T2i kit lens vs Tamron 17-50 2.8 ? Or what lens?

F

fadedjosh

Well-known member
I mostly shoot events or low light type situations and am wondering if the Tamron 17-50 will be a big difference that the kit lens? I dont really need zoom however it is nice.. right now I have the kit lens, 50mm 1.8 and a 8mm 3.5. I love the 50mm for events but it is a little to close to subjects and I dont always have room to back up so I am looking for a better lens.

I have also been looking at the Sigma 30 1.4 but dont know if thats going to be the same situation as the 50, and also the Tokina 11-16mm. I will eventually get all three but my budget is around 700 right now and I cant decide which one first. I am a huge fan of DOF and this is what sold me on the 30mm. Any help would be appreciated, and thanks in advance.

http://www.vimeo.com/19302305
 
yes @ difference than the kit lens..

2.8.. is much better than 3.5/4 (dont remember what the kit lens opens up to)

Which is more important. a wider shot or faster lens? the 2.8 is nice/fast and is wide... but if you need faster, then you have no choice but to go w/ the 1.4 :)
 
Thanks for the help I think I will go with the Tamron first, and yeah the kit is from 3.5 - 5.6 which 5.6 is almost unusable unless I go to 800 or higher in iso.
 
Np.. I replaced my kit lens with that tamron and love it. In fact I think i'm going to put my kit lens on craigslist and see if I can get like $50 for it or something.. its just collecting dust (in a sense)

on top of that you can do some day shots @ 2.8 w/ ND which looks nice :D
 
I love my tamron 17-50mm 2.8, use it almost all the time, hardly ever leaves my camera.

Kit lens could easily be tossed in the nearest trash can if i still had one. But the tamron is indispensable.
 
Ok- very close to buying a Tamron 17-50 on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Tamro...era_Lenses&hash=item4aa8a994e7#ht_2277wt_1139

Seller seems to have an impeccable rating. Only thing that concerns me is that it is listed as the Japanese retail version. Therefore, the instructions are in Japanese. :/
Is there any other difference in the lens, you think? Or anything else I should be concerned about?

Or is this pretty much a great deal on a great lens?
 
What also has not been mentioned in this thread is that the Tamron is a constant-aperture lens. That, in and of itself, is a huge improvement over the kit lens. You can zoom in and not have to worry about losing exposure.
 
Outside of the constant aperture and f/2.8 how much better is it than the kit lens? What I am looking for is build quality , sharpness and overall more professional. I want to know if the Tamron is that much better, the kit lens is a little soft but I have used it on many projects with great success.
 
constant aperture and lower stop aren't reason enough??
Build quality on the kit lens feels cheap and plasticy- granted, all my current other lenses are metal vintage, but I'd say that the kit lens isn't a "standard by which others are judged" when it comes to build quality! :P
Meanwhile, yes, according to to the charts on that site NormanBates keeps linking to, its considerably sharper.

A better question is what you like about the Kit Lens?
Honestly, I like it because it came with the camera and I purchased only manual focus lenses so far. When shooting stills for fun, I like having an AF lens. But, compared to ever other lens I've ever tried, the quality of the shots are sub par.

Life4eva, if you've managed to get great success with the kit lens, by all means stick with it. But lets just say that if my camera didn't come with it, there's no way I would have willingly spent money on this lens.
 
dishe said:
constant aperture and lower stop aren't reason enough??
Build quality on the kit lens feels cheap and plasticy- granted, all my current other lenses are metal vintage, but I'd say that the kit lens isn't a "standard by which others are judged" when it comes to build quality! :P
Meanwhile, yes, according to to the charts on that site NormanBates keeps linking to, its considerably sharper.

A better question is what you like about the Kit Lens?
Honestly, I like it because it came with the camera and I purchased only manual focus lenses so far. When shooting stills for fun, I like having an AF lens. But, compared to ever other lens I've ever tried, the quality of the shots are sub par.

Life4eva, if you've managed to get great success with the kit lens, by all means stick with it. But lets just say that if my camera didn't come with it, there's no way I would have willingly spent money on this lens.
Click to expand...

