Tamron 17-50 f2.8 just arrived. Now - pics posted

[JohnnyRebel]

I just got the Tam 17-50 and tried a few snaps arond the house with the old D200. Very quick focus and seems to be fine optically. Will play around some more next week. Overall, the lens feels like a toy. Zoom ring is stiff and cheap feeling. I'm a bit surprised with a Made in Japan product. You can feel resistence as you zoom, like it's textured plastic on plastic sliding instead of the greased ball bearing feel of Nikon zooms.

I might ship it off to Tamron and see if they can give it some TLC if it doesn't start to feel smoother with some use.

OR if it doesn't just blow me away with it's Images I might return it to Adorama and just use the old, but sharp and smooth, Nikon 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5 AF I just picked up for $70 in mint condition off Ebay.

JR

 

[CptObvious]

Mine had the same feeling so I sent it to Tamron and they have it at the moment. I should have it back in a week and a half or so. The other two copies I tried weren't like this, so I'm guessing it was a bad batch.

 

[metalmania]

I wonder if the Nikon version is different in IQ comparing to Pentax version. The Tammy 17-50 for Pentax is highly recommended. Best $400 I have spent.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

I wonder if the Nikon version is different in IQ comparing to Pentax version. The Tammy 17-50 for Pentax is highly recommended. Best $400 I have spent.

I took some shots today. The snaps were pretty good:


Tamron 17-50mm (F/2.8, ISO 800, shutter 1/30, @ 48mm):

But I wasn't totally happy. At the house I made a quick comparison with an old $75 Nikon 28-85 f/3.5-4.5.

Here is a crop from the Tamron 17-50mm (F/3.5, ISO 720, shutter 1/30, @ 35mm):

And here is the same shot from the Nikkor (F/3.5, ISO 800, shutter 1/20 @ 35mm):

The Nikkor is noticably sharper. I am probably going to send the Tamron back to Adorama, but I really want a better range than this Nikon offers (28-85mm).

JR

And just to make sure there isn't a problem with the cam, here's the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 (ISO 800, shutter 1/30)

 

[CuriousMike]

If you close the Tamron down to 3.5, does the sharpness increase appreciably?

 

[Kanalua]

If you return, you may consider shelling out a few more $$ for the Sigma 17-50 f/2.7 HSM OS. Very good lens for the money.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

If you close the Tamron down to 3.5, does the sharpness increase appreciably?

My bad. I didn't give all the info. For the two shots of books:

The Tamron shot was taken at F/3.5, ISO 720, shutter 1/30
The Nikkor shot was taken at F/3.5, ISO 800, shutter 1/20.

The snapshot of my son and his dessert with the Tamron was at F/2.8, ISO 800, shutter 1/30.

JR

 

[metalmania]

Tammy 17-50 should be very sharp at 2.8 unless you have a bad copy.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Tammy 17-50 should be very sharp at 2.8 unless you have a bad copy.

If this is a matter of a bad copy, I don't mind sending this to Tamron for a repair. Adorama will refund my money for 30 days from purchase, so if I send it to Tamron I will lose the option of the full refund.

Can you post an example of just how sharp the Tamron s/b @ F/2.8 and @ F/3.5?

JR

 

[twistedlogic]

The Tamron shot was taken at F/3.5, ISO 720, shutter 1/30
The Nikkor shot was taken at F/3.5, ISO 800, shutter 1/20.

Where these shot hand-held?

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Where these shot hand-held?

yes, sitting in chair, elbows brace against my body, holding my breath after half exhaling. I took three shots with each lens and the results were consistent. Shot in P mode on the D200, JPEG fine large. The crop is taken from the center of the shot.

JR

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Ok, I've read a ton of reviews and have gotten a consensus that this lens s/b very sharp. I'm going to return it to Adorama for a swap, and if the new one isn't sharp I'll send it off to Tamron. I really do want this lens to work for me at this price on the cheapo D200 I just picked up for almost nothing.
JR

 

[CptObvious]

Try testing on a tripod with a remote shutter release or self-timer. It's hard to tell from looking at the photos if the softness is caused by motion blur or something else like front/back focusing. Take 3 of your books, pull one closer to you, one further away, and one behind that one, then focus on the one in the middle and shoot. If the front or back one is in focus, then the Tamron's focus may need calibrating.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Try testing on a tripod with a remote shutter release or self-timer. It's hard to tell from looking at the photos if the softness is caused by motion blur or something else like front/back focusing. Take 3 of your books, pull one closer to you, one further away, and one behind that one, then focus on the one in the middle and shoot. If the front or back one is in focus, then the Tamron's focus may need calibrating.

I will try these....

Interestingly, I did redo the shot in manual focus with good results. Here is the same crop:

JR

 

[spikespiegal]

I have the 17-50 Tamron, and on my 60D its as sharp as my Canon 50mm 1.4 and 100mm macro primes. It's a superb lens, although I find it softer at the wide end than the 50mm end. However, at 50mm I cannot tell it from my 50mm other than a tad more CA in lighting extremes. At *any* stop it's just as good.

I suggest re-testing with a tripod and you'll see how sharp it actually is.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

OK, I returned the Tamron lens. I am convinced that it has issues with its autofocus. I did more testing with tripod and self-timer -- the auto-focus just never nailed it. Manually focused, the lens sharpness was excellent. I am sure that Tamron would have fixed it and/or Adorama would have replaced it if that was what i wanted to do.

What it really came down to is that one huge part of my photography is that I simply love the equipment. I love cameras, I love lenses. I still shoot my AE-1, I still shoot the F4, I recently purchased a rebuilt (better than new - tripman.co.uk) Olympus Trip 35 and have an Olympus PEN that I refurbished (not better than new) myself.

I just could not love this lens.

So I purchased the excellent, but not as fast, Nikon 18-70 f/3.5-4.5 AF-S DX lens from Adorama. It is factory refurbished by Nikon; which means it's better than new. Nikon refurbished products are checked over by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians.

The Nikon 18-70 is tack sharp, has fast and accurate auto-focus, and is much better in low light than I would have thought. I'll just break out the 35mm F/1.8 if I am shooting in low light, and will add the 50mm F/1.8. My total expense for the Nikon 18-70 plus the 50 will be lower than just the Tamron lens.

JR