Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

Tamron
97 Overall Score
vs
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Canon
85 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

85 out of 100 high confidence 62 reviews

The Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD lens is widely praised for its sharpness, versatile zoom range, constant aperture, and effective stabilization, making it an excellent all-around lens for APS-C cameras. Users appreciate its solid build quality and value for money, though many note it is noticeably heavier and larger than typical kit lenses, which can feel unbalanced on smaller camera bodies. A few reviewers mention minor issues like chromatic aberration at the longer end and noise from the aperture blades at certain settings, but overall sentiment is very positive.

Pros
  • sharp image quality across zoom range
  • constant f/2.8 aperture
  • effective image stabilization
  • fast and quiet autofocus
  • versatile 17-70mm focal range
Cons
  • heavy and large for APS-C body
  • chromatic aberration at 50-70mm
  • aperture blade noise above f/5.6
  • short zoom throw initially stiff
  • no aperture ring on Fuji version
👍 Image quality 27
👍 Build quality 15
🤔 Weight and size 18
👍 Value for money 14
👍 Stabilization 12
👍 Autofocus performance 11

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

No customer feedback yet

Scores

Video Cinema
Tamron
98
Canon
76
Budget
Tamron
96
Canon
87
Macro
Tamron
91
Canon
77
Professional
Tamron
91
Canon
71
Portrait
Tamron
90
Canon
78
Street
Tamron
78
Canon
87
Travel
Tamron
87
Canon
86
Landscape
Tamron
84
Canon
76
Wildlife Sports
Tamron
75
Canon
69

Specifications

Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXDCanon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Optics
Typezoomzoom
Focal Length Min17 mm18 mm
Focal Length Max70 mm200 mm
Elements1616
Groups1212
Aspherical Elements3★2
ED Elements22
CoatingFluorine CoatingSuper Spectra coating
Aperture
Max Aperturef/2.8f/3.5
Min Aperturef/2.83.5-5.6
Constant✓★✗
Diaphragm Blades9★6
Build
MountSony ECanon EF-S
FormatAPS-CAPS-C
Weather Sealed✓★—
Weight0.54 kg0.11 kg★
Filter Thread67 mm72 mm
AF & Stabilization
AF TypeRXDDC Micro Motor
Stabilization✓✓
Stabilization Stops—4 stops★
Focus
Min Focus Distance190 mm★457 mm
Max Magnification1:4.8★—

Pros & Cons

Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

  • Strong optical (90th percentile)90th %ile
  • Strong versatility (90th percentile)90th %ile
  • Strong bokeh (89th percentile)89th %ile
  • Strong aperture (86th percentile)86th %ile

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

  • Strong versatility (98th percentile)98th %ile
  • Strong build (96th percentile)96th %ile
  • Strong stabilization (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
  • Strong optical (88th percentile)88th %ile

Verdict

★ Winner: Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

Scores 97 overall, wins 7 of 9 usage categories and 6 of 22 specs.

Tamron Di III 17-70mm f/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD Better at:

MacroBudgetPortraitLandscapeProfessionalVideo CinemaWildlife Sports

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Better at:

Street