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Digital Camera World
Digital Camera World
Matthew Richards

Tamron 17-50mm f/4 Di III VXD review: can’t decide between a wide-angle or standard zoom? This one’s both

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD.

Let’s face it, many of us digital photographers don’t really like swapping between lenses on our cameras, and I’m one of them. The ever-present risk of dust blowing into the camera and sticking to the image sensor plays on my mind, especially in inclement conditions. If I’m off to shoot landscapes, cityscapes, or architectural interiors, it’s a pain to have to keep switching between wide-angle and standard lenses. 

The Tamron 17-50mm means I don’t have to. Mounted on a full-frame Sony body, it has a range of viewing angles that covers everything from 103.7 to 46.8 degrees. In practical terms, that’s really wide-angle coverage at the short end and an entirely natural perspective at the other. The zoom range also works really well for vlogging, giving the opportunity to set the scene by including the backdrop while presenting to camera, as well as zooming in for a close-up. 

Suffice it to say that this Tamron is a very versatile zoom that aims to be one of the best lenses for Sony cameras and the best E-mount lenses for vlogging.

Although the external length of the lens remains fixed, it has an extending inner barrel that nears the front of the outer barrel at both ends of the zoom range, as shown here. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Specifications

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Price

The Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD  has a list price of $699 / £719, measures 75x114mm, and weighs 460g. 

It’s not the first wide-to-standard zoom of sorts that I’ve seen from Tamron. There’s also the Tamron 20-40mm F2.8 Di III VXD for Sony cameras which naturally has less outright zoom range but is an f/stop faster and weighs in at an even smaller and lighter 74x87mm and 365g. That one comes with a $699 / £749 price tag. Then there’s the own-brand Sony FE 24-50mm F2.8 G at a pricier $1,098 / £1,149, which has vital statistics of 75x92mm and 440g. The Sony lens doesn’t come anywhere close in wide-angle potential but again has a faster f/2.8 aperture. 

All in all, if you want to maximize your wide-angle to standard zoom range and can settle for a constant f/4 aperture, the Tamron 17-50mm looks good value for money.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Design & Handling

The Tamron 17-50mm F4 claims to be a ‘world first’ for Sony E-mount full-frame cameras, covering ultra-wide-angle to standard focal lengths in one convenient lens. Part of that ‘convenience’ as far as I’m concerned is that it’s compact and lightweight, measuring 75x114mm and weighing a mere 460g. 

Another bonus is that the overall physical length remains fixed throughout the zoom range, although there’s an extending inner barrel that nears the front of the outer barrel at short and long zoom settings, being fully retracted at around the 30mm mark. And speaking of marks, the zoom ring has markings for 17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm focal lengths. That covers a broad spread but, as usual with lenses for mirrorless cameras, there’s no focus distance scale.

The sliding inner barrel is at its most recessed at a focal length of around 30mm. Autofocus is fully internal, so the front element neither rotates nor extends during focusing. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Although the outer physical length remains fixed throughout the zoom range, I can’t say the same for the minimum focus distance. This stretches from 0.19m at the wide-angle end to 0.3m at the longest zoom setting. Even so, those are pretty short distances throughout, giving a maximum reproduction magnification of a generous 0.26x at the long end. 

From a creative point of view, I like that the short minimum focus distance at wide-angle focal lengths lets me get in really close to objects and exaggerate the perspective between foreground and background elements within a scene. It also makes the lens particularly useful for vlogging. For shooting video in general, the lens is designed to have minimal focus breathing and the constant f/4 aperture throughout the zoom range is a bonus.

The zoom ring has markings for 17mm, 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and 50mm focal lengths. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

When it comes to glass, the lens has 15 elements arranged in 13 groups and boasts 3 LD (Low Dispersion) elements, a GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) element and 2 hybrid aspherical elements. The mix aims to maximize sharpness and clarity while minimizing color fringing and other aberrations.

There’s a customizable function button, nominally for AF-hold, which falls naturally under the thumb in landscape orientation shooting. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Autofocus is courtesy of Tamron’s VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) linear stepping motor design. Again, this is ideally suited to both stills and video capture, being quick and snappy for stills and enabling smooth and virtually silent autofocus transitions when shooting video. A customizable function button is also featured, defaulting to autofocus-hold.

The lens is supplied with a good quality, efficient petal-shaped hood, which has the usual bayonet-fit mounting and can be reversed for convenient stowage. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

While the lens is undeniably lightweight (in a good way) it feels solid and well-built. The construction features multiple weather-seals and there’s a fluorine coating on the front element to repel moisture and greasy fingermarks. The lens comes complete with a petal-shaped, bayonet-fit lens hood which, as usual, is reversible for compact stowage. The pinch-clip lens cap is easy to fit and remove even with the hood in its forward-facing orientation.

