Tamron Announces the 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD Lens – A Potential GM Competitor?

Tamron has announced a new 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Sony Alpha full-frame mirrorless cameras. There is no pricing information yet, but release is planned for around the middle of this year and Tamron will display the lens at CP+ 2019 (February 28 through March 3), at Pacifico Yokohama.

With the success of the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD * lens which was released last year, many will be hoping that Tamron can repeat this success by delivering a more affordable alternative to the very expensive Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master * lens.

The upcoming Tamron 17-28mm lens features a 67mm filter size compared to the Sony 16-35mm GM’s 82mm, making it more compact in size and most likely lighter in weight as well, appealing to those who would like a more travel friendly alternative to the G Master.

The lens has a constant f/2.8 aperture and a minimum focusing distance of 19cm (7.5″) at the wide-angle. Tamron also said that the 17-28mm’s Rapid Extra-Silent Stepping Drive (RXD) enables “high-speed, high-precision, and superbly quiet operation” for photo and video shooters.

The Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD lens is currently priced at around $880 making it $1320 cheaper than the Sony FE 24-70 f/2.8 GM lens. Could we see a similar price with their new lens?

I think Tamron could price this lens at around $1200 and it will still fly of the shelves, even if the image quality doesn’t quite match the more expensive G Master. We have seen this happen already with the success of their 28-75mm lens.

Providing Tamron has nailed the image quality again, how much would be prepared to pay?

You can read the full press-release here.