS Feed

Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8

Sharpness 
 9.0
Aberrations 
 8.5
Bokeh 
 8.1
Handling 
 8.2
Value 
 9.1
Reviews Views Date of last review
90 322,429 Fri January 12, 2024
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
93% of reviewers $337.65 8.49
Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8

Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8
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Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8
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Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8
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Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8
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Description:

The Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di-II LD Aspherical [IF] is a lightweight, compact, and fast standard zoom lens designed exclusively for APS-C digital SLR cameras.


Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
© www.pentaxforums.com, sharable with attribution
Image Format
APS-C
Lens Mount
Pentax K
Aperture Ring
No
Diaphragm
Automatic, 7 blades
Optics
16 elements, 13 groups
Mount Variant
KAF
Check camera compatibility
Max. Aperture
F2.8
Min. Aperture
F32
Focusing
AF (screwdrive)
Quick-shift
No
Min. Focus
27 cm
Max. Magnification
0.22x
Filter Size
67 mm
Internal Focus
Yes
Field of View (Diag. / Horiz.)

APS-C: 78-31 ° / 67-27 °
Hood
Included
Case
Lens Cap
Included
Coating
Multi-coated
Weather Sealing
No
Other Features
Zoom Lock
Diam x Length
7.4x8.1 mm (2.9x3.2 in.)
Weight
430 g (15.2 oz.)
Production Years
to 2018
Pricing
USD current price
$434 USD at launch
Engraved Name
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF]
Product Code
A16
Reviews
User reviews

Price History:



Add Review of Tamron SP AF XR LD Aspherical IF Di II 17-50mm F2.8
Author:
Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Descending) Showing Reviews 76-90 of 90
Inactive Account

Registered: November, 2008
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 3,547

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 19, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: Light, cheap, fast, sharp
Cons: Noisy AF, build

I really like this lens, but I just wish it was that 1mm wider like the Pentax 16-50. Besides that, I love the range. I hardly ever want to shoot longer than 50mm.

This lens is usable wide open but becomes really sharp @ F4. The noisy AF does not bother me too much, but it just sounds cheap. Although, at least there are no SDM issues to worry about. I've had trouble locking focus in low light, but i'd also put this down to my K200D.

My copy has started to show some back focus issues, which may respond to in camera adjustment, but i'm yet to experiment with this. I'm less than impressed with the build quality but I guess you can't expect too much at this price.

EDIT: Between the lenses I have owned, I've found this lens to be pretty good with CA. I have not noticed it- besides a few out of thousands of images.

   
Senior Member

Registered: January, 2010
Location: British Columbia
Posts: 120

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: July 18, 2010 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Value, Sharp, Contrasty
Cons: Vignetting
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 8    Value: 9   

A constant aperture 2.8 zoom for under $500. Performs beyond the what the price suggests.

Sharpness
Usable wide open with only a hint of softness. Amazing. Stopping down improves things, but have no hesitations using wide open in terms of resolution.

For a zoom, very good contrast.

Flare
Quite resistant to flare in backlit situations. Again, very good for a zoom with 16 elements.

Bokeh
Not unpleasant, but certainly not a strength of the lens.

Vignetting
IMO, the weakest point of the lens. Wide open at both ends of the zoom, there is significant vignetting. Usually I'm not sensitive to this problem, but it really is noticeable when shooting the sky for example. Need strong correction in post (and sometimes will not fully correct the problem), or work with it into your photo.

Build/Handling/AF
AF is good but I feel that the kit lens performs better. Quite frankly I think it has better AF than the FA 50mm 1.4. It's a plastic lens, but is surprisingly well built with tight tolerances. Zoom is slightly damped with no creep. The focus ring turns when AF'ing.

Overall Comments
Vignetting wide open is unfortunate, but when weighing in all the other positives, this lens is a winner. I prefer using primes but if you need the versatility of a zoom I would highly recommend this lens.
   
Senior Member

Registered: October, 2009
Location: Germany
Posts: 154

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 19, 2010 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: sharp
Cons: build quality could be better

a great alternative for those on a budget, like me! very sharp... I had to return the first copy due to FF, but am happy with the current copy, and have relied on it many times for great results!
   
Senior Member

Registered: April, 2010
Location: California
Posts: 125

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: May 12, 2010 Recommended | Price: $420.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Fast, sharp, compact
Cons: Barrel distortion, corner softness at the wide end.

Overview - A versatile, fast, sharp wide-normal zoom that is a great alternative to other lenses in this category.

Build quality - The 17-50 is plastic bodied with a metal lens mount, heavier than the DA 18-55 but not weighty. It balances nicely on my *ist DS. My copy has no slop in the zoom or focus rings, no zoom creep. It's a definite step up from the kit lens, and feels pretty good in hand.

Image quality - Sharp throughout the zoom range, with a slight advantage to the middle and longer end. Remarkably sharp at f2.8, again better at the middle to longer end of the range. At 17mm there's softness in the extreme corners that gets better with stopping down, along with some mild CA at the edges of the frame. Bokeh is pretty good for a wide zoom, better than the kit lens and good background choice and placement can make for some nice shallow DOF shots. Color and contrast can be a little flat right out of the camera, but it perks up nicely with some post-processing, if that's the look you're going for.

