( 10 reviews )
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Posted: Jun 2 2009
I've been using this lens for a couple of weeks now and am very impressed with its quality. I have used it with my Sony Alpha a300 with no issues. I'll compare it to the kit lens (SAL 18-70) that it replaced as that is the only other wide zoom I've used myself. Pros: -The Tamron is heavier and more sturdy than the Sony lens. -It has better sharpness throughout the frame, but especially in the corners; it's slightly soft at f2.8 (though still better than the kit lens) and gets sharper as you stop it down. -Using it for indoor or nighttime shooting is great compared to the kit lens. -The aperture is 2.8 throughout the zoom range, meaning that you don't loose light when you zoom in towards 50mm. -The macro works decently well, especially with the narrow depth of field you get with a big aperture. Cons: -It doesn't go to 70mm like the kit lens, but I checked over my existing photos and barely used anything past 50mm anyways, plus you get 17mm vs. 18mm on the wide end. -Weight takes a little getting used to, but in a good way. -Not cheap, but not too expensive compared to similar lenses. -Slight distortion on the wide (17mm) end, though again, it's not as bad as the kit lens and you don't really notice. I would definitely buy this lens again and would recommend it to a friend. Definitely a very good and worthwhile upgrade to the SAL 18-70 kit lens.
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Posted: Apr 19 2009
This lens is an excellent lens. I bought it when I had my a100, and saw subtle changes in image quality.(al00 had a lot to be desired) After using it on my a700, which has an improved focusing system and the "Exmor" CMOS sensor, I am amazed at the quality I've been able to get. It took me a while to get used to how quick the focusing was; I would press the shutter half way and often times snap the the picture by mistake. Great lens.
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Posted: Jan 6 2009
I'm very satisfied with this lens that has replaced the 18-70mm kit lens. F/2.8 is good enough for indoors at available light, so I use it a lot for casual family portraits. Then, when I go out I find its wide angle (25mm equivalent) to be very versatile for cityscape or street photography (I can even shoot from my chest, without looking through the viewfinder, at 17mm, for candids and stolen portraits). The best is that is not an expensive lens. For my style of photography, I don't find much need to change lenses. Also, it's a sharp lens to go with my A700. No complains.
