Review Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

In short

The Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is a balanced fast universal zoom lens for cropped cameras. An alternative for more expensive Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm 1: 2.8G ED IF SWM и Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 17-55mm 1: 2.8 IS USM.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is a significant upgrade to an older version Tamron 17-50mm F / 2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF). The main innovation is the availability of the image stabilizer Tamron VC.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is available only for Nikon (model B005 N II) and Canon (model B005 E) cameras.

In general, the Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is on par with a similar third-party lens - Sigma DC 17-50mm 1: 2.8 Zoom EX OS HSM,

The Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC has been in my personal use for a long time as a 'workhorse' for crop cameras and left a good impression.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Key Features of Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC:

Assembly

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is made only in Japan. To the touch the lens is pleasant, strong, weighty. The retractable frame of the body ('trunk') consists of one section, which is strong enough, without any backlash. To the touch Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is much better than its previous model Tamron 17-50mm F / 2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF).

The lens has metal bayonet mount. The zoom and focus rings are rubberized. Changing the focal length runs smoothly. The zoom ring can rotate quite tight for the first time.

There is a bayonet mount mark and a mark on the case for quick installation of the hood. The lens uses a plastic hood, which is fixed in special grooves located near the front lens of the lens. The hood can be installed in the opposite direction for transportation. In this position, access to the focus ring at 17 mm focal length is lost. When you change the focal length, the lens hood moves with the front of the lens.

When changing the focal length, the rear lens moves in the middle of the lens body like a pump - it draws in and pushes out air. This behavior of the rear lens is called 'vacuum cleaner effect', which can increase the amount of dust that accumulates in the camera.

The number of diaphragm blades is 7 pieces. At the same time, they are slightly rounded and already form a heptagon on strongly covered diaphragms.

For Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC, the direction of rotation of the zoom and focus rings coincides with the direction of the original Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm 1: 2.8G ED IF SWM.

It is believed to be a lens from the Tamron SP professional line. Many professional lenses use the classic 77 mm filters, 72 and 82 mm - less often. The Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC has 72mm filters.

Despite the good build of the Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC, the overall reliability of the lens is very much inferior to the original metal super-lens Nikon 17-55 / 2.8G.

Repair masters claim that the internal implementation of the lens assemblies is not very good. Personally, I was faced with the fact that with a light blow, the section on which the focus and stabilizer switches are mounted broke completely. This section is made of very thin prastik.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Lock 'LOCK ′

Frame (trunk) at Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC does not spontaneously change its size under its own weight (perhaps this can only begin with time). To prevent future inconveniences, a focal length switch 'LOCK' (the so-called 'lock') is present on the lens body, which tightly locks focal length at a value of 17 mm.

To fix the trunk of the lens, you must first set the 17 mm focal length. Near the button there is a drawn arrow that indicates in which direction the switch should be moved to lock the lens.

The switch is located in a convenient place - under the thumb of the left hand, so the lens can be quickly and comfortably 'removed from the lock' before starting shooting.

The effect of spontaneous changes in focal length (trunk creep) in this lens is quite noticeable.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Focusing

For focusing, the lens uses a micro motor that is noisy. Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC will automatically focus on all Nikon DX cameras.

When used on a camera Nikon D40, D80, D200, Nikon D90 with unpretentious focusing systems the lens behaved well. I had no particular problems with focusing accuracy and tenacity. The lens clings well to the subjects being shot, rarely refocuses. The number of focusing misses is minimal.

Auto focus speed average, comfortable for the vast majority of photo tasks. Focusing speed is significantly lower than the original Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm 1: 2.8G ED IF SWM. Let me remind you that Nikon 17-55 / 2.8G so far it is the fastest original lens in the Nikon DX series (it uses a large and powerful ring SWM motor).

The focusing speed of the Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is identical to the older version with the focusing motor (Tamron 17-50mm F / 2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) A16 NII)

Focus on Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC internal - when focusing, neither the front nor the rear lens rotates, and the lens itself does not change its size when focusing. Sorry, but during auto focus focus ring rotates and cannot be touched. In such Nikon lenses, the focus ring remains stationary during auto focus.

In manual focus mode, the focus ring rotates approximately 60 degrees. Manual focus is quite inconvenient. When extreme positions are reached, the focus ring abuts and cannot be rotated further.

With manual focus, if the focus ring is tightly clasped, the focus ring starts to jerk. To manually shift the focus ring, you have to make a considerable effort, after which the ring begins to move and flies over the desired value.

The minimum focusing distance is only 29 cm (the distance from the camera’s matrix to the subject). With such an MDF, the maximum magnification ratio is 1: 4.8.

The lens has focus mode switch 'AF / MF'. For manual focus, the lens must be switched to 'M' mode, otherwise the focus motor may be damaged. Unfortunately, unlike many Nikon lenses of this type, Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC does not support continuous manual focus mode.

