Tamron SP 17-50mm F2.8 A16N II ~ Short Review!

Posted on March 4th, 2008 by KhoKing.
Categories: Photography.

Am I the first in the world (consumer) to review this lens?! :D

kkk_0921.JPG

Tamron scheduled to release this lens to the market on 17th March 2008, but my supplier has managed to get the stock for me today! I ordered some quantity from them, the first generation (A16N), but was surprised to see there is a mixed of A16N and A16N II in the delivery. :)

As usual, I checked and tested every unit of Tamron SP 17-50mm F2.8 lens for my customers. This is important as my experience is that there is poor Quality Control from Tamron in this lens…the early batch (Assembled in China), but nowadays the reject rate is very low (Made in Japan version).

Since I have both the A16N and A16N II in hands, so I have the privilege to test both side by side.

First Impression

Built quality is similar in both. Weight seems similar as well, can’t feel any difference in hand.

kkk_0918.JPG

When mounting the A16N II onto my D200, it is silky smooth. Yes, it is very hard to describe, but once you tried it, you will agree with me. When mounting the A16N, you will have the feeling of metal scratching each other. However, the A16N II is like butter smooth when mounting. Good. :)

kkk_0920.JPG

There is a slight changes in the rear part of the lens. Some physical extension of marking on the 17mm focal length and you can now see more pins on the rear circuits and no screwdriver catch.

Made in Japan

kkk_0919.JPG

Yes, both lenses are made in Japan. Great! On all the stock that I received this round, they are perfect. Sharp focus, clean and clear. :)

AF MF Switch

Besides made in Japan, you can also see a AF MF switch on the new A16N II version. You can have the camera body in AF all the time, and changing the AF MF on the lens will allow you to focus manually or automatically.

Auto Focus

I guess this is where most are interested in.

Auto focus of Tamron A16N II is slow. Yes, you heard me right. AF is much slower than A16N. From minimum focusing distance to infinity, it takes twice the time of the A16N. Yes, you can spot and feel the difference clearly.

However, though focus slower, the A16N II is much quieter than the A16N. Again, focusing is smooth. Though slow but very smooth. On the A16N, you will hear higher pitch focusing sound, but the A16N II is damper sound and quieter in focusing. Good in quiet environment, eg. Cinema or theater, though might still not be as quiet as AFS or USM lens.

Yes, I did compare the A16N II with A16E (Canon mount). A16E is still faster, similar speed to the A16N. However, Canon mount version is always noisier in focusing. In fact, very very noisy and high pitch sound. The A16N (Nikon) is still acceptable, the Canon version is considered as annoying. So the A16N II is considered as SWEET now. :)

Image Quality / Sharpness?

I always regards Tamron A16 17-50mm F2.8 lens as the best value for money wide angle fixed aperture zoom lens that you can get in the market. In fact, I am using one of it myself on my Nikon D200. This lens has been in such a high demand that it is often out of stock from time to time in Japan. I have sold many copies to my customers in Malaysia.

This lens is sharp. Very sharp indeed! Here’s an example of a shot I just took (A16N II):

(Original file of 0.99MB, unedited except putting ShaShinKi.com logo on it. Exif intact, shot at f2.8)

kkk_0924_s.JPG

Bokeh is nice and focus is spot on and sharp in the center. The lens design is same as the A16N, so you can browse many other photos in my blog that are taken with this lens.

Summary

Will I recommend this lens? Yes. The A16N II has some improvements over the A16N and the only drawback is the slower in focusing. The added AF MF switch is nice, making manual focusing switching easier. Damped focusing sound is a welcome improvement, though with the sacrifice of faster AF.

Do you have a choice? My understanding is that Tamron will discontinued the A16N version. No reason for Tamron to keep two almost identical lens for Nikon mount in the market, no production effective. So, if you want faster AF of the A16N and don’t need the built in motor for Nikon D40/D40X/D60, then you will have to act fast and grab the stock of A16N in the market!

Regardless of which version (A16N or A16N II), both are still highly recommended lens. I am keeping mine (A16N). :)

Where to Buy?

You can order the lens at ShaShinKi.com (fully tested and checked!):

http://shashinki.com/shop/….

17 comments.

jim

Comment on March 4th, 2008.

I have read your review with interest and the obvious
point is the the apparent slowness of the AF compared to the earlier version. How would you compare this say to the 18-55mm kit lens that comes with the D40? It would be great if you could post a short video clip of the AF in action say compared to the previous version within your blog [in
the same way http://www.cameralabs.com do]. Thanks.

KhoKing

Comment on March 4th, 2008.

Dear Jim,

Thank your for your feedback, but I do not have the 18-55mm kit lens to test together with the Tamron lens, so I can’t compare the speed.

Sorry, I don’t have the skill to do a video capture of the AF speed of the lens.

My opinion is that the slow AF should not be a big concern. The pros (quieter, smoother, AF MF switch) are more than the con (slow AF). :)

Thanks.

Kocho

Comment on March 5th, 2008.

