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A comprehensive review of the Promaster (Tamron) 17-50mm f/2.8 XR EDO lens is not my intention here, as there is a fantastic in-depth review with lab tests and comparisons available at The Digital Picture. Rather, this review illustrates my personal thoughts on using this lens, what I use it for, and how it fits into a photographer’s kit. Hopefully, there will be some value in helping you choose a lens.
This review is for the Canon-mount version of this lens. It also is available for Nikon and Minolta mounts. Keep in mind that I’ve always shot Canon and so naturally gravitate towards it. However, Nikon can be just as good (or better), and they have fantastic offerings in entry-level, enthusiast, and professional DSLR markets. There are also many excellent and competitive options from Fujifilm, Panasonic, Sony, Leica, and others. The quality of your photos is less about the equipment and more about the photographer; choosing your equipment is a matter of personal preference. I encourage you to experiment with different cameras and lenses until you find the ones that you like.
The Promaster (Tamron) 17-50mm f/2.8 XR EDO is a rebranded version of the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II (to which the above linked review leads to). Because of this it is much more difficult to find. However, the Promaster has only two differences: it is (when found) typically cheaper than the Tamron and comes with a lifetime warranty from Promaster as opposed to a 7 year warranty from Tamron. Other than that it is identical to the original Tamron.
The major selling point of this lens is a fixed wide aperture at f/2.8 (the widest aperture available on practically all zoom lenses). This makes the lens a great option for low-light conditions where you need to stop motion. Fast lens speed at f/2.8 means you can shoot with faster shutter speeds needed to stop movement without using flash. It also means you can shoot with a lower ISO and thus reduce the amount of noise present in your images. The fixed aperture is great because it allows for consistent exposure throughout the entirety of the zoom range. The Promaster’s range of 17-50mm more than adequately covers the wide to mid-range distances.
So how does this Promaster compare to its more commonly discussed Canon counterpart?
Whenever people look at “this lens (and by “this lens” I mean the mainstream but identical Tamron of course), they almost immediately compare it to the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens. One of the top two EF-S series lenses (the other being my favorite, the 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM), the Canon 17-55mm is quite similar in many ways to the Promaster.
Probably the most immediate difference people will notice is the price. The Tamron lens is less than half of the Canon (and the Promaster that I picked up was only about a quarter of the price). You can typically find the Tamron new at around $450, while a new Canon 17-55mm will run you around $1,000-1,100.
Of course that difference doesn’t come without a price (so to speak). The Promaster has several notable weaknesses when compared to the Canon:
- It lacks image stabilization (an image stabilized version of the Tamron does exist but there are significant problems with its system that can actually produce poorer images)
- It is 5mm shorter on the wide end
- It lacks full-time manual focusing (the autofocus on this lens is actually pretty fast but extremely noisy, emitting a high-pitched buzz)
- Image quality at the edges starts to suffer around 35mm, becoming noticeably poorer at 50mm compared to the Canon
That said, the Promaster also has some advantages outside of price:
- It is significantly lighter and smaller
- It has a closer focusing distance at 0.27m, compared to the Canon’s relatively long 0.35m (it also has higher magnification: 0.22x vs. 0.17x, quite decent for a zoom lens)
- It has less vignetting and flare
- It has a zoom lock button (only at 17mm, for storage)
- The 17mm wide end is slightly wider than the equivalent length on the Canon
With the exception of perhaps the size and weight, for most people what the Promaster lacks is more significant than the advantages it has… until you factor in price of course. Price is really the heart of the debate between the Promaster / Tamron and the Canon. As stated, the Tamron version of this lens is a little under half of the Canon. If you feel that the features the Canon has are worth the extra money you should go with it. If those features aren’t important to you go with the Tamron. The image quality on both are so close that you probably won’t notice much difference. Most reviews seem to agree that in the real-world (i.e. outside of lab tests) the Tamron has a slight edge in center sharpness while the Canon has a slight-to-noticeable advantage in the edge / corner sharpness as you increase the focal length.
