Tamron SP AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD ASPHERICAL (IF) Reviews

I have become a fan of Tamron lenses. They are reasonably fast, competively sharp and very good value. I have the 17-35mm and use it mostly for landscape and have recently begun to use it for general purpose and people pictures (the story telling kind v. classical portraiture). I find this lens to be very reliable regardless of the amount of light (many night cityscapes). It is sharper than the 28-75mm at the lower appertures and more neutral (versus warm or cool). I have this lens (and a 28-75mm f2.8) for both of the systems I use (Sony/Minolta and Canon). I guess that speaks for itself. I chose this lens initially because of comparison reviews between it and the Canon 17-40L. This include both professional and user reviews. The pictures that I have taken with this lens has garnered more praise than any other lens I have used for landscapes. Apparently, the word is getting out about this lens. When I bought my second one (Canon mount) I paid $279 brand new and I have seen the price rising to over $400! This is the bargain lens of all bargain lenses and I think the pictures it takes speak for themselves.

The other deciding factor for me came from chasing down pictures others have taken using this lens and then comparing them to the competition. I suggest that you do the same and then give this lens a try. I am certain that the price will then continue to climb when more folk find out how good this lens really is. I am not worried about the price... Unless, of course, I add Nikon or Pentax as a third system and need another one.

If you plan to use this lens on a film SLR or full frame CCD D-SLR camera just beware of it's very very poor corner performance. It's so bad that the detail totally disappears and you end up with a color soup kind of image. Even an untrained eye can immediately notice this very disturbing performance of the lens. However it may be ok or even better than it's Canon rival 17-40mm f4 when it comes to APS-C format CCD DSLRs.

I don't know about redu's comments but this lens works very nicely on my Nikon dSLR. For the price, it is very hard to beat. It sharpens up nicely as you stop down, but even wide open it produces nice (though soft) shots. It brings out my children's eyes beautifully and I can get in nice and close. To beat it, I would need to buy the equivalent Nikkor f/2.8 for 4 times as much.