Scenes Seen: Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 FE.

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Preface: Yet another post to distract and remind myself why I need newly released gear like a hole in the head.

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This lens is significant because it has kept me safe from many a new wide angle lens release. My relationship with wide angle lenses is quite strange.

For some reason, with every new wide angle lens release I am convinced that I want them. Any of them that come out. But…

I hardly ever use wide angle lenses.

But with every release, I see sample images and some far flung, deeply rooted part of my brain yells out, “Get me that lens!”.

But fortunately, I remember a couple of things before I hit that confirm purchase button. (What? Yes. A couple have made it into my virtual cart before I snap out of it.)

1. A quick perusal of my wide angle lens flickr galleries confirms that wide angle photography is not my bag.
   • Sure. There will be a mess of photos right after I purchase a lens. But then it usually tapers off to nothing pretty quickly.
2. Not mentioned until now, but I have an inexpensive manual focus TTArtisans 11mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.
   • I list this lens because Lightroom quickly converts these images to rectilinear with one click of a lens profile. But this is not the lens that really saves me from myself.
3. I currently own an AF rectilinear full frame zoom lens for Sony that meets my needs in a realistic sense. The Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD.

So those are the lenses that saved me. Saved from what? Welp.

Viltrox AF 20mm f/2.8 Lens (Sony E)

• Why do I want it?
  • $158.
  • Compact.
• But…
  • That focal length and aperture is covered by Tamron.
  • The 17-28mm is not exactly huge.

7artisans Photoelectric 9mm f/5.6 Lens (Sony E)

• Why do I want it?
  • Um… 9mm rectilinear lens.
• But…
  • f/5.6.
  • I have next to no use for a 9mm lens.
  • The TTArtisans 11mm corrected would be close enough for my needs.

Sigma 14mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lens (Sony E)

• Why do I want it?
  • It is an Art lens.
  • 14mm.
  • f/1.4.
  • Astrophotography.
• But…
  • Costing almost $1,600 and its large size made this the easiest to dismiss.
  • I do not do astrophotography. A fine endeavor. Just not my thing.

Viltrox AF 16mm f/1.8 FE Lens (Sony E)

• Why do I want it?
  • See SIGMA listing above remove the Art reference and dial things down to 16mm and f/1.8.
  • Is over $1,000 less than that SIGMA.
  • Adds a nifty little electronic display screen.
• But…
  • I still do not do astrophotography.

7artisans Photoelectric 15mm f/4 Lens (Sony E)

• Why do I want it?
  • I am a sucker for a 7Artisans lens.
• But…
  • f/4 is slower than the f/2.8 lenses I already have.
  • 15mm does not make a case for itself when I already have access to 17mm.

For at least a moment I seriously considered each one of these lenses. But yet again, I remembered that…

1. I do not shoot wide that often.
2. When I do I just need to use what I have access to.

Here are my favorite samples from both.

TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 Lens for Sony E (De-fisheyed in Lightroom)

De-fisheyed (Using the Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens profile in Lightroom.) I could not ask any better than that for my use case. And there are other advantages to the 11mm.

• It is a fisheye lens so images left as is provide a different perspective.
• It only costs $215.

Now on to the headliner.

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens for Sony E

This was the last of the original Tamron f/2.8 trinity that I purchased.

Now it is the only one left after the other two were traded when Tamron upended my apple cart by releasing the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens. So I now have a Tamron duo instead of a trio.

Which has been fantastic. Covering 17mm to 150mm (225mm when I use APS-C crop mode) with two lenses has removed the whole “What lenses do I need?” debate.

Even though I do not use it often it is still a fantastic lens. How good I imagine you asking? Welp. I hear tell that the more expensive Nikon 17-28mm f/2.8 is a reskinned Tamon 17-28mm f/2.8. A smart move for Nikon. It has served me well in the past.

Back to present day. Earlier this week I was tasked by my employer with capturing images for an intern program where I am a mentor. A typical “Could you bring your camera?” affair. So, you will let me play with cameras on your time? Sure. The 35-150mm mentioned above was the tool for my task. Typical candid conference room and group pics with big wigs in attendance affair. And it performed flawlessly. On the way home? On to the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8.

So even though I do not use this lens often, it still serves me well. Just as it served as one lens to simplify my wide lens lineup in the past it also serves as a defense from new lens releases also.

Well done Tamron.

Happy capturing.

-ELW