Since I was fortunate enough to find a Promaster version of the lens from a local dealer, what I saved in terms of money was definitely worth giving up on the Canon features. I purchased this lens for $250 (almost half the Tamron’s price and less than a one-fourth of the Canon). I also appreciate the size and weight advantage over the Canon 17-55mm, which is quite heavy and bulky for a mid-range zoom. Because of its smaller size, the lens does not cast an interfering shadow when using the pop-up flash on the wide end. With the hood you will get some shadow until about 24mm.
When do I use the Promaster over my primary Canon 15-85mm lens? You’ll remember that the main selling point of the Promaster is the fixed wide aperture. For that reason, this lens excels:
- When shooting in low-light conditions where my subjects are moving and flash is not allowed
- When I’m shooting video in low light (for video fixed aperture is always better because you don’t want it to change if you zoom during filming… even though you shouldn’t zoom much at all during filming)
- When I want to shoot with less depth of field at all focal lengths
At 50mm, my main Canon 15-85mm lens has a max aperture f/5.0. Since I can shoot at f/2.8 at 50mm with the Promaster, I have a significantly faster lens which enables me to stop motion much more easily without cranking the ISO very high.
In terms of shooting with less depth of field, this point needs a caveat. Although the lens can shoot as wide as f/2.8 throughout the entire focal range, it only has moderately good bokeh (quality of the background blur). At 50mm and f/2.8, the bokeh is decent but not as good as what you would get using a 50mm prime (fixed focal length) lens at f/2.8. For that reason, I would not recommend this as a primary portrait lens. It can work well for group shots (where a 50mm may crop too much) and obviously for situations in which you may take some portrait shots but also need the flexibility of the zoom range and do not have time to change lenses or the space to zoom with your feet.
Stop Motion
Focal Length 39mm, Shutter Speed 1/100, Aperture f/5, ISO 6400
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/100, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 2500
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/125, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 5000
In the above shots I used faster shutter speeds (1/100 and 1/125) to freeze the action. In the below shots, I used a slow shutter speed to draw in the ambient light with a second curtain flash to freeze the subjects while preserving motion blur. This conveys the sense of movement happening in the photos.
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/6, Aperture f/5.0, ISO 100 (with second curtain flash fired)
Focal Length 23mm, Shutter Speed 1/6, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 400 (with second curtain flash fired)
Low-light Stills (No Motion)
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/30, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 6400
Focal Length 22mm, Shutter Speed 1/6, Aperture f/4.5, ISO 400 (with second curtain flash fired)
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/50, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 2500
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/40, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 3200
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/40, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 6400
Focal Length 32mm, Shutter Speed 1/20, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 5000
Video Shooting
Most of this video was shot with the Promaster (during one middle segment I used a Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime): 1080p, 24fps, Focal Length 35mm-50mm, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 800
With its low-light capabilities, the Promaster complements my main Canon 15-85mm lens very nicely. Like the 15-85mm, this lens has a 7-bladed diaphragm, allowing it to make 14-pointed sunstars on bright points of light.
Focal Length 50mm, Shutter Speed 1/80, Aperture f/22, ISO 1200
For those photographers who can do without image stabilization and 5mm on the long end, this lens could also make for a good general purpose lens to replace the standard Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II kit lens. If you primarily shoot in low-light conditions the Promaster / Tamron would definitely give you the ability to produce better results with your images. I actually suggest keeping the kit lens because it is an excellent lens, and the resale value of it is very low. The Canon kit lens gives you that extra length (though you lose a little bit on the wide-end) and image stabilization. These two lenses complement each other quite well. However, I definitely recommend the Promaster / Tamron over the kit lens for manual focus situations (such as shooting DSLR video) because it has a dedicated manual focus ring that is much easier to manipulate.
The Promaster is rare, but you can purchase the original Tamron from:
Purchase Tamron #RHAFA09 Lens Hood from:
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