Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di II

Finally? Yes, it was a difficult decision, took me many many sleepless night trying to decide which is the suitable lens for my next investment. Finally, i had chosen to go with this lens and here are the reasons why:

• at 17-50, (27-80 full frame), i get closer to my subject and also allow me to include the interaction between  the subject and the entities surround it. This is very crucial during a wedding actual day.
• although 18-200 is available to a DX camera, those affordable are not fast lens. In a low light situation, i prefer to shoot the scene using a fast lens with some fill-in flash and not using the flash to light up the scene.
• this lens are sharper & more accurate than Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 and has less known issues. Reviews claimed Tamron focusing speed are much better than Sigma 18-50mm.
• why not the latest version with VR/VC? well… I wont pay extra RM400~RM500 for the latest one. Addtional to that, reviews claimed the latest lens with VR/VC has some back-focus issue and also due to VR/VC features, the focus is slightly slower.
• with the aperture open at constant f2.8, i can shoot a scene at higher shutter speed thus allow me to capture and freeze the action. At lower f stop, such as 15s and below, the image will appear to be blur.

so what will happen to my Nikkor 35mm f1.8? This is still a great lens and i will still rely on it to take some great portraiture. The ability to stop down to f1.8 means having the option to have extra 3 or 4 stops from f2.8 could proof valuable in time. The 35mm produces a much better/ smoother bokeh when compare to Tamron 17-50.

Last but not least, many of my shots was produced using this 35mm lens.

here’s the specs:

Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD ASPHERICAL [IF]
Model Name	A16
Focal Length	17-50mm [same FOV as a 27-80 zoom would have on a full frame camera]
Maximum Aperture	f2.8
Minimum Aperture	f32
Angle of View	78° 45′ – 31° 11′ (APS-C size equivalent)
Lens Construction	16 elements in 13 groups
Minimum Focus Distance	0.27m (10.6″) (Over the entire zoom range)
Maximum Mag. Ratio	1:4.5 (at f=50mm MFD 0.27m)
Filter Diameter	67mm
Overall Length	81.7mm (3.2″) *
Maximum Diameter	74.0mm (2.9″)
Weight	434 grams (15.3oz.) *
Diaphragm Blades	7 blades (Circular aperture)
Standard Accessory	Flower-shaped Lens Hood

Test shots coming up soon! I will compare my Nikkor kit lens against the new Tamron lens.

Painting with light ??!!

Finally painting with light!!! LOL. Yes, had my camera set up on a tripod, with no light, the only light was from the torchlight.

I did a couple of shots to understand the correct setting and apparently a larger aperture (F11 & above) is the key to capturing this the way i intended. Photo taken at smaller aperture (f3.5~f8) allow too much light into the camera and tend to let the camera capture more of the surrounding. Since I prefer a darker surrounding, adjusting the aperture to minimum is the answer.

If you look carefully, you can see my face in the middle. The word I was trying to write is “I Lov U’

Taken using my Nikon D5000 18-55mm f3.5-5.6

And just to let you see what & how creative this set of technique can be, check out the video below, you will love it!