Tamron 17-28mm F2.8 RXD (A046) Review | 4K 

Revisiting all your older reviews for my new A7iv. Thanks again for such a useful content library Dustin!

Thanks for the review, highly appreciated! Very useful information with everything you need to know, awesome!

Great review, full of very useful informations... thank you for that good job !

Great and informative video, sir! As always!

Great review Dustin. Very informative!

I appreciate this review very much. I have this lens on order and am happy that the wait will be worth it!

The absolute best RU-vid channel for any photography products reviews.

this is THE go to site when choosing a lens, thankyou dustin!

Thanks a lot for the review. Have bought this lens as a kit for my new a7iii last December. I really love the sharpness. Was doing some interiors. I found that in case of smaller rooms, 17mm is slightly restricting, still fine. For portraits, I'd really would have liked if it would have gone till 35mm. But it's light, internal zooming and takes ring filters.

good review as always, thx for video

Thank u for another great review, i all ready own it and its amazing, im looking forward to the telephoto zoom from Tamron EF- Greetings for a videographer in Colombia

Great review once again, mate. Cant wait to see your thoughts on the 35mm 1.2. Tamron are on fire at the moment.

I’ve always been a prime lens shooter and I’ll always will. But I picked this up along with the 70-180mm from tamron and so far it’s been such an awesome experience.

Mr Abbott is my go to guy when i need to buy a lens, 17-28 will surely complement my 28-75 Tamron nicely

Great review 👍🏼💐 thanks 🇨🇦

A really nice review of a really nice lens :)

Great review!

Another good video by Dustin Abbott. He tells us what is important to know.

Yes! I've been waiting for this review! Thanks!!

It's been a while since I logged on to your channel Dustin as I'm really happy with my gear lineup. A friend asked my opinion about this Tamron and the Sigma 14-24 2.8 and my first port of call is here. After just watching the Sigma 14-24 and now this review I must say for an in-depth gear review there is only ONE stop. Best of luck for 2020.

thanks for the review... it cover it all...

When in doubt, I know where to come. Thanks a million!

Another excellent review. I'll get the Tamron 17-28 after watching your videos on the lens. Would like to have the Sigma 14-24 for that extra 3mm on the wide end but the Tamron is lighter, cheaper and more compact. And perhaps most important - it can take the same front filters as my Tamron 28-200. If I ever need to go wider than 17mm I guess I just have to be creative.

Great review!! Thanks. Have you tested it for Astro?

Hello Mr. Abbott....outstanding review. I have been following your many lens reviews for last two years. And you know what, the images you took with this lens ...are some of the bests sets of images among all lens reviews. It proves how much you enjoyed taking pictures with it. I had the Tamron 28-75mm and waited for this one. Because they complement each other. But swapping lenses on a mirrorless camera is still a hassle during a trip in a national park! And as landscapes are my primary interest, I found that 16-35 and 70-200 fullfill 99% of my needs. So I bit the hefty price of 16-35 GM and adapted the new Canon 70-200 f/4L IS II. I tell you Mr. Abbott, this Canon zoom is a fantastic lens. Adapting is no issue at all on A7iii. And I request you to review the new Tamron SP 35mm f/1.4 Di USD as well. This is a killer lens and I strongly believe it will replace your Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM. Cheers! 😊

Hi DA Very nice conclusions on this 17-28 Concerning the wonderpana well finally I'll give a try to the haida M15 that is using magnetic filters. What's interesting with tamron is that between their 15-30/2.8, 17-35/2.8-4 and 17-28/2.8 they have consistency in contrast and colors rendition 👍

Awesome review. any review on Olympus lens ?

Thanks for the truly awesome reviews. Which lens would you recommend for landscape, architecture, video and Astro between Laowa 15mmf2 and the Tamron 16-28mm? I'm thinking the 2.8 is not enough for astro. And would a zoom lens be more versitile than prime?

Tamron has made the right choice here, at least for me . I found most wide zoom too heavy and was considering a prime untill this one . The 17-28mm seems limited at first but i rather have it f2.8 and relatively light and compact instead of wider and longer . It makes me think of my Tokina 11-16 f2.8 on a Canon aps-c dslr but smaller and for ff . It's nice to see new models from non camera makers going differently .

