Sony Photography News and Rumors

Richard Wong released his review for the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE using a preproduction copy.

• The Lens is plastic
• It is very lightweight
• It is very compact
• Plastic lens hood that provides pretty good protection
• Zoom and Focus ring
• 67mm front filter that is the same size as the Tamron 28-75mm
• Weather and Dust proof
• Very good AF that is fast and smooth making very little noise at all
• Works on the Nikon Z cameras with Techart AF adapter
• Center sharpness very good wide open with a 24mp camera
• Stopping down doesn’t really improve the center
• Corner sharpness is very good at f/2.8, but is a little softer at 28mm
• Corners become very sharp by f/5.6
• Image sharpness is good across the whole focal range
• If you shoot at f/4 across the range you should be pretty happy with it’s sharpness
• 17mm f/2.8 a little vignetting which is a little better by f/4 and pretty much gone by f/5.6
• 28mm f/2.8 vignetting barely noticeable and gone by f/4
• Quite a bit of distortion across the whole focal range
• Bokeh is ok but if you zoom in there is some onion ringing in the bokeh, but only zoomed
• Lens flare and ghosting is very well controlled
• Chromatic aberration is well controlled too there is very minimal color fringing
• Distortion control is the only thing that could be a little better
• Surprised they didn’t go to 12mm or 14mm, because stopping at 17mm is a little odd, but was probably done to save money and bulk.
• This design philosophy is similar to the Tamron 28-75mm that stopped at 28mm instead of 24mm, but it turned out to be a very popular lens.
• Hopefully the 17-28mm will be another super popular lens among Sony shooters
• This is a very god choice for Sony APS-C users too
• G Master has better build quality and covers more of a range, but it’s twice the price and it is bigger and heavier
• Don’t see how Sony 16-35mm can be that much better than the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE
• The Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE will give you the most compact setup for your Sony camera system

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo /  Amazon / Adorama

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo /  Amazon / Adorama

June 28, 2019
Tamron Corporation
Overwhelming compact and lightweight body. Achieving a filter diameter of mm 67 mm, excellent in mobility Full-size mirrorless single-lens camera compatible large-aperture ultra-wide-angle zoom lens

“17-28 mm F / 2.8 Di III RXD (Model A046)”
Released from July 25, 2019
Tamron Co., Ltd. (Chairman: Shiro Sakasaka, Head office: Saitama City) is a large-aperture super wide-angle zoom lens for Sony E mounts compatible with 35 mm full-size mirrorless SLR cameras, “17-28 mm F / 2.8 The Di III RXD (Model A046) (hereinafter referred to as Model A046) will be released on July 25, 2019. Read More »

If you’re even the slightest bit interested in the Tamron 17-28mm you should get your orders in now or you might end up waiting a few months. The Tamron 28-75mm was sold out for 2-3 months at most retailers.

• Lightweight, compact design super wide-angle zoom with emphasis on practicality
• Lens constitution: 11 pieces 13 pieces
• Minimum shooting distance: 0.19 m (wide-angle end), 0.26 m (telephoto end)
• Maximum shooting magnification: 1: 5.2 (wide-angle end), 1: 6 (telephoto end)
• Filter size: 67 mm
• Size: φ 73 × 99 mm
• Weight: 420 g

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo /  Amazon / Adorama

A German Youtube reviewer posted their Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE review a little early. Bellow are excerpts from the video if you do not want to watch it translated (warning it does not translate well):

• The Tamron is priced very well
• The Tamron is more compact
• The Sony corrects its lenses in camera
• The Tamron 17-28mm will pair well with the 28-75mm and they look the same
• Not really fair to compare the price of the Sony 16-35mm against the Tamron 17-28mm
• The Tamron is equal to the Sony 16-35mm at 17mm and sharper around the border
• Tamron is equal to Sony at 28mm and sharper around the border
• The sweat spot for 17mm is f/5.6
• Shocked at how well it performs for the price
• Great for shooting astrophotography
• Colors look are very neutral
• They compared the Tamron 17-28mm, Tamron 28-75mm, Sony 28mm f/2 and Sony 16-35mm
• The Tamron is sharper than a prime Sony 28mm f/2.0 prime and the Sony has more chromatic aberration
• AF is fast and reliable
• It’s great that the Tamron 17-28mm and 28-75mm have the same filter diameter
• Great for APS-C a6400, a6500, a6300, etc…
• You get a lot for your money
• Over all an exilent lens

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD FE: B&H Photo /  Amazon / Adorama