Wide Angle Photography for DIGITAL & FILM!

As the title says, this lens offers users of both types of media the ability to use the same lens. In this day and age, when digital is fast becoming the dominant medium, and where smaller sized sensors are the norm, being able to go back and forth is a good thing (especially now that Nikon is about the introduce their first ever full framed sensor dSLR - the company's new flagship, the D3.

Over the years, in both my film and digital photography, I've had the chance to use several Tamron lenses. Some I liked, (a couple, I liked a lot)and some I didn't. When given the opportunity to use this lens on both Nikon film and digital bodies, I jumped. The first reason was because this lens is faster at f2.8-4 than my Tokina 19-35, which has a variable aperture of f3.5-4.5 and the second was because as someone who still shoots a large amount of color slide film and traditional and chromogenic B&W film, I liked the idea of a "dual use/dual purpose lens."

As I usually try to do with my lens reviews, I'll provide the technical specifications for the gadget and spec loving/needing folks as well as my impressions of this lens in use. Additionally, by way of explanation, I used this lens in a diverse array of scenarios, but most frequently in a military environment recording daily training activities to include airborne operations (paratroopers jumping out of aircraft, equipment & supply drops, on the ground portraits and environmental shots, etc.). I also used it in those photography situations that you'd normally use it for, namely wide angle shots that included vast arrays of scenery, some architectural work and so on.

THE LENS ITSELF & ITS CONSTRUCTION

This lens, like so many others manufactured by TAMRON leaves the user with the initial impression of being light weight and that impression is not erroneous. At 440 grams, it weighs in at just under 1 lb. for Americans who still use the old English system of measures. Its lens barrel is primarily polycarbonate and its outer coating is the ribbed rubber that Tamron is known for. For users of older film camera bodies, you'll note with pleasure that lens, while still new in design, contains an aperture ring, making the lens backwardly compatible with older non-autofocus camera bodies.

FOCAL LENGTH: 17-35 mm (film) 25.5 mm - 42.5 mm on a Nikon digital body.

APERTURE: f2.8-4

OPTICAL (Lens) CONSTRUCTION: 14 lens elements in 11 groups.

DIAPHRAGM: 7 blades

MINIMUM FOCUSING DISTANCE: 11.8" (0.3m) throughout the focal range.

LENGTH OF LENS BARREL: 3.4" (86.5mm)

OVERALL DIAMETER OF LENS BARREL: 3.3" (83.2 mm)

FILTER SIZE: 77 mm

LENS HOOD: Petal or flower shaped (included with lens at time of purchase)


SOME BACKGROUND & MY IN USE OBSERVATIONS

Back in the days when film was king, 17 mm would have been considered a super-wide angle focal length and its incorporation into a zoom would have meant that the lens would have been so classified. Today, with APS sized sensors being the dominant offering in just about every manufacturer's product offering listings, 17 mm really becomes a more normal wide angle in the neighborhood of 25-27 mm. When used on Nikon's digital camera bodies, that is when this lens and its maximum focal length of 35 mm starts to approach what used to be referred to as a "normal" lens focal length of 52.5 mm.

When used on Nikon's older film bodies or even it's current film flagship, the F6, this lens operates at its designed focal length.

The dual, but not schizophrenic nature of this lens is why I wanted to try it and why ultimately, I realized I enjoyed its flexibility in use and the results I received.

There are some other notable characteristics of this lens that I also believe are worth mentioning.

Most noteworthy are:

1) Minimum focusing distance: at 11.3 inches throughout its range, this relatively short distance provides a great deal of flexibility, especially in lower light. This capability allows you to get very close to your subject, an ability that is especially useful in still life photography of things such as flowers where the central point in your composition needs to be sharp, but you want to de-focus/emphasize the surroundings.

2) A fast maximum aperture of f2.8 at 17 mm. This is a very nice feature found in few wide angle zooms manufactured for the mass market. This aperture is especially useful in lower light and/or when you don't have an external flash or other light source in use. For older Nikon film and digital bodies, this lens, while not possessing a vibration reduction capacity, will help minimize camera shake, especially at lower shutter speeds.