Thanks for the review. I heard you talked about comparing it to the Laowa 15mm f2. Would you pick the Tamron over the Laowa for video in low light?

Dear Dustin, I'd like to note that unlike Adobe, the Capture One software doesn't need the update to support all the image corrections in this lens. It uses the data embedded into RAW file. It took a really long way for me to obtain this lens - from cancelling my pre-order, through death of SEL24240 in the beginning of my vacation trip abroad, and finally I'm purchasing the 17-28 today!

Love this in depth intellectual review thank you. I am looking to complete my wedding and event photography kit. I have the Sony 35mm 1.8 and 85mm Sigma 1.4 ART and am looking for something wider to use for crazy dancefloor pics in low light on the Sony a7iii and a9. My question is do you think the autofocus could hold up in low light for fast moving objects (dancing etc). Thanks for any feedback

Dustin, i have the voigtlander 15, f4.5 and the 21, f3.5. I am thinking about selling the voigtlander 21 and buying the tamron 17-28. Does that make sense? How does the tammy compare in IQ to the voigtlanders?

Thanks Dustin. Very thorough review. I just miss the comparison with the Sony Zeiss 16-35 OSS, which for me would the option to consider. What do you think about this?

Great review @Dustin! Just wondering how you think it compares in image quality to the Sony 20mm f1.8 prime lens? My needs would be primarily: 1. run + gun hand-held documentary video (where having some zoom possibilities can be quite helpful) 2. slick gimbal shots (where beauty and AF are my prime concerns). Struggling to decide between these two options for my new a7siii! All help appreciated!

Thanks for the review! How do you think, which IQ is better, Tamron 17-28 or Sony Zeiss 16-35 f4? Thanks

This lens is a workhorse for me, as a wedding photographer in Indonesia. Which usually located on a small - kind of old and dark places (hotels). I use a7R mark 3, and if I need that extra range, I will use the APSC mode and got that reach - something about 42mm .

This is a great lens Dustin and does the job but where is the G2 version of this coming soon I hope?

Excellent review.....how do you compare the sharpness of this lens and the Ta,mron 17-35mm and ther Sigma 18-35 f1.8 ?

Tamron's e mount lenses make going Sony tempting. Since this lens seems to be better at 20mm, the new Sigma 14-24 may be a better choice for a true wide angle lens. Of course, size, weight, filters matter to many. Very nice review. One question. Many say that the problem with a Sony camera is the handling. Ergonomics. How do you like how the Sony A7III feels in the field?

Hello Dustin, does Tamron 28-75 mm have native correction in the lens (for video) like this one has too? it's the first time I hear about native correction for video, are there other lenses with this capability, Sony, or Tamron? Thank you.

I’m really struggling between the Tamron 17-28 and the Sigma 16-28. I do real estate photography and the 16mm seems more desirable but would I notice the difference? The struggle is real with the decision making 🤦🏽‍♀️

Just yesterday, Tamron teased pictures of four new Sony E lenses. The video didn't specify the details of any of the lenses but based off of their relative sizes, it's pretty safe to bet that thee of them are primes and one is their ~70-200 entry. The video can be found on the official "TamronVids" RU-vid channel. Fingers crossed that the ~70-200 is no shorter than 180 on the long end and that it is in fact f/2.8. I'd really love to buy that before this dining March.

Might have to do a quick update now that there’s a RAW lens profile for Adobe Lightroom! 😀

Dustin thank you so much for the video. One question, speaking purely about IQ: Does this lens perform better than the 16-35GM? (color/sharpness). Thank you again.

Is there focus breathing? It looked like it in one of the shots but I wasn't sure how bad it is. I shoot mainly video and like to do racks between subjects, so this is important to me. Thanks for the review.

Thanks al these reviews keeps it hard for me to choose! I now use my Canon 17-40 but i like the wide range however i want something better and more reliable than that combo with metabones of sigma. But i like more range so maybe sony 16-35 f4 is for me better but this Tamron seems to have a better iq... hard hard hard.... i love my 28-75 however...