Usage tips - The zoom lock button only works at 17mm, I use it to help with mounting/dismounting the lens off the body. Also, it's not technically a macro zoom, but the minimum focus distance is about 10 inches, which makes it halfway decent for small-subject photography in a pinch. It is an internal focusing design, with the plus of a non-rotating front element, but the focal length changes with focus distance.

Value - This is a fantastic option if you're looking for a fast, constant aperture zoom lens. Faster than the 18-55 and the 16-45, wider than the Sigma 18-50 and 24-60, and much less expensive than the DA 16-50.

17mm - 1/500s @ f5.6


50mm - 1/90s @ f4.0

   
Veteran Member

Registered: July, 2009
Location: Saffron Walden, Essex
Posts: 362

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: March 11, 2010 Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: very sharp, fast
Cons: AF noise, wobbly filter ring

Some niggling issues with some of these, some have a wobbly filter ring (fixable with a jeweller's screwdriver), a bit noisy when focussing, and might require FF/BF correction so a K20D or K7 is recommended. My copy has slight softness in the top centre when wide open, gone by f4 (decentering?). I've seen the soft spot on test charts, but in actual day-to-day use I've only noticed it on two photos out of thousands. Razor sharp all over by f5.6.

Overall it's a fantastic lens. The value for money is stunning! Brilliantly sharp, good colour (slightly cooler than my Pentax or Sigma lenses), reasonably fast focus. Highly recommended!
   


1 user found this helpful
Review Date: December 16, 2009 Recommended | Price: $310.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: sharp, fast, price, good contrast
Cons: cold colours, busy bokeh, CA a bit high, loud AF

My every day standard lens. I bought it to replace kit lens and I am satisfied. Flare is well controlled, but CA is a bit high. Exellent price/quality ratio and much cheaper than original in the same league. For the price, one should accept the lack of sealing, quick shift and SDM.
   
New Member

Registered: October, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 23

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: November 23, 2009 Recommended | Price: $320.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Image Quality, speed, build, feel
Cons: size compared to DA 18-55

I bought this lens as the second of my "fast" lenses after an FA50 f/1.4. It is so good it has reduced my use of the FA50 in half at least. It has also put my DA 18-55mm "Kit" lens out to pasture.

The focal range of 17-55mm is familiar to anyone with one of the standard kit lenses. What this adds is a fixed speed of f/2.8 wide open. Its hard to explain how much more versatile this lens is as a "walk around" because of the extra speed. And unlike the FA50, all of it is useable speed. There is little if any drop off in sharpness at 2.8 where as the FA50 suffers bellow f/2. I have also found that even with my K200D flashing "2.8" at me, indicating that I dont have enough light, I get perfectly useable images. I think f/2.8 is a very conservative rating.

I put the size as a con only because when i go back to the smaller DA lens, I really notice it. The 67mm size (filter) is a shock at first but I adjusted quickly and it has a very solid feel. I dont notice it until I go back to one of my smaller 52mm (filter) Pentax lenses.

I highly recommend this lens to anyone who can afford it. Sharp, fast and well made.

f/2.8, low light - I was getting the "low light warning"



f/4.5, medium light

   
New Member

Registered: November, 2009
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 2
Review Date: November 17, 2009 Recommended | Price: $350.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: light weight, tack sharp, nice brokeh, price
Cons: occasional front focus issue in low light

Picked up mine brand new since summer 2008 for my first wedding shot, beautiful pictures and they are tack sharp, it then becomes my walk around lens since
   
New Member

Registered: September, 2008
Location: Arizona
Posts: 20

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 16, 2009 Recommended | Price: $379.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Solid build, great color, fast focus and sharp.
Cons: None

I have owned this lens for less than a week...

My current kit includes the following...

smc Pentax A 50mm f/1.7
smc Pentax F 70-210mm f/4-5.6 ED
smc Pentax F 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6
smc Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited
smc Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro (1:1) Limited

...the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is worth its weight in gold! Don't hesitate to pick up a copy of this great lens. Oh yes, I added a Hoya PRO1D UV filter to the lens...my Tamron is humming like a "Limited" lens!...ok, almost :-)

I needed a lens that covered wide to standard focal lengths. Furthermore I needed the lens to have a constant aperture throughout the zoom range. I am very pleased with my Tammy!!!

09/13/2009
On the 5th of this month I shot a wedding and I used my Tammy 17-50mm to cover inside the church, which had three types of lighting to contend with, ...all went well...crystal clear, lovely color and the coating on the lens almost serves as a built-in warming filter. Once I tweaked my K20D's settings to compensate...I began to relax and enjoy the wedding through my viewfinder :-) This lens is more than likely making a few big boy manufacturers pay attention! Of course, my smc Pentax FA 77mm f/1.8 & smc Pentax DA 35mm f/2.8 Macro blow it out of the water...but that's not the point :-) For the money and the effort that Tamron put into the lens...I want the Tammy 70-200mm f/2.8...and I will only buy Pentax from that point forward.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: October, 2007
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 3,107

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: January 11, 2009 Recommended | Price: $300.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Excellent colours, very sharp and detailed, very good value.
Cons: none come to mind.