I only use the kit lens during the day and very well lit, so the lower f stop means nothing to me. I use my 50mm, a fisheye 2.8, My Macro 1.8 and some other lenses for that.

What I like about the kit lens is, it is my only zoom lens and the IS really works. What I don't like is it is a little soft and not as sharp as my Prime lenses. My Question was, is the Tamron that much sharper?

For a $100 Im not complaining about the kit lens, but I would like to upgrade it to the tamron 17-50 if it's worth it or a Canon 24-105mm F4 , or even possible a 17-55mm


If not I could use that extra money and buy some more lights and some cool gadgets like a slider and shoulder brace + monitor.
 
dishe said:
...according to to the charts on that site NormanBates keeps linking to...
Click to expand...

did anybody call my name?
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=2&APIComp=3

the tamron 17-50 is a bit sharper, worlds apart in build quality, and a lot faster, and with constant aperture; give it's not expensive either, I wouldn't have paid even $100 for the kit lens, I only got it because the difference in my case was just $50, and, well, the tamron doesn't have IS, and I can use the kit lens for dangerous stunts (haven't done it yet, but knowing myself it will certainly happen)
 
life4eva said:
I only use the kit lens during the day and very well lit, so the lower f stop means nothing to me. I use my 50mm, a fisheye 2.8, My Macro 1.8 and some other lenses for that.

What I like about the kit lens is, it is my only zoom lens and the IS really works. What I don't like is it is a little soft and not as sharp as my Prime lenses. My Question was, is the Tamron that much sharper?

For a $100 Im not complaining about the kit lens, but I would like to upgrade it to the tamron 17-50 if it's worth it or a Canon 24-105mm F4 , or even possible a 17-55mm


If not I could use that extra money and buy some more lights and some cool gadgets like a slider and shoulder brace + monitor.
Click to expand...

So you'd never shoot @ 2.8 during the day?

I do think that lights are probably more important, but if you're doing most of your shooting during the day outside, then lights really isnt going to help much.. Maybe something to diffuse the daylight then..

the 17-50 is really sharp.. In all honesty life4eva, you're local.. hit me up and i'll let you check the lens out and you can make a determination..
 
dishe said:
Ok- very close to buying a Tamron 17-50 on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Brand-New-Tamro...era_Lenses&hash=item4aa8a994e7#ht_2277wt_1139

Seller seems to have an impeccable rating. Only thing that concerns me is that it is listed as the Japanese retail version. Therefore, the instructions are in Japanese. :/
Is there any other difference in the lens, you think? Or anything else I should be concerned about?

Or is this pretty much a great deal on a great lens?
Click to expand...

So, no comment on this from anyone?
Is there any difference I should be aware of from the Japanese retail item versus the US one? Its significantly cheaper if I buy this one, but it is the Japanese version... Aside from the instruction manual in a foreign language, any reason to avoid purchasing this one?
 
^ Looks like the same box I have.. Dont see anything different, but the better price. I'd go for it.. :)
 
...what's this about collecting VAT, customs, etc? I've bought stuff shipped from Hong Kong, etc, before and I've never had to pay any taxes or customs fees, but I've seen this stuff mentioned on ebay before.
Is this something I'd have to be concerned about adding to the price of my item?

I live in New York...
 
Forget it, I decided I really don't want/need to deal with shipping and importing from Japan, so I picked up this one instead:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130493539871

Ends up being about $10 more, and I get an English manual. ;)

Also, since I don't know how the whole customs thing works, it looks like I might have been asked to pay 9% on anything over $200, so I think I'm better off this way.

So um... I guess this is totally off topic, but I'm very excited to get this lens!
 
dishe said:
So, no comment on this from anyone?
Is there any difference I should be aware of from the Japanese retail item versus the US one? Its significantly cheaper if I buy this one, but it is the Japanese version... Aside from the instruction manual in a foreign language, any reason to avoid purchasing this one?
Click to expand...

My 60D came with all Japanese print material in the box and no English. The camera menu was set up in Japanese and at first it was difficult to find the language section because that was in Japanese characters as well. The box did not have a CD manual only editing disks but I downloaded the manual and found the English menu.

In answer to your question the lens is probably a good deal. You can be sure the lens was made in Japan and not in Taiwan.
 
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