For customization and applying firmware updates, the lens is compatible with the free Tamron Lens Utility for PC and Mac, and has a USB C port near the rear, fitted to the barrel just in front of the metal mounting plate. (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Performance

I found the Tamron 17-50mm really easy to live with. I really enjoyed the way that the zoom range made the lens very adept for anything and everything from landscape and architectural shots to photos requiring a standard field of view. Autofocus is consistently accurate, while sharpness and clarity are very pleasing throughout the zoom range, although sharpness towards the extreme edges and corners of the frame could be a little better.

At very wide-angle zoom settings with medium apertures, sharpness remains good out to the extreme corners of the frame, but edge-sharpness at wide apertures drops off at the longest focal length. EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 20mm (1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Naturally, the f/4 aperture rating isn’t exactly ‘fast’ but the 0.3m minimum focus distance at the long end of the zoom range gives plenty of scope for close-ups, with a tight depth of field. Sharpness remains very good in the central region of the frame, even at close shooting distances, a further upside being that bokeh is soft and smooth. That’s something I’ve usually found with Tamron lenses.

A fairly tight depth of field is available for close-up shooting and, typical of Tamron lenses, bokeh is nice and smooth. EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 50mm (1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Many current and recent lenses designed for mirrorless cameras, especially wide-angle lenses, rely heavily on automatic in-camera correction for distortion. This Tamron is no exception, with extreme barrel distortion at the shortest zoom setting but, with correction applied, distortions throughout the zoom range become pretty much a non-issue.

At the short end of the zoom range, the lens is typical of many mirrorless designs in relying heavily on automatic in-camera correction for distortion. EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 17mm (1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Sample Images

The following gallery of images was taken throughout the zoom range of the lens, mounted on a Sony A7 II body. The location is the Bishop’s Palace & Garden in the Somerset city of Wells in the UK. For lab tests, we used the lens with a Sony A7R III camera body.

EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 26mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 23mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 27mm (1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 49mm (1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 33mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 33mm (1/250 sec, f/4, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 17mm (1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 28mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 35mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 17mm (1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 17mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 17mm (1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 50mm (1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 50mm (1/640 sec, f/4, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 39mm (1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 37mm (1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)
EXIF: Sony A7 II + Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD at 34mm (1/60 sec, f/8, ISO 200) (Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)

Center-sharpness is impressive throughout the entire zoom range, although it pays to narrow the aperture a bit in the 35-50mm sector. Stopping down a bit also improves edge-sharpness, which comes on strong in the 17-35mm section of the zoom range, but there’s room for improvement at the longest 50mm setting.

Fringing:

(Image credit: Future)

Color fringing is very negligible even at the extreme edges and corners of the frame in the 17-35mm sector of the zoom range. It can become slightly noticeable at the long end when using wide apertures but remains well within the remit of automatic in-camera correction.

Distortion:

(Image credit: Future)

Barrel distortion is extreme at 17mm and still very noticeable at 24mm. There’s only minor barrel distortion at 35mm and a touch of pincushion at 50mm. Like many recent lenses for mirrorless cameras, the Tamron relies heavily on automatic in-camera correction, which works very well.

Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD: Verdict

For walkabout shooting, street photography and for landscapes, cityscapes and architecture, I find that I generally don’t need anything longer than a 50mm focal length, but I often want greater wide-angle coverage than a ‘standard’ 24-70mm zoom lens can deliver. The Tamron 17-50mm is a great alternative to standard fare, really stretching the envelope in terms of expansive viewing angles, while still giving me a standard perspective at the long end, as and when I want it. With nice handling and build quality, fast and consistently accurate autofocus, along with impressive image quality, this Tamron lens was an instant hit for me, and it’s very good value at the price.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

Should you buy the Tamron 17-50mm F4 Di III VXD?

✅ Buy this...

  • You favor ultra-wide-angle to standard focal lengths and want a single lens that covers all the bases.
  • You want a lens that’s ideal for both stills and video, with a zoom range that’s particularly suitable for general shooting scenarios as well as vlogging.

🚫 Don't buy this...

  • You’d prefer a more typical ‘standard’ zoom range that doesn’t cover ultra-wide focal lengths but extends to short telephoto reach.
  • You’d rather have a faster f/2.8 constant aperture design, more ideal for gaining a tighter depth of field and enabling quicker shutter speeds.

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