My copy of this lens is fantastic, just like my 18-250mm from Tamron. Dead accurate as far as focusing and does what you expect it to do all the while built very solidly. The 2.8 aperture makes this a fairly fast little zoom and so far is my "go to" lens when needing an overall lens for indoor shooting or just general purpose shooting. Sharp at 2.8, but deadly by 4.0. In my opinion, the best value for any zoom in this general focal range...replaces the kit lens with no further need to step up from here.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: July, 2007
Location: Florida Gulfer
Posts: 3,054

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: November 10, 2008 Recommended | Price: $420.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Fast, IQ, Price, Color.
Cons: none
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 10   

I chose this lens over the Pentax 16-45 / 16-50 & the Sigma 18-50 because of recomendations from the forum and I'm sure glad I listened. It produces wide beautiful shots from either of my cameras (K100d, K20d). I would highly recomend this lens.
   
Senior Member

Registered: February, 2007
Location: Toronto
Posts: 173

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: November 8, 2008 Recommended | Price: $420.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Image quality! - Ssharp, low abberations, excellent rendering
Cons: No quick shift focus or sealing

This is the best f/2.8 WA zoom lens I have used for K-mount for image quality. After trying and owning several DA*16-50's I eventually sold it and decided on this based on the excellent reviews it has received. The end result is that I am now extremely pleased and I can attest that this lens has all the right attributes that a top-tier f/2.8 WA lens should have. It does not have quick shift focus ala the DA lenses and is not weather sealed but more than makes up for it (unless you really absolutely need sealing in which case you have no choice) with it's absolutely superb image quality which at large apertures is significantly better than the DA*'s for edge sharpness and CA/PF control. At small apertures (f/5.6 and forward) the IQ is similar but the Tamron stil has less CA and PF and at 17mm has better distortion control than the DA* did - overall this is the best f/2.8 WA lens for K-mount that I have used as far as image quality is concerned and highly recommended.
   
Senior Member

Registered: December, 2007
Location: Finland
Posts: 214

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: October 30, 2008 Not Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 4 

 
Pros: Speed, size, price
Cons: Clear front focusing on the K10D

I got one of the first off the production line in the spring (2008), subsequently sent it back and got a second and a third copy - all of which were prone to front focusing. Now I'm waiting for a K20D so I will hopefully be able to adjust the focus (separately from other lenses).
It's a pity, since the lens is really quite sharp when correctly focused, as fast as a good zoom gets and not too bulky. It's focusing is slow and noisy but not worse than the usual Sigmas.
If you have a K10 or another body without focus point adjustment I suggest you look into the alternatives. No lens is sharp unless focused. If you have a K20 it may be just right. I might update you on this later on.
   
Site Supporter

Registered: October, 2008
Location: Wilmore, KY
Posts: 376

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: October 28, 2008 Recommended | Price: $420.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Fast, reasonably sharp, decent price
Cons: A bit large

My standard for a "10" would be the FA 31mm Ltd for a prime and probably the DA* 50-135 for a zoom. I have had this lens about a month on my K20D. Previously my usual walkaround lens was the Tammy 28-75 but I wanted a wider angle for that. This lens captures lovely color, just a bit "less" than the DA*50-135. It's almost as sharp, but my copy had a severe front-focus problem that took -9 to become acceptable. It's still not just right, so sharpness at my desired plane of focus is not what I'd hope. I plan to keep working on adjusting the AF setting. The lens feels solid and I like working with it, assuming I can get sharpness at the desired plane of focus set. The part of the image that is in focus looks very good, so I have hope that I can tweak the lens a bit more.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: May, 2008
Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 4,180

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: September 16, 2008 Recommended | Price: $429.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Sharp, even wide open, nice bokeh, nice colors & contrast
Cons: No complaints

This is a great lens, with awesome image quality throughout the zoom range. I find it better than my A 50mm 1.7 @ 50mm, and better than my Takumar f3.5 28mm @ 28mm. At 17mm there is some barrel distortion, but who cares. This lens was my K20d's first companion, and what a team they make.

The lens is amazingly sharp wide open, and gets even sharper as you stop down. The 2.8 performance makes the lens a good choice for indoor shooting. The focusing is accurate and quick. When you do all the calculations, and weigh all the variables, this lens simply shines.

Can't I find something about which to complain? Well, the focus generates some noise which does not rival Classical music. Also, you must remember to remove the hood in lower light situations, at the wide end, or you will get 2 darkened corners aligned with the larger 2 petals of the hood. It has lots of plastic. though feels well-made--this is 2008.

It gets 2 big thumbs up from me & would have a 9.5 if the ratings allowed for it I waited until I used this lens for 6 months, before I posted this review.
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