Just wish B&H would get these in stock...had mine on order for weeks

Hi Dustin, thanks a lot for the review. I'm still dithering on the fence, trying to decide between going the Sony (A7III) road or the Nikon (Z6) road. The 3rd party options for Sony are very compelling, even though I am (possibly irrationally) more drawn to the Nikon option. I think if Tamron had already released their telephoto option, going Sony would be a slam dunk. Here's to hoping it's not far away. Many thanks again for your reviews. I don't think many people fully grasp the amount of work which goes into each one, never mind the amount of work required to produce so many of them.

what are your thoughts comparing this lens to Sony ZA 16-35mm F4 OSS. My use would be video

Very informative video @DustinAbbottTWI, I was also looking for a good wide angle lens and this is the one I shortlisted. I'm just doubting the difference between the model number A046 vs A046SF. If you can kindly share, 'would highly appreciate.

The glitch is real! The first copy I tried on an A7III glitched with increasing frequency and I constantly needed to take battery out to restore the focus capability. Then I had to replace it with a 2nd copy which glitches in a much lower frequency.

I think tamron wisely understands that people now want small and compact. Plus, with cameras pushing megapixels so high (Sony a7riv) you can use this lens in crop mode and still get excellent resolution. Now you go from 17-42 with excellent image quality and it's small. I think the future of lenses will be smaller technical zoom ranges.

Hi thank you for your thought review. I have Sony a7 iii with Tamron 28-75 and also EOS m with 11-22. Do you think I will experience a great improvement by replacing 11-22 with 17-28? I shoot landscapes with narrow apertures (f/8). Thanks

Thanks for your review! Furthermore, could ask you guys who has this lens did you notice that the aperture is really loud and gives quite sick noise or just mine is faulty? There is a rubbing, scratching voice when I switch on or off the camera and the aperture goes open and close. When I'm just setting the aperture only has clicking voice. I never felt/heard anything like this before from any lenses. Thanks in advance for the answers.

I just did a video on the new Sigma 14-24mm 2.8 for Sony e mount. I bought that over the Tamron, both solid options.

I own a 17-28 and sometimes it doesn't autofocus. I have to turn off the camera and turn it back on to make the AF work again. This happened a dozen of times already in 2 weeks.

great review, i have this tamron too and i was wondering if i should put a uv filter on the lens since i had heard that the lenses with the internal zoom, let dust into the front lens, could you tell me if this thing is true or not? thank you

I have the zeiss 1635 f4 and I am happy with that

Hi Dustin, I was wondering if the Sony G 20mm is much better than this Tamron in terms of image quality. I’m tempted to go for the Sony prime but the flexibility of this zoom is a huge plus... Thanks for another great review.

I need a piece of advise - I am planning to get into travel videos, hence need a wide angle lens. How relevant is fast lens, like f1.8 compared to f2.8... I can get 20mm prime f1.8 at the same price of Tamron f 2.8.. I use Sony A7iii and have a Tamron 28-75..

Mr. Abbott, the written review on your website is under the Samyang/ Rokinon lens reviews instead of the Tamron (or Sony) ones. You might want to correct that, so that the review is easier to find.

What camera set-up did you use for this video?

Hi,Dustin Abbott,What are the recommended to buy?

Thx for the video. Q: The RDX is so call FOCUS BY WIRE - will it work with my gimbal DJI RS 2 so I can controle the focus from gimbal?

I returned this and ordered the Sony 24 mm f1.4. Next I will see if I choose the Tamron 75-180 mm f2.8 or the GM 70-200 f2.8? Love my Tamron 28-75 mm:-)

I know it's considered heresy, but I've been using my Tamron 28-75mm f.2.8 E Mount lens on my Nikon Z7 using the Techart Pro adapter and it's actually quite good for my purposes (your mileage may vary...). The entire setup is not without its occasional idiosyncrasies. I've had my eye on this Tamron 17-28mm f/28 E Mount for as a lightweight ultra-wide lens for the Nikon system as well. I also have Sony bodies (a7s, a7rII, a7III, and practically all the APS-C bodies) so it can do double duty for those. I just like the Nikon system for astrophotography since Sony seems to have dug in its heels on the star-eater issue and I don't see them changing that anytime soon despite what they've told their consumers.

