Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical A-mount lens review by Pygmy

Pygmy#7112 date: Mar-17-2010
sharpness: 5 color: 4 build: 5 distortion: 4 flare control: 5 overall: 4.6	tested on: film camera: APS-C: 6MP; 10MP; 12MP; 14MP; 16MP; 20MP; 24MP full frame: 12MP; 24MP; 36MP; 42MP; 61MP
ownership:	I own this lens
compared to:	Minolta 35-105 Sigma 50 macro
price paid:	missing
positive:	Extremely sharp Nice contrasts and colours Good build
negative:	Bokeh Sometimes CA Distortion
comment:	This lens is so great value for money. I expected a cheap plastic build because of reviews here, but was positively surprised as the build feels strong and it's quite heavy. As everyone says, it's so sharp even wide open at all lengths. My copy bests at 50mm as it tends to back-focus at 17mm, but that doesn't really bother me as I use it for landscapes mostly. It does show quite some CA at times, and distortion is quite pronounced at 17mm, but I guess most wideangles have that. Unfortunately bokeh is really not that great. The colours are nice but a bit warm to my taste, so I turn down colour-temperature and get pleasing results. Fantastic combination of a lens great for landscapes, low-light and portrait! Update: it's awesome on the a77, and no more backfocus at wideangle (it was my a700)!