Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC Review

Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC at the Mississippi Gulf Coast

 by Jamey Oser

This summer, I had the chance to use the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC during my family vacation to the Mississippi gulf coast.  I have had many opportunities to use and learn about this lens in the store, but this was the first time using it somewhere that you would actually enjoy what comes out of the camera.  I truly enjoyed using this lens in every situation I came upon. 

The first night we got there was the only time that I had a chance to use the VC (vibration compensation) and the super bright 2.8 aperture in low light.  When I needed to stop the movement of my daughters walking the beach, I could.  And when it got even darker, the tri-axial VC system worked so well that I could regularly get blur free pictures as slow as 1/13th second exposures hand.

Even though you normally think of lenses like Tamron’s 18-270 PZD or the Nikon 18-200 VR and all-in-one lenses, I think this may be my new ideal all-in-one lens.  The reason is that with the super sharp f2.8 lens and VC it will get great pictures in any light.  Because of the clarity, you can crop out 90% or more of the image and it still holds up, which reduces the need to always carry a telephoto lens.

 

This crop is less than 7% of the original 8.2MP file from my 30D.  Just imagine how it would do with newer 12MP to 24MP sensors.

The lens has reasonable 1:4.8 maximum magnification rate that will let you get nice close-ups.

But if you put on a 20mm extension tube, it becomes great at macro.

If it isn’t obvious, I really enjoyed using this lens.  The closest thing to a negative about it was I got more lens flairs than normal. But if I would have used the supplied lens shade, that probably would not have been a problem.  I definitely plan on making the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC a permanent place in my camera bag.  Doing so will probably eliminate three other lenses currently being carried around.

About Jamey Oser

I caught the photo bug during an elective photography course in college and was hooked when I saw that first black and white image start to form in dark room.  For the next 16 years, I have worked for Cord Camera in Indianapolis.  I have embraced the conversion from film to digital photography, but I don’t think that great photos can be created in post production computer work.  The image should be right when it is captured, no matter what media you record on.

I have enjoyed competitive photography and documenting my family grow over the years.  I have recently started teaching private photography lessons.  Passing on some of the tricks of photography that I have learned over the years is very rewarding. 

If you have any questions about my images or lessons, please contact me at oserimages@att.net.