I'm on the side of not caring about the range from 29mm to 34mm. Almost every time I've had the option, the shot either benefited from being at 35mm or 24mm. Can say one thing. After getting a notoriously bad wide open Samyang 18-28 f/4-4.5, I can say without a doubt that I _really_ want this lens for that extra light, if nothing else. This focal length range is just fine for me.

I'm really surprised this outperformed the Laowa 15mm. Seriously considering swapping my Zeiss 16-35 and Samyang 14mm for this Tamron.

Good morning , rumor has it that Canon will release 2 new cameras in September a EOS 90D and EOS M6 Mk II both having a 32.5 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor if you have not heard already. I enjoy watching your videos along with a cup of Joe (No that is not code) to start the day off and learn something informative.

Your credits say you shot it using Samyang 45mm 1.4 - i cant find it anywhere on the internet. Did you mean 35mm or 85mm?

Is the quality of photos and video better then the gm 16 to 34 2.8?

Hi Dustin, if start from fresh, not changing system, canon eos r or a7 iii is better for wedding or any other serious project? I Don’t mind the current lacking option of canon rf lenses. Which you feel more reliable and inspiring for the job? thanks.

Hey- what mic are you using?

I shoot a 20mm and a 28mm; and I think this lens is perfect; wish they had it for the Nikon Z mount; I'd switch. I have too many Nikon lenses to switch and Sony ergos suck. But this lens would be the perfect travel lens.

Would this lens be good for astrophotography ? Is 2.8 enough ? (Going to norway soon, would like to capture some aurora borealis)

This is a very late comment. Have recently been given a Gen 1, or first iteration, Sony A7R. The very well heeled owner didn't like the low trade in price offered when purchasing a new a7R4. I need to purchase some affordable quality glass. That totally rules out even looking at GM lens. This lens will probably have to suffice as a compromise semi wide angle zoom. However, tbh, that focal length compromise at the wide angle end is a problem. I may need to see if Samyang ( am pretty sure it does) makes wide angle primes , manual focus not a problem as will be shooting very wide e.g landscapes where often just set lens- shooting in aperture priority, at f/11 or f8. Will check your other online reviews to see if Tamron makes a 16-35 type wide angle zoom. However, suspect that this lens is its foray into the Sony ff mirrorless domain. As usual, found your review very helpful.

Thank you. Greetings from Russia.

Test tamron 35 1.4 new pls

Sorry, I maybe late commenting this review, but I have a dilemma. The choice is strange but I’m in between buying a Tamron 17-28 f2.8 and a Sigma 24mm Art f1.4 as they are almost identically priced and I need a wider and a faster lens as compared to a Sony kit 28-70. On the one hand I like that wider angle of 17mm on a tamron for landscapes and architecture, but f1.4 of sigma looks so appealing for low light or indoor photography as well as it separates an object from a background shooting environmental portraits. So the question is: subjectively what do you think is a better price/picture quality choice? Or maybe You could suggest some other wide angle fast lenses in about 800€ price tag for Sony A7II?

