Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC LD IF Lens Review

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Review

ISO 12233 Crops

Vignetting

Lens Flare

Lens Distortion

Lens Specifications

Lens Images

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A full Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens review is planned, but here is a quick lab-only review:

Based on the quality-for-the-price ratio of the non-VC Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lens, I had very high hopes for the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens. Taking the good image quality of the non-VC 17-50 and adding vibration control to it sounded like a recipe for success to me. A recipe that should close the feature/benefits gap between it and the excellent Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens on Canon EOS 60D - Top View with Hood

Preliminary findings from lab-only testing have been somewhat disheartening however. You can see the image quality results in the ISO 12233 resolution chart link above. Basically, the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens is reasonably sharp in the center at its constant wide open aperture of f/2.8. Corners, however, are very soft wide open. All four corners are similarly soft throughout the focal length range with the exception of 35mm where the right side is slightly softer (shown in ISO 12233 results) than the left. The difference at 35mm is not very significant though.

As is usually the case with a lens that does not deliver excellent image quality with a wide open aperture, stopping down the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens results in a noticeable optical performance improvement. The wider half of the 17-50 VC looks much better at f/4 and the longer half prefers f/5.6.

The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens has strong barrel distortion at 17mm transitioning to slight barrel distortion at 24mm and to essentially no distortion at 35mm and 50mm. CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well controlled with CA being evident primarily in the 17mm corners.

Between 1.5 and 2 stops of vignetting is visible in the corners. By f/4, vignetting is much improved with some corner darkening still visible at 17mm where is remains slightly visible even at f/8 where .9 stops of shading remain.

Model	Weight		Dimensions w/o Hood		Filter	Year
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens	16.8 oz	(475g)	3.3 x 3.8"	(84 x 97mm)	77mm	2003
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lens	15.3 oz	(434g)	3.2 x 2.9"	(81.7 x 74mm)	67mm	2006
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens	20.1 oz	(570g)	3.1 x 3.7"	(79.6 x 94.5mm)	72mm	2009
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens	22.8 oz	(645g)	3.3 x 4.4"	(83.5 x 110.6mm)	77mm	2006
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens	16.8 oz	(475g)	3.1 x 3.6"	(79 x 92mm)	67mm	2004
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	7.1 oz	(200g)	2.7 x 2.8"	(68.5 x 70mm)	58mm	2007
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	16.1 oz	(455g)	3.0 x 4.0"	(75.4 x 101mm)	67mm	2009
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	21 oz	(595g)	3.1 x 4.0"	(78.6 x 102mm)	72mm	2008
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens	33.5 oz	(950g)	3.3 x 4.9"	(83 x 124mm)	77mm	2002
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens	23.7 oz	(670g)	3.3 x 4.2"	(83.5 x 107mm)	77mm	2005
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Lens	18 oz	(510g)	2.9 x 3.6"	(73 x 92mm)	67mm
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens	10.2 oz	(290g)	2.9 x 2"	(74 x 51mm)	58mm	1993
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens	4.6 oz	(130g)	2.7 x 1.6"	(68 x 41mm)	52mm	1990

Overall, the Tamron 17-50mm non-VC lens is sharper, has less vignetting, has a similar amount of CA and has less barrel distortion on the wide end but more pincushion distortion on the long end. The non-VC 17-50 is a bit smaller and lighter. Obviously the 17-50 VC has the 4-stop-rated (I didn't test this yet) stabilization advantage.

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens' AF is loud. AF speed is not bad, but the noise deceptively makes the focusing seem slow. VC is also loud.

Model	MFD		MM
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens	11.0"	(280mm)	.25x
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II Lens	10.6"	(270mm)	.25x
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC Lens	11.4"	(290mm)	.21x
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens	13.8"	(350mm)	.16x
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens	11.8"	(300mm)	.20x
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	9.8"	(250mm)	.34x
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	17.7"	(450mm)	.21x
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens	17.7"	(450mm)	.24x
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens	15.0"	(380mm)	.29x
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens	17.7"	(450mm)	.23x
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Lens	13.0"	(330mm)	.26x
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens	17.7"	(450mm)	.15x
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens	17.7"	(450mm)	.15x