Archive for August, 2010

I already bought the best bang for the buck Canon 50mm f1.8 prime lens and had the Canon 28-135mm f3.5-5.6 and a Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 macro lens taken from my previous DSLR.  After using the Canon 50mm, it was obvious to me that I needed a lens that could shoot wider, and also has a similar f-stop for shooting pictures and video in lower light.  After careful consideration, I decided that my next lens purchase would be a 17-50 lens.

There were several choices from the major lens makers.  All the ones I considered had constant f-stop of 2.8 and all where relatively similar in range.  I narrowed it down to the Canon EF-S 17-55 and the Tamron 17-50.  Both had nearly identical features.  In the end, the price advantage ($1060 versus $649 minus the $70 mail in rebate) of the Tamron, won me over.

It is very important to note that you only get the rebate (and the fantastic 6 year warranty) when you purchase the Tamron from an authorized dealer.  Luckily, I was able to find a somewhat local dealer Click Camera and they match B & H photos online price.

Looking at the lens

The Tamron lens is a 17-50mm lens that has a constant f-stop of 2.8.  There are two advantages to this constant f-stop lens.  The most obvious is the ability to work well in lower light.  This is true for both photos and in video mode.  In low-light situations, the constant f-stop prevents having to change the settings on the camera or having the images and video get darker as I zoom in.  This may not seem real important now, but just wait until you are shooting indoors and find yourself having to constantly change your settings based on your zoom level.  With the Tamron lens, you can just set it and shoot.

The build quality is very nice.  The only issue I had was that it made a noise when it adjusted the zoom.  The camera guy said this would go away over time and it is already not a loud as when I first tried the lens.  It has not gone completely away yet.  The controls make sense although the focus ring goes the opposite direction.  This is not a problem when using the auto focus mode, but can create issues when you are manually adjusting the focus in video mode on the Canon 7D.  The lens comes with a hood which is nice because Canon lenses don’t seem to.  The lens is not too heavy and feels great mounted to the Canon 7D.

Using the lens

The Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC lens feels great on my Canon 7D.  The connection is solid and the focus ring moves smoothly.  As noted before the zoom ring is still a little stiff but is starting to feel better.

My first test using the lens was in my bedroom in the morning.  Our curious cat Shadow (gray cat) was my first subject. The first thing I noticed is that the auto focus was noisier than my Canon lenses.  Actually, it was on par with my Sigma lens.  Auto focus works quite well and is relatively quick.  I was able to get a great picture of my “moving” subject. When comparing this lens to the others, I notice that the minimum focal length is really close.   Specs reported 11.4″  but it seamed closer.  This allowed me to get really close to my subject and product a nice DOF.

Later, I compared taking pictures with my Canon 50mm f1.8 lens.  To be fair, I set the Tamron to a 50mm zoom setting.  I found the autofocus in the Tamron to be slightly more accurate but the Canon lens was much faster.  I noticed that I could get significantly closer to the subject with the Tamron 17-50 versus the Canon 50mm f1.8. (black and white cat)  Outside, I took some pictures of my deck railing.  I was able to easily control the depth of field getting a really nice blokeh.

Finally, I decided to shoot some video.  My daughters friend was performing down at the local Applebee’s.  I used my Zoom H4n for the audio and did a quick edit in Final Cut Express.   (I can’t wait to get Final Cut Pro)  I was a little off in the focus  (I need a better way to focus) but the color looks just like it did at the event.

Conclusion

The Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC lens is a great addition to my collection.  For the moment, this lens has displaced my Canon 50mm f1.8 and the default lens mounted on my Canon 7D.  What the Tamron gives up in speed, it makes up and more in the ability to get closer to a subject and zoom out to a wide 17mm range.  This lens is a great fit for someone looking to add a multipurpose lens for video and picture for your Canon 7D (or T2i/550D).