3) Some linear distortion: Some folks consider this to be the bane of ultra-wide angle lenses and in many cases they would be right. However, this type of net result can also be quite welcome, especially for those photographers who deliberately set out to obtain such results in their final images.

In the case of over-accentuation of architectural details, linear distortion, which is well controlled in this lens can net you some interesting results.

In another case, I used this lens on a Nikon D200 inside the cabin of a dimly lit C-17 GLOBEMASTER III transport carrying paratroopers to a night formation jump and shot without flash at f2.8 and obtained some very interesting shots that accentuated the length and lines of the airplane's interior, the red lighting, the paratroopers facing each other while seated on the web jump seats and obtained the effect of converging lines that I had hoped for.

In broad daylight, on both my F100 and D200 bodies, the lens literally gobbled up all of the available light. With the lens hood mounted for daylight shoots, flare, even when the camera was pointed toward the sun was minimized. I was not able to discern any light fall off in this lens.

There is however, some softness to this lens, especially at the corners. I was able to notice this when my subject matter was positioned using the rule of thirds. I also noticed some softness in scenic shots at the far reaches of the images after they had been printed out. This is not all that annoying, but it is deserving of mention should that be a factor you'll be considering for your style of photography.

OTHER NICE THINGS ABOUT THIS LENS

1) Light weight. If you are going to leave this lens on your SLR or dSLR all day, this lens's light weight will be a very welcome treat. Weighing in at just under a pound, it will NOT add an unbalanced feel to your camera and with a padded neck strap, will be easy on your neck and shoulder muscles.

2) Unobtrusive : At a length of just 3.3 inches, this lens will not stick out or be liable to tangle with other objects. Likewise, with its short length, you are less likely to bang it into objects or things that will damage it.

3) Cost to Performance Ratio : because this lens is significantly less expensive than its Nikon counterpart, the net results make for a very satisfactory relationship between the photographer and his/her wallet. I would venture a guess that the same could probably be said for photographers using the appropriate version of this lens on Canon, Pentax or Minolta/SONY film and digital SLRs.

4) An Extra 2 mm At The Wide End Should NOT Be Overlooked : It may not seem like much, especially on a film camera body, but 2 mm, with smaller sized digital sensor equipped camera bodies will make a difference! Given that these smaller APS sensors automatically crop the wide end, the equally automatic loss of true wide angle capability is NOT a welcome characteristic. Having the EXTRA 2 mm built in at the wide end is very helpful for digital photographers and an added treat for those users looking for super wide shots when shooting film.

5) THE USE OF LOW DISPERSION GLASS LENS ELEMENTS : While listed fifth in this sub-listing, the use of LD glass lens elements is also an added benefit for this lens. Lens elements so constructed, when combined with other aspherical glass elements do a far better job of sharply focusing light on the film plane or digital sensor than lenses without this design. The LD glass combined with aspherical elements also minimizes to the greatest extent possible chromatic aberration. That means better color reproduction at a higher rate of fidelity combined with the highest degree of sharpness. In short, far more pleasing and truly memorable photographs. When factored back into the cost benefit equation, this makes for a far more satisfying lens.

Professional photographers may still sneer at the use of TAMRON lenses. As someone who shoots a wide array of subjects, but who doesn't really specialize, I am not a photographer who likes to generalize across the board about a company's products. As a result, I have found that by remaining flexible, I have benefited from the non-OEM products to a surprisingly high degree. This lens is one of those lenses that has provided me with a significant level of improvement and better images than its less expensive counterpart from Tokina, while not requiring to spend a greater amount of money for the corresponding Nikkor lens.

IN CONCLUSION:

I like this lens. I believe I can recommend it to other Nikon camera owners. Likewise, I think users of Canon, Minolta/SONY and PENTAX cameras will also get fine results from this lens with their equipment. This is one of those zoom lenses that delivers on its promises and will prevent you from having to spend the larger piece of you photography budget on the camera manufacturer's more expensive equivalent.

HAPPY SHOOTING!

(c) 2007 Paul Connors