C Marks's reviews

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF SP AF

This is a very nice lens for crop cameras. This is a great alternative to your branded models.

The lens has a nice size and light weight. It takes 67mm filters. With a regular B+W Polarizer on there is no vignetting at 17mm.

Good colors, contrast, and sharpness.

My lens is a bit soft in the corners at f/2.8 the center is good but corners are soft. If you crop to an 8x10 print-that would solve it. Stop down to f/3.2 and corners sharpen up pretty nice and is much sharper than f/2.8 Go to f/4.6 and it is even better. You can expect that on any lens and this one does not disappoint.

I find mine is really sharp from f/3.5 to f/8 and try to keep my f/stop there only going to 2.8 in the dimmest light. Or center your subject and then the soft corners help the blurry background.

I find the lens to be quiet-maybe not as silent as a 85/1.8 USM, but still pretty quiet. Maybe being used to the ka-chunk of a medium format shutter makes this little buzz seem quiet. It's all relative. I think the shutter of the 400D is louder than the focus of the Tamron.

When I was looking I tried a 17-40L And while it was nice it was also bigger, heavier, and more $$ than I wanted to spend. The Tamron gives me something smaller, faster, cheaper, and just as sharp.

A very good buy. Save $200 toward another lens.