With the 17-50 (as well as with the 28-75mm version) non-motorized lens I had a lot of instances where focus was not accurate. It was very fast but my feeling was that this also made it hard for the camera to focus precisely. The same camera with the much slower focusing Nikon 35-70 would nail the focus with much better chance of getting it right. I hope the new “slower” focus might actually result in better accuracy. Can you comment on this? thanks!

KhoKing

Comment on March 5th, 2008.

Hi Kocho,

I have tested over hundred units of Tamron SP 17-50mm lens, in various mounts (Nikon, Canon, Sony) since it first launched.

Let’s talk a little bit about the history of Tamron SP 17-50mm lens. Tamron first produced the lens in Japan, the shift the assembly to China. So initial batch is made in Japan, later batch is Assembled in China. All the Tamron SP 17-50mm lens that I bought is in Japan. I must have complaint and rejected enough lens to get attention from Tamron. They later shift their production plant of the 17-50mm lens back to Japan. However, I heard that the production plant in China is still producing this lens. So there are now two origins of Tamron 17-50mm lens, but for Japan market, they sell the Made in Japan version.

My experience is that the initial production and Assembled in China production are having bad Quality Control. I have many copies that are not focusing well. One out of Five has problem with back or front focus. The Assembled in China version often will have dirt or big speck of dust inside.

For the current Made in Japan version, the stock that I received are of good quality. I can’t remember the last time I rejected the lens (must be more than few months ago), and my test shows that all copies that I received are sharp and focus accurately.

Tamron SP 28-75mm lens is similar to the Tamron SP 17-50mm. I have returned and rejected many units as well. When you got a good copy, then it is very very sharp wide open. For a lemon, it is all soft even stopped down to F5.6.

My advice for those who are getting either lenses, test in shop and use a clear target and consistence method to test the lens. If you have another f2.8 lens with you, test it and compare the photos side by side with the 17-50mm lens or 28-75mm lens in shop. :)

Kocho

Comment on March 10th, 2008.

Thanks for the feedback! One more question on the 17-50 II - does the focus ring rotate during focusing? I expect it would but I hope it won’t -;)

KhoKing

Comment on March 10th, 2008.

Hi Kocho,

Yes, both A16N and A16N II will have focus ring turns during focusing.

Alan

Comment on March 17th, 2008.

How is the price like for A16N II ? When is the order be available?

KhoKing

Comment on March 17th, 2008.

Hi Alan,

You can order the lens at:
http://shashinki.com/shop/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=17-50mm&x=0&y=0

Already available. :)

Rob

Comment on March 23rd, 2008.

Have you experienced the cam/lens not being able to AF after taking a few shots? I’ve experienced this a number of time already. No AF action when the shutter button is depressed. After turning on the camera off/on, it will AF again.

Great mini review btw :-)

james

Comment on March 31st, 2008.

dear kk,
im a d40 user, great to hear that tammy can autofucus with my cam now.
same question as jim, any chance to compare it with 18-55 ed2 kit len in term of sharpness.

KhoKing

Comment on March 31st, 2008.

hi James,

Sorry, I do not have 18-55mm II lens to test or compare. The Tamron 16N II is a F2.8 lens, so it is a very different lens from the 18-55mm II lens.

jAMES

Comment on March 31st, 2008.

dear kk,
thanks for the fast respond,
need your expert advice
i currenly own d40
kit lens
55mm macro2.8
55-200mmvr
sigma 30mm.
i know the the the diffrent of the 17-5omm and kits len in term of aperture.

for my walk around lens should i consider?
17-50mm tammy,
16-85mmvr,
or invest in sigma 10-20mm?
many thanks

Adrian

Comment on March 31st, 2008.

hello KK,

is there any difference in terms of battery consumption between the built-in motor and non built-in version?

Mike

Comment on April 7th, 2008.

Hi KK, Thanks for the valuable info.. Aside from the difference in speed and noise level.. Is there any difference in focus accuracy between the two models?

Cheers.. Mike

KhoKing

Comment on April 7th, 2008.

Hi Mike,

I actually “feel” that the new version (A16N II) gives better accuracy in focusing than the old version. Maybe it is due to the slow focusing and result in more accurate focusing, or just my “wrong” feeling… :P

iamyuanwu

Comment on April 16th, 2008.

KKK…

How slow is slow? Twice the time to focus compared to previous version is a big difference leh…

The AF speed compared to a Nikon lens macam mana? E.g. compared to Nikon 18-70mm or 50/1.8 (well, those are the lenses I have). If it’s too darn slow, then I’ll might hunt for the old version in the 2nd market.

Lawrence Of Arabia

Comment on May 3rd, 2008.

Hello.

We all need to know exactly how is the diference in speed and accurate between the two versions.

Somebody knows if the built in motor is the same of the new tamron 70-200 2,8?.

In other words: which of them buy??

Leave a comment

Comments can contain some xhtml. Names and emails are required (emails aren't displayed), url's are optional.