Focus Features:

• There is a strong effect of 'Focus Breathing' (changing the viewing angle during focusing). During focusing towards MDF, the viewing angle increases.
• When changing the focal length, focusing is a bit confused.
• Unknown compatibility with teleconverters.
• Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC does not have hard stop (hard infinity mechanical stop) which allows you to accurately and quickly focus the lens at infinity under any external conditions.
• The lens has a focus distance scale with marks in meters and feet. The scale is plotted on the focus ring. The scale is very meager, on it there are marks for only 6 values ​​of the focusing distance (including 'infinity'). More advanced lenses usually use a scale in the form of a special window.
• Focus shift (shift-focus) was not noticed.
• Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC has no focus problems in Live View (tested on Nikon D90 ), but focuses slowly.
• The lens transmits the focus distance to the subject in the camera (analog Nikon D, Nikon G).
• Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is a third-party lens. It may happen that it will not work correctly with some Nikon cameras. Details on this issue are considered by me. here.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Stabilizer

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC can use the built-in image stabilizer.

There is a VC ON / OFF stabilizer operation switch on the lens. The stabilizer works with noticeable noise.

The manufacturer does not indicate the effectiveness of the stabilizer. In practice, Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC holds 2-3 stops on shutter speedwhich is quite good. I was able to take pictures of stationary objects from hand to hand without any problems shutter speed 1/15 sec and 50 mm focal length.

Nowhere is it indicated whether the stabilizer can track the movement of the lens during panoramic shooting. Unlike the original Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 16-85mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED VR SWM IF Aspherical Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC has no choice of Active / Normal stabilization modes or the like

Important: during stabilizer activation (pressing the autofocus and / or metering activation button exposure) and during its deactivation (a few seconds after inactivity), the image in the viewfinder twitches noticeably. If you take a picture at this moment, you can get a blurry frame. To avoid this, you need to wait a bit after activating or deactivating the stabilizer.

Important: during shooting with the built-in flash with the stabilizer on, after each shutter release, the stabilizer turns off and on. Most likely this is due to the power consumption for charging the built-in flash. There is no such problem with an external flash.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Image quality

The lens is sharp in the center even at F2.8 and at all focal lengths, but still, it is far from fixed lenses. When you close the aperture to F3.5, contrast increases markedly. Closing to F5.6 sharply increases sharpness. The lens is very sharp on the F11-F16 aperture. Color reproduction is normal, the lens even boasts a nice nice bokeh at 50mm and F2.8. HA visible only 17 mm. If you really need it, then at 50 mm F2.8 you can shoot portraits, but even Nikon 50mm F1.8D a portrait will do better. A serious drawback of the image quality of the lens is distortion, which almost disappears by 50 mm. The lens also has a strong vignette of 17 mm (in the vicinity of the step at the edges of the frame) and a little smaller by 50 mm.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Sample Photos

The lens below is shown under real-world camera shooting conditions. Nikon D90:

You can take a look at a lot of photos from real shootings. here, here, here и here.

Personal impressions

The Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC is a usable lens. But still Sigma DC 17-50mm 1: 2.8 Zoom EX OS HSM I like it more. There are several reasons: a quieter focusing motor of a different type, fewer problems with the focusing ring, and there is no jerking of the picture when the stabilizer is turned on. At the same time, for a long time I used Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC for professional purposes and was completely satisfied with its optical performance and general capabilities.

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC

Prices for the Tamron 17-50mm F / 2.8 XR Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) lens in popular online stores can look at this linkor in the price block located below:

All Tamron 17-50 prices

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All fast universal zoom lenses

Below is a list of all such aperture-type universal zoom autofocus lenses for SLR and mirrorless cameras with an APS-C sensor or less.

Tokina (DX, various mounts)

1. Tokina AT-X PRO SD 16-50 F2.8 DX Internal Focus, model AT-X 165 PRO DX, for Canon (C/EF version) and Nikon (N/AIS version), from July 2006. Optical design is the same as Pentax SMC DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM

Tamron (DI II, DI III-A, various mounts)

1. Tamron Aspherical LD ​​XR DI II SP AF 17-50 mm 1: 2.8 [IF], model A16 N / E / P / S (under Nikon [N], Canon [E], Pentax [P], Sony / Minolta [S]), since February 2006. Produced in Japan, China and Vietnam
2. promaster DIGITAL XR EDO AF Ashperical LD ​​[IF] 17-50 mm 1: 2.8 MACROprevious lens under the brand Promaster
3. Tamron Aspherical LD ​​XR DI II SP AF 17-50 mm 1: 2.8 [IF], model A16 NII (only for Nikon cameras), since March 2008
4. Tamron Di II SP 17-50 mm F / 2.8 VC B005, model B005 E / NII (for Canon [E] or Nikon [NII]), from September 2009, Japan or China)
5. Tamron 17-70 mm F / 2.8 Di III-A VC RXD Model B070, Model B070, Sony E only, from December 2020

Sigma (DC, different mounts)

With constant maximum aperture (DC EX and DC ART series):

