Tamron 17-50/2.8 VC on D90 - First impressions

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IlCatalano
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Location: Como - Italy

Tamron 17-50/2.8 VC on D90 - First impressions

Post by IlCatalano »

My most usual kind of photography is theatre, concert, and event photopgraphy; my standard equipment for that is based on 2 Nikon bodies (D90 + D5000) with 24-70/2.8 and 70-200/2.8 VRI. With this gear I do 95% of my shots, but sometime I need a few shots with a wider angle of view.
So I thought to buy a Nikkor 17-55/2.8, which I tested with extremely fine results; but considering the cost and the fact that I normally need much more frequently the 24-70 range, I decided to save money and to buy instead the stabilized version of the Tamron 17-50, the 17-50/2.8VC (450€).

I was immediately really impressed by the image quality of this lens, especially wide open, and I have made some initial tests in low light situations.

I would like to share a couple of shots with you:

My wife Milena on the couch at night, D90 Tamron 17-50/2.8 @ 50mm wide open 1/60sec. ISO 3200
Image

My wife Milena at the window in a cloudy afternoon D90 Tamron 17-50/2.8 @ 50mm wide open 1/40sec. ISO 1600
Image

If you are interested, I will send more samples with this interesting lens; from my part I can say that I'm really surprised by the image quality it delivers; I made some comparison shots between the Nikkor 24-70/2.8 and the Tamron in very low light situations. My first "quick" results are that at slow shutter speeds (i.e from 1/10sec. to 1/100sec.) the Tamron is sharper, due in my opinion to the very effective VC stabilizer.

If you think that a deeper comparison could be usefull, let me know, I try to do my best in order to post further results.

Cheers

Elio
Leen Koper
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Re: Tamron 17-50/2.8 VC on D90 - First impressions

Post by Leen Koper »

Your experience confirms mine. It is a much underrated lens and brings excellent results. I own the non stabilized version and use it for about four years. I think it is almost up to par with the Nikon equivalent.
DiederikVP
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Re: Tamron 17-50/2.8 VC on D90 - First impressions

Post by DiederikVP »

IlCatalano wrote:If you think that a deeper comparison could be usefull, let me know, I try to do my best in order to post further results.
Cheers, Elio
Hi,
How about corner sharpness, distortion, flare, AF speed etc?
Thanks and regards,
Diederik
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