Anyone have any experience with the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8?

[numairk]

I'm looking into getting a new lens for my D90. I was wondering if anyone could share some of their experiences with this lens. Is it much better than the kit lens (18-105 f/3.5-5.6)?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

[Huck]

I have never used this lens, but its one I am looking at also. There are some good reviews of it on YouTube showing it in use. Might check there.

[shnitz]

You're comparing Tamron's top of the line digital lens against a kit lens; it isn't a fair comparo, or close. To me, it's the third-best midrange zoom for Nikon cameras, behind the 16-85 and 17-55. It has the advantage over both of those of being cheaper, smaller than the 17-55 by a large margin, and being constant aperture unlike the 16-85. There are downsides, but if you're on a budget and want image quality in a zoom, this is your best bet. Get yourself the non-AFS, non-VR version, as it's optically superior to the newer version. I'm very happy with mine.

[numairk]

I actually had no idea that the non vc version would be optically superior.

Thanks for the input! I think I'm going to pull the trigger and buy it.

[Lane123]

I purchased this lens a few months ago and have been very pleased with it!
It is sharp & fast. The only problem I had was the first one had focusing problems and they had to replace it. All in all, I have no regrets with the purchase and think it is worth the $.