Highly anticipated by Sony E shooters, Tamron is finally releasing the 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD lens, a fast wide-angle zoom that will serve as the perfect complement to the extremely popular 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD, which was released in 2018. This new 17-28mm shares many of the design traits and features of the 28-75, including the bright constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, compact form factor, and fast performance, but offers a broader field of view to suit landscape, architecture, and nature applications. Tamron is positioning the two lenses together as “The Perfect Compact Travel Duo,” weighing just about 2 lb total for both lenses, and covering everything from ultra-wide to portrait length with a constant aperture of f/2.8 throughout.
This new lens uses both LD and XLD elements to produce well-controlled image quality throughout the aperture and zoom ranges, and a BBAR coating is used to suppress flare and ghosting for contrast-rich, color-neutral results. Like the 28-75mm lens, too, this 17-28mm version has a fluorine-coated front element and a weather-sealed design that suits working in inclement weather. Another shared feature is the inclusion of an RXD stepping motor that achieves notably quick and quiet autofocus performance, and lends a 7.5" minimum focusing distance with a 1:5.2 maximum magnification for working with close-up subjects. It also has a nine-blade rounded diaphragm and shares the same 67mm front filter thread size as the 28-75mm lens. Additionally, being designed specifically for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras, this lens also supports many of Sony’s in-camera assistive features, including Eye AF, DMF, and in-camera lens correction profiles.
What are your thoughts on the new compact wide-angle 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD zoom? Do you already have the 28-75mm lens? Let us know your thoughts on Tamron’s exciting range of Sony E-mount zooms in the Comments section, below.
