I am Olivier Wong, a Parisian photographer who likes to take urban and landscape photography. I had the opportunity to test the new Tamron 17-70mm F/2.8 DI III-A VC RXD (Model B070), a high-speed standard zoom lens for Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. I had my hands on this new lens while I was in Paris and I did different photoshoots with it, from street photography to portraiture. Let me tell you my experience.
When I go out and shoot in the city, I like to pack light as I tend to walk a lot! So most of the time, I only bring a camera and two lenses to keep my bag not too heavy. When I took the Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 mounted on a Sony APS-C body for my daily use, I could really feel the difference compared to usual as the equipment is very compact and light weight. Yet, this great portability does not mean I had to compromise on the quality and features! Indeed, the focal range from 17mm to 70mm makes it a versatile lens as it covers a wide variety of situations and is perfect to capture different types of shots: when wandering in the city, I could take wide architecture shots of Parisian buildings and monuments as well as zoom-in shots of details from afar. It is convenient to have this flexibility and not have to change lenses every now and then.
As I mostly shoot at sunrise or sunset to get this golden and soft light, I need equipment capable of producing stunning images under low-light conditions. This is what the constant aperture of F2.8 can offer: I managed to get some bright and sharp results when I shot by hand at low shutter speed (around 1/25sec). For most of the situations, I did not need any tripod as the integrated VC image stabilization did a great job at compensating for camera shake.
When it comes to portrait, I was surprised by how quiet, fast and accurate the lens was. The autofocus works like a charm with the Eye-AF feature of the camera! The F2.8 aperture delivers really smooth bokeh even in wide-angle portrait shots: I was really satisfied with the eye-pleasing rendering of the portraits throughout the whole focal length.
As to sum up, I really enjoyed shooting with this lens. In everyday situations, the lens covers most of the pictures I am used to taking and delivers crisp results. It is the perfect lens for anyone looking for a go-to lens for their daily uses and their travels. This would definitely be the right lens to pick if you are concerned with image quality, size and weight when travelling. I would say that this Tamron 17-70mm F2.8 is one of the best all-around lenses for APS-C mirrorless cameras!