BACKGROUND I had been looking to replace the so-so kit lens on my Canon 400d and agonised over the possible options for several weeks. I wanted a lens to broadly replace the kit lens range of 18-55mm - with a good wide angle and some telephoto zoom, but not too much of a range so that optical...

Image sharpness; constant f2 .

Some distortion at widest setting; motor noise

The product is great because it has a very wide aperture for a zoom lens, without breaking the budget! It's also a constant f/2.8, so you have great aperture even when fully zoomed in.

This lens is performs astoundingly according to my desire. Pictures are pretty sharp and fit splendidly into my sort of photography -nature, nightfalls, and architectures. All things considered, I am content with the lens and utilize it as my essential lens.

Outperforms similarly priced lenses, but quality control could be an issue

Fast f/2.8 constant-aperture; Good sharpness

No full-time manual override

This is a great lens to take a step up from stock.

The Tamron AF 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] VC is a very promising lens based on its specifications. However, it falls somewhat short of the high expectations especially when considering the excellent performance of its non-VC variant.

Features & handling This is a well-designed lens that feels really nice. The zoom ring is a good size and has a positive feel to it. The focusing ring is very loose in manual mode, which is a bit disappointing considering the rest of the build.

Besides the motor being rather loud, I really can't complain about this lens. The price is great for the quality. I have this lens on my camera 70% of the time and I am definitely impressed with how well it works in low light.

Easy To Use

Loud motor

After using it for around 3 months, have to say it is not at all impressive. May be I hv a bad copy, but this lens consistently churns out average photos. Either go for Nikon (which is costlier but impressive output) or stick with cheaper Nikon 18-55.

I bought this lens used from someone on here. He mentioned the dial was stiff and it is. It's not so bad but I have to get used to gripping it instead of just zooming with one finger. I don't know if that is normal for a new one or not.