Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is a Fixed aperture Auto Focus (AF)
Standard Zoom lens with APS-C / DX max sensor coverage, and it is designed to be used with Pentax KAF mount cameras.
What type of photography is the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD lens good for?
The type of photography that you are planning to use the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated its suitability to various photography scenarios:
| Photography Type |
Suitability |
| Bird/Wildlife | Fair |
| Sports | Average |
| Portrait | Very Good |
| Travel | Very Good |
| Street | Very Good |
| Wedding | Very Good |
| Walk Around | Very Good |
| Vlogging | Very Good |
| Landscape | Very Good |
| Macro | Fair |
Lenses in Pentax KAF Mount with Same Focal and Aperture Range
Reasons to Buy Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF Lens
Here, we've included a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical IF lens in a list form to help you determine whether it offers the features you need.
| Autofocus |
| Distance Scale |
| DoF(Depth of Field) Scale |
| Hood supplied |
| Zoom Lock |
| Fast Aperture at Wide end |
| Fast Aperture at Tele end |
| Constant f2.8 aperture throughout the range |
| Minimum focus distance of 0.27m / 10.6 inch |
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| Lens Extents while zooming |
Lens Mount
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is compatible with cameras that have Pentax KAF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF lenses are Pentax KF, Pentax K-3 III and Pentax KP.
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (DX) and Sony Alpha mounts.
Size, Weight and Filter Thread
Size and weight is a very important decision factor when searching for your next lens. Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD has a maximum diameter of 74mm and total length of 82mm when not extended . It weighs 430g / 15.2 oz.
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD has a filter thread of 67mm.
Focal Range
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD has a focal range of 17-50mm and 2.9X zoom ratio which has a 35mm equivalent focal range of 25.5-75mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
Optical Image Stabilization
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD doesn't have an optical image stabilization system so the only option to stabilize the image taken with this lens is to mount on a camera body with IBIS (sensor based In-body image stabilization).
Alternatively, you can check the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM , Sigma 18-50mm F2.8-4.5 DC OS HSM in Pentax KAF mount that have similar focal range but features Optical Image Stabilization.
Lenses Similar to Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD With Optical Image Stabilization
Zoom Method
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD features Rotary (extending) zoom method where the length of the lens changes as you zoom in or out. This makes it possible to design the lens with a smaller minimum length ( generally when it is zoomed out) compared to internal zoom lenses. The disadvantages of this design are being harder to seal against dust and moisture, weight balance shifting while zooming and zoom creep in certain lenses.
Zoom Lock
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD has a Zoom lock feature which eliminates Zoom creep where focal length of the lens changes with gravity when it's held downwards or upwards.
Maximum Magnification Ratio
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD has a Max Magnification Ratio of 0.22x and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.27m.
Aperture
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is a fixed aperture lens with a constant max aperture of f2.8 from 17mm all the way to the 50mm .
| Focal Length |
Max Aperture |
Min Aperture |
|
17mm
|
F2.8 |
F32 |
|
50mm
|
F2.8 |
F32 |
Optical Formula
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD's optical formula consists of 16 elements in 13 groups . Following special elements are used in this design:
- 2 hybrid aspherical elements
- 1 LD (Low Dispersion) glass element
- 1 XR
(Extra Refractive) element
Lens Hood
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD comes with a removable petal shaped lens hood which is handy to reduce lens flare and glare in your photos.
Body Colour
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD is available in Black color.
Popular Comparisons of Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD
Here is the eight most popular comparisons of Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR II LD amongst Camera Decision readers.