1. Sigma DC ZOOM 18-50mm 1: 2.8 EX (+ -D), since July 2004, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K. The version for the '4/3' system has been available since February 2006 (not mass-produced). The version for Nikon in its name includes the prefix 'D'.
2. Sigma dc 18-50mm 1: 2.8 EX MACRO, since September 2006, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, 4/3
3. Sigma dc 18-50mm 1: 2.8 EX MACRO HSM, since June 2007, for Nikon DX cameras only (Nikon F mount)
   
4. Sigma dc 17-50mm 1: 2.8 ZOOM EXOS HSM, from February 2010, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A
5. Sigma dc 18-35mm F1.8 A [ART, HSM], from April 2013, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A
6. SIGMA DC 18-50 mm 1: 2.8 DN C [Contemporary], since Oct 2021, for Sony E, Leica L

With variable maximum aperture (DC and DC Contemporary series):

1. Sigma dc 17-70mm 1:2.8-4.5, February 2006, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A
2. Sigma dc 17-70mm 1:2.8-4.5 MACRO HSM, from July 2007, for Nikon DX cameras only (Nikon F mount)
   
3. Sigma dc 17-70mm 1:2.8-4 MACRO HSM OS, from December 2009, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A
4. Sigma dc 17-70mm 1:2.8-4 C, [MACRO, OS, HSM, Contemporary], from September 2012, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A
5. Sigma dc 18-50mm 1:2.8-4.5 HSM OS ZOOM, from March 2009, for Sigma SA, Nikon F, Canon EFS, Pentax K, Sony / Minotla A

Nikon (DX, F mount)

1. Nikon DX VR AF-S Nikkor 16-80mm 1:2.8-4E ED N, Nikon F mount, from July 2015
2. Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 17-55mm 1: 2.8G ED IF SWM, Nikon F mount, from July 2003

Pentax (DA, Q, K and Q mounts)

1. Pentax SMC DA * 16-50 mm 1:2.8 ED AL (IF) SDM, Pentax KAF2 mount, since February 2007. Optical design is similar to the lens Tokina AT-X PRO SD 16-50 F2.8 DX Internal Focus (joint development of Tokina and Pentax)
2. HD PENTAX-DA * 1: 2.8 16-50 mm ED PLMAW, from July 2021, Pentax KAF4 mount
3. HD Pentax-DA 1: 2.8-4 20-40 mm ED Limited DC WR, Pentax KAF3 mount, black or silver body, from November 2013
4. SMC Pentax 1: 2.8-4.5 5-15 mm ED AL [IF] [LENS 02], Pentax Q mount (crop factor Kf=5.53X or Kf=4.65X)

Canon (EFS, EF-S mount)

1. Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 17-55mm 1: 2.8 IS USM (Image Sabilizer, Ulstrasonic, EFS), Canon EF-S mount, since May 2006

Sony (DT, A and E mounts)

1. Sony DT 2.8/16-50 SSM, Sony A mount (Minolta A), since August 2011
2. Sony E 2.8/16-55G (Sony SEL1655G), Sony E bayonet mount, from August 2019

Fujifilm(X)

1. Fujinon Ashperical Lens Nano-GI XF 16-55mm 1: 2.8 R LM WR, Fujifilm X mount, since January 2015
2. Fujinon Ashperical Lens Super EBC XF 18-55mm 1:2.8-4 RLM OIS, Fujifilm X mount, September 2012

Samsung (NX)

1. Samsung lens 1: 2-2.8 S 16-50 mm ED OIS i-Function, Samsung NX mount, since January 2014

Olympus/Panasonic/Leica/Yongnuo (4/3, Micro 4/3, Kf=2X)

Mirrored 4/3:

1. OLYMPUS ZUIKO Digital 11-22 mm 1:2.8-3.5, from February 2004
2. OLYMPUS Digital 14-54 mm 1:2.8-3.5, from June 2003
3. OLYMPUS Digital 14-54 mm 1:2.8-3.5 II, from November 2008
4. OLYMPUS ZUIKO Digital 14-35 mm 1: 2 ED SWDsince January 2005
5. Panasonic Lumix LEICA D VARIO-ELMARIT 1: 2.8-3.5 /14-50 ASPH. MEGA OIS, from July 2006

Mirrorless Micro 4/3:

1. OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 12-40 mm 1:2.8 PRO, since October 2013
2. Panasonic Lumix Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25 mm f / 1.7 ASPH.since May 2019
3. LUMIX G VARIO 1: 2.8 /12-35 ASPH. POWER OIS, since June 2012, in March 2017 an improved sub-version is released (outwardly they do not differ in any way)
4. Panasonic Lumix Leica DG Vario-ELMARIT 1: 2.8-4.0 /12-60 ASPH., since March 2017
5. Yongnuo 12-35 F2.8-4 STM ASPH, since April 2023

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC and Sigma DC 18-50mm 1: 2.8 EX MACRO HSM

Conclusions

Tamron Di II SP 17-50mm F / 2.8 VC - balanced versatile fast lens with convenient focal lengths for DX cameras and an image stabilizer. Suitable as a good staffer for DX cameras.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram