I have received tons of questions recently and they revolve around this similar issue: choosing between a super zoom lens or a fast lens.
The two lenses that people are confused to choose from is the Tamron 18-270 lens and the Tamron 17-50 lens.
Both lenses have their own newer variation and I always recommend getting the latest version of the lens if you can afford it.
This is because Tamron fixes many issues that people have been complaining about from the previous version.
For the incremental price that you will pay for the lens, you will get a lot more benefit out of your lens.
For example, people loved the zoom range on the older Tamron 18-270 VC lens but do not like the bulkiness or the noisy autofocus sound that the lens generates.
Thankfully, Tamron fixes this on the newer Tamron 18-270 PZD version. The Tamron 18-270 PZD is much lighter than the older version. It has smaller dimension as well. In addition, I have found it to be sharper as well which is a big plus.
Same thing goes with the Tamron 17-50 lens. The older version of this lens is considered by many as a good enough lens that can replace the Canon 17-55 or the Nikon 17-55 lens that costs an arm and a leg.
However, people are still not happy because the lens has no Image Stabilization function and Tamron fixes this by adding the VC (Vibration Compensation) feature on the newer version.
Those are the reasons why I always recommend getting the newer version.
Now, let’s move on to the real issue that I am trying to answer on this article.
Given the choice of purchasing the Tamron 17-50 or the Tamron 18-270, which one should you choose?
This is quite an easy question to answer so bear with me here for a bit.
The Tamron 17-50 is great if you love to shoot landscape, portraits and low light situation professionally. Remember that this is a fast f/2.8 lens that is geared towards professional photographer that do not want to break the bank by spending on the more expensive Canon or Nikon alternative.
You will get superb quality and performance if you use this lens. The downside is, if you want to reach the 200mm focal length, you have to switch lens. This can be quite a bit of inconvenience.
On the other hand, if you choose to purchase the Tamron 18-270 lens, you can get variety of shoot ranging from landscape and portraiture. However, you would not be able to use this lens for low light situation because of the slow aperture.
The quality is worse when you compare it to the Tamron 17-50, but remember that this lens is not made for the professional in mind. This lens is made for amateur photographers who love to shoot a bit of everything and is willing to sacrifice quality for convenience.
So, the issue here is just choosing between quality and convenience.
If you are willing to sacrifice quality for convenience, then definitely go with the Tamron 18-270 lens.
However, you will be very happy with the Tamron 17-50 lens.
Hope this clarifies any confusion that you might have and happy shooting!
Cheers,
Luke
I have received tons of questions recently and they revolve around this similar issue: choosing between a super zoom lens or a fast lens.
The t…
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