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Tamron AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF (Nikon) - Review / Lab Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Nikon / Nikkor (APS-C)
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Page 1 of 2
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2007
Special thanks to Dr. Michael Baier for providing and helping to test this lens!
Introduction
The Tamron AF 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical IF SP (again one of those
Tamron names ...) is part of Tamron's pro grade SP (super performance)
lens league. Regarding its Di (Digitally Integrated) designation Tamron
claims to have optimized the lens to the special characteristic of today's
image sensors.
Nonetheless it is a full frame lens that remains perfectly usable on
film SLRs. In the scope of this review we will have
a look how the Tamron performs on the Nikon D200, an APS-C DSLR, where its
field-of-view is equivalent to 25.5-52.5mm on classic cameras so the
ultra-wide zoom gets roughly transformed to a standard zoom here.
Note: the product image above shows the Canon variant of the lens
The build quality of the lens is pretty decent but the finish doesn't
quite feel as nice as Tokina AT-X or Sigma EX. As you can see in the
product shot above the lens extends a little towards the long end of the
zoom range. The front element does not rotate so using a polarizer is no
issue. The broad zoom and focus rings operate pretty smooth but unfortunately
the focus ring rotates in AF mode which feels a little substandard these days.
The Nikon variant of the Tamron has no internal AF motor and relies on the slotted
drive screw operated by the camera. Thanks to internal focusing (IF)
the AF speed is very fast on the D200.
| Specifications |
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| Equiv. focal length | 25.5-52.5 mm (full format equivalent) |
| Equiv. aperture | f/4.2-f/6 (full format equivalent, in terms of depth-of-field) |
| Optical construction | 14 elements in 11 groups inc. 3 hybrid aspherical elements and 1 LD element |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 |
| min. focus distance | 0.3 m (max. magnification ratio ~1:5.4) |
| Dimensions | 83 x 87 mm |
| Weight | 440 g |
| Filter size | 77 mm (non-rotating) |
| Hood | supplied, petal-shaped |
| Other features | - |
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