Tamron SP 17mm f/3.5 Reviews

This lens was manufactured in two versions. The first version, model 51B, featured built-in filters for black and white photography. The later version, model 151B, discarded the built-in filters and is a cosmetic redesign of the original 51B model. The optical design is identical for both models.

Optical performance: Overall optical performance is very good, being just a hare behind the optical performance of similar more expensive OEM lenses. Performance is very slightly soft wide open at F/3.5 towards the corners, noticeably improves at F/4 and is very good by F/5.6, and is excellent at smaller apertures.

Build Quality: This is a solid lens which features better than average construction.

Ergonomics: Overall handling is excellent with easy to use focus rings and aperture rings. Size is not much larger than a 50mm F/1.4 lens.

Caveats: Lens takes rather large 82mm filters which thread into the accessory lens hood for the lens.

Overall Bang For The Buck: 5/5.

On digital, it produces awful colour fringing. The flare is bad too.

Dickbach may be suffering from a little undestood problem using older lenses on digital bodies. On a digital sensor the light must arrive as close to perpendicular as possible or else the micro lenses on the sensor will show CA. Older lenses for film did not have this problem to worry about.

This lens has the rear element about as far back as you dare and I suspect it is far from 'telecentric' so that the light at the edges of the frame is along way off perpendicular - hence CA.

You just dont get it on film - mine is almost without fringing on film even wide open in the corners (OK just a tiny bit), but gone by f/4.

All ultra wides flare and this is no worse than my Sigma 15-30 zoom (which is a very nice lens BTW if a little odd)

I have the 51B model with built in filter - very nice for B+W - you get 81A,Yellow and Red.
However that model has no filter ring so you're stuck if you want anything else.

Its sharp for an ultrwide

Its small light and easy to use - small and light are important - I rarely use it but dont mind finding it a corner of the kit bag just in case (not like my sigma zoom!)

A 2nd hand bargain if you want to try ultrawide on film.

I'm using mine on a Sigma DSLR with 1.7x crop sensor and unlike Dickbach I dont get any CA issues at all, even with it wide open. The lens is very good wide open, certainly a lot better than my Tokina 17mm f3.5. It produces 10-pointed stars around bright lights at night which are ok but the Tokina produces 6 pointed stars, which look better to my eyes.
Build quality it very good but the aperture dial can be a bit fiddly to get to once the lens is mounted on my DSLR.
I have the early model with built in filters, but I dont use any of them.
I did'nt get the dedicated Tamron lens hood with mine so as a solution to the lack of a front filter thread, I have removed the glass from a 67mm UV filter and epoxied it onto the front, giving the lens a 67mm filter thread, same as the Tokina, which is turn makes front filters cheaper to buy and easier to obtain.
It also means that I can use cheap universal rubber lens hoods on it as well.