The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI II comes in both Nikon DX and Canon EF-S mounts. The finish of the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II VC LD IF is good, boasting rubberised rings and mottled plastic on the barrel, although it’s not quite as refined as the own-brand options. It has modest dimensions, but incorporates a large zoom ring with a smooth action, and although the focus ring is narrower, it’s perfectly usable with a smooth, if not well-weighted action. Autofocus is good, locking on with minimal hunting and despite not being overly quick, it’s not sluggish either.
With no AF motor, operation is noisy and AF won’t work on the Nikon D3000, D5000, D60 or D40. Vibration Compensation features four stops of anti-shake, and the aperture stops down to f/32 – handy when working in bright light or for deep depth-of-field. Internally, its special glass elements are designed to combat fringeing, with lens coatings to tackle flare.
Ensuring the lens’s front element doesn’t move during focusing means it’s a lot easier to use screw-on filters and particularly rotating polarisers.
Locking the zoom ring into position when you’re not shooting means there’s no chance of the zoom slipping accidentally and knocking into something.
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