you look like exactly the same as that guy in the office series :D

Meticulously detailed, technically deep yet easily understandable, outstandingly informative and professionally presented making it easy to focus on real content matter. Dustin, yours is the best channel on RU-vid when it comes to knowing about lens. Mostly, it takes atleast 15 to 20 videos for me to subscribe to a channel, but I got the gist of the your high quality content just in 2. Please suggest what would you recommend, will be the best FE lens to pair with Sony A7iii for 1) Kitchen studio indoor background with good lighting setup. Filming tasty style recipe videos to get sharp closeup mouthwatering macro over the top and 40 degree footage while cooking on the heat. Fast timelapse, fast forwards from the oven glass and on stove frying. 2)Cinematic brolls, slow motion while cutting, chopping, pouring, slicing and prepping the food. Also very Important - host/talent presenting prescriptive style narration during intro, in betweens and end to explain tips and techniques to fast prep, cook and present the dish. 3) Small size products(phones), white goods(washing machine) and car reviewing Carwow and MKBHD style videos along with host talking to camera. 4) Business Enterpreneurship Valuetainment, Tai Lopez style videos. host/talent presenting talking to camera on business, finance topics and pointers scrolling or highlighting on the clear seemless white background. CAN ANY ONE LENS DO ALL OF THE ABOVE? SHORTLISTED LENses For FOOD FILMING over the top and 1) Sony FE 90 mm F 2.8 Macro OR 1) FE 35 mm F 1.8 Food close up brolls, ff, slow mo 2)Sony FE 16 to 35 F2.8 GN Or 2) Tamron 17 to 35 F 2.8 Or 2) Sony 16 to 35 F4 FOR TALKING to CAM VIDEOs 3) FE PZ 28 - 135 Mm F4 OSS Cine OR 3) Tamron 28 to 70 F2.8 OR 3) Sony Fe 24 to 105 f4 oss Please suggest if one of these above or some other lens can do all of the above Or would you recommend 2 lens combination? All indoors, with good lighting setup. NOTE: I have a sony 28-70 F3.5 to t.6 kit lense that came with A7iii. Thanks in advance HIGH REGARDS for your work. Sanjay

Just today a new firmware has been released by Tamron for this lens.

Test new tamron 35 1.4 pls

Thanks to mirrorless manufacturers for pushing the price of top glass from 1200 on DSLR to 2500 in just 5 years.

Hi Dustin, thanks for the review. At some point you mention a glitch when you were not able to focus properly. Please check this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HGzRjzeyFos.html Is this something similar? I recently purchased this lens, and have this problem quite frequently so I was able to record the behaviour.

Tamron recently teased their 4 new lenses. (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RT82SHSaKB4.html ). It seems like they share 67mm filter threads, and it would be a zoom and 3 primes. If its relative size ratio is correct, the zoom would be ~145mm and the primes would be ~65mm. So, the zoom can't be 70-200 f/2.8, because its opening has to be at least 72mm (200/2.8=71.43). So if it is f/2.8 zoom, at best it would be 180mm at the longer end. The primes look like they have very short flange distances, it would be wide angle lens. Judging by its size, my guess is 24, 35, 50 f/1.8 lenses.

I'm finding the chromatic aberration on this lens to be horrible. I expect some in high contract areas but this goes beyond just "normal" purple fringing. It's ruining photos, especially those of small streams where the corners of the stream look like they are full of purple blueberries. Maybe I have a bad copy but when I took the same photo, same focal length and aperture with my Sony 24-105, there is no chromatic aberration.

Comparing two cheap lenses with the Tamron makes it a better lens-> nice! ;) Thanks for the review though :)

1:46 Since when was 35mm, telephoto? Wide to _narrow_ surely.

Just bought this lens and going to return it. Very cheap compare to Tamron 28-75. Looks like it is not good for the harsh weather due to the opening inside the barrel. Zoom is mediocre, to the point it is completely useless. Better get a prime, like Sony 20mm f/1.8. It also feels that lens itself is very small but in a larger body to make it 67mm. Looks like Tamron cut all possible corners with this lens and it should have been priced no more than $399-$499. Tamron could have made glass wider, not use internal zoom and make this lens at least f/1.8. But with 2.8 it is not good enough for this kind of focal length. Compare to Tamron 28-75 it is night and day in build quality, image quality. If it was 17-35 f/2.8, it would be a good lens, and I suspect, that Tamron is going to release such a lens. Also, I suspect, that Tamron is going to release something like 28-105 f/2.8.

Now THIS is a review. Boring but super informative. Thank you.

YCs

I feel that is very unfair that sony get so much support from Tamron and others and Fuji users gets nothing...Although now with the viltrox 85mm and the upcoming 23,33 and 56 things will be better. Although is not zooms...

ThE 16 Is BeTtER ThAN tHe 17 Literally take a step back that’s all you gotta do.....

Too much talking wanted to see some good test shots and cinematic videos from this lens

very educated person but hard to watch review. the tempo is too fast, he talks like a machine gun. I am moving on

I got sick of it, it would be better to show the picture ... If I had a lens, I would have done a much better review on my channel Достал балаболить, лучше бы показал картинку... Если бы у меня был объектив, я бы куда лучше сделал обзор на своем канале