First impression: I bought that lens after looking for a Nikkor 17-55 2.8. I wanted a high quality normal lens to upgrade from the 18-70 or the 18-200. The logical choice was the Nikkor 17-55 2.8, but after looking at several reviews, among others on http://www.photozone.de, I have been hesitating a lot. Where I live, the Tamron is costing four times less money than the Nikkor and optical performance seemed to be on par. I did a quick test at the shop between the 17-55, the Tamron and my 50 1.8 @2.8. My conclusion was clear, I took the Tamron. There are differences of course between the Nikkor and the Tamron.
The lens mounted on a D200
Pros:
- price, price, price
- optical
performance (sharp, even the corners are sharp, even fully open)
-
light (comparable to the 18-70DX)
- compact
-
non-rotating front element
- reasonably fast focus (not
critical in that focal range)
- constant 2.8 aperture
- plastic build
- no pouch
delivered with the lens
- vignetting fully open at 17mm very
visible
- no focus correction possible
vs
the Nikkor
- the Nikkor is enormous, very heavy and built like
a tank
- the Nikkor has AF-S (faster, built in motor, manual
correction possible)
- the Nikkor is a pro-lens, but not worth
the money, to my opinion.
Conclusion:
if you are a pro, not too careful about your gear and if you have deep pockets, go for the Nikon, otherwise go for the Tamron, highly recommended.
A few examples