 | Tamron AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4.0 Di LD SP Aspherical (IF) Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras |
| List Price: | $817.95 |
| Price: | $299.95 |
Product Description
TAMRON AF 17-35MM - Now there's an affordable super wide-angle autofocus zoom that's perfect for travel, landscape, group portraits, adventure photography and more. DI (Digitally Integrated Design) is TAMRON's designation for lenses whose optical systems meet the performance characteristics of Digital SLR and film cameras. Hybrid Aspherical lens technology Lens construction - 11 Groups / 14 Elements -- 7 Blade Diaphragm Filter size - 77mm Dimensions - 3.4 Length x 3.3 Diameter Weight - 15.5 ounces approximately Includes flower shaped lens hood 6 year warranty For use with NIKON mount cameras only
Customer Reviews
Superb Lens
Bought this lens from Amazon for a 35mm film SLR (Canon EOS 7NE) and it is
the best lens I had so far.
Color & sharpness are unbelievable!
The only drawback is a very minor barrel distortion.
Nice fast lens.
I bought this lens for use indoors at family gatherings and for scenery. I knew this was a fast lens (f/2.8) but was surprised at the physical size of it. I was also amazed at the filter size it required as well. Anyway, I gave the lens to my son (we both shoot with Nikon D50s) and he LOVES this lens. He has taken hundreds of images with it and the ones I have seen are GREAT. Sharp and clear. I should mention that I went with the Sigma 18-50mm because it was physically smaller, utilizes the 58mm filter size available in my camera bag, and cost about $200 less.
Nice going, Tamron!
For film cameras, 17-35mm has become the most versatile "very wide angle" zoom range. With digital bodies this focal range translates to ca. 25-52mm, what makes this lens a "wide to standard" zoom. Because the lens is calculated for full 35mm size frame, vignetting is not a problem. Most of full frame lenses are in their best sugar spot, when used on DX sized digital sensors, and this Tamron is not an exception.
The lens is not f2.8 in its entire range, but seemingly Tamron chose to design it this way as a compromise toward making it small and light. Compare this lens to the Nikkor 17-35 f2.8 AFS, both in terms of weight, and also in terms of its very attractive price. Of course, for some users all this plastic is just "too cheap" and is not an acceptable option. Personally I vote rather for less grams/pounds, if optical valors are comparable.
The lens seems to be quite sharp, and tests confirm its excellent resolution. Mine has only very little distortions, however I saw exemplars of this lens exhibiting visibly more barrel distortions! Probably the manufacturing tolerances are not tight enough...
Front element does not rotate with focusing, but the focusing ring rotates and thus the lens does not support the automatic AF/MF overwrite, like in a AFS Nikkor or in a usual Canon EF lens.
The hood is a total loss. It simply reflects too much light on its internal side. Tamron should really coat their hoods for better light absorption, like others do! Fortunately, this lens seem to control flare quite well. I tend to shade the lens with a hand anyway.
Considering the very attractive price, resolution and weight, this is a good product, great value for the money. If you do not like plastic like that, consider than the need to spend $1200 for the genuine Nikkor alternative, and maybe than the plastic will not appear that bad after all.
My generic problem with all Di XP Tamron lenses is however their lack of good grip to perform quick lens exchange. When changing this lens, you will end up turning both focusing and zooming rings to some degree, sometimes to a lot of degree... I wish that Tamron would have made the both rings a bit shorter, and provided good grip in the middle to turn the lens reliably into and out of the mount.
