Tamron 17-50 vs Sony 20-70 Lens Comparison Showdown

The Tamron 17-50 f4 and Sony 20-70 f4 are both made to be the perfect walk around lens but which one is the best?

On the one hand the the Tamron 17-50 has a great wide end going all the way to 17mm but the Sony 20-70 gives you more zoom range going to 70mm. Since both lenses are f4 they both perform similarly in low light but how do they compare in sharpness and contrast?

Both of these lenses are excellent in performance and optics but when it comes to price there is a pretty big difference as well.

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Jake Sloan
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00:00 Intro
00:38 Field of View Difference in Photo
02:00 Field of View Difference in Video
03:54 Stabilization comparison
05:56 High Speed Photo shooting difference
07:33 Comparing Sharpness, Contrast and Flaring
08:53 Physical Differences
10:38 Price Difference
10:57 Outro

[Manoj_Galle]

I have the Sony 20-70 and it has become one of my favorite lenses ever. (I mainly use it for photography)
Together with the 70-200 GM II it covers like 90% I need, so it´s a really lightweight kit.
Sometimes I bring the 14mm 1.8 GM as well, which is also really light, so cover the ultra wide shots.

[Jason_Hermann]

Thanks for the comprehensive comparison Jake and I am surprised to see the active stab performing so much different between lenses. Good to know! While I still have it I'm going to test the Tamron 20-40mm vs the new Sony 24-50mm and see if I can see a significant difference on my A7C2.

[MarineX]

The colors are definitely different. Great review. I still don't know which I'd get. I think you have longer arms similar to me. So the 20mm with activate worked for you while vlogging.

[cohoonatube]

Great review as always Jake, thanks! All Tamron guy here currently (LOVE the 50-400). What caught me by surprise in this review was how much more I liked the initial overall hues from the Sony lens… more blue by default than green… just cooler to my eyes. All easily changed in post of course. Interesting difference with the Active Stabilization. I had planned on getting the 17-50 to pair with my 50-400… 2 lens solution :D.

[JonathanBarrow]

Been waiting on more people to cover this topic. I’ve been so torn on these two. Mainly want to use for travel vlogging

[ntsan]

That Active IS is quite a big difference!

[lazaroaleks]

Cool Review
I was looking for a comparison like this.
The 20-70mm is almost perfect. A higher aperture would make it perfect. But it would also definitely be heavier and bigger and of course much more expensive.

I rented the lens for my A7SIII for my vacation and was absolutely happy. I waited a long time for a lens from Sony with this range.
If you are a content creator and you travel a lot and want to take only the bare minimum with you, then this lens is a must.

[bondgabebond]

Thanks for an excellent review of two similar lenses at dramatically different costs. As you hit the field to evaluate a product, I applaud you. I have the Tamron 17-28 f2.8 lens. It is first generation and the design of the body says so. But it is a very nice, lightweight and very sharp lens. What is fascinating is that as the costs of 3rd party lenses drop way below native lenses, it's getting harder to push for the cheaper aps-c system. Yes, aps-c is great and is all people need for casual to semi-pro work, but what we see coming from the likes of Tamron and the many other companies makes it compelling to stick with or go to FF camera. With Sony coming out with their A7C compact line, it's getting difficult to push the smaller sensor cameras. What makes it so much nicer is that cameras like the A7CR with its 61mp sensor, we can use the much lighter and cheaper Chinese aps-c lenses and still get excellent results.
Keep it up. Show us the wonderful pictures you produce in Alaska.

[video-stills-edit]

For my work, i’ll always take internal zooms over a zoom extension lens. Farms, iron ore minesites, industrial sheds full of fine dust, beaches etc, I really wish internal zooms were a design priority over lens speed.

[MadChalet]

I'm not a vlogger so what do I know, but I'm surprised that either of these lenses would be in the running, given the weight of a zoom and the relatively slow f-4 max aperture. Wouldn't a fast fixed focal length be optimal? Thanks for the review - I always enjoy your insights. 🤘

[adriano]

Oh man, every time I feel tempted to get back into Sony because of a cool new lens or body… then I see the IBIS test and 😖. The LUMIX S5II is just soooo good in that field, is worth some other compromises

[fotosvond_]

7:15 How easily you were able to disconnect the microphon there. I got the small G1 mic and it isn't really easy to put on or off ;D

[bizpixvegas]

Hi Jake, thank you for the great review. I had a chance to shoot with the Tamron 17-50 and it flared more than what I see in your images. I shot mostly around f8-f11 and had great sharpness throughout the range and better results on the shorter focal lengths. I just noticed that you were shooting at f18-f20. I am wondering if the softness in the Tamron may be due to refraction kicking in. Just a thought.

[Pfagnan]

Good review! I bought the Tamron and so far I love it!! 📸

[TylerNally]

I shoot much older Canon DSLR now about 12 & 13 years old. My everyday lens is a Tamron 18-270 f3.5 and a Canon 18-135 f3.5 w/ macro. The macro gets the call when a lot of video is shot as it's better & faster at autofocus with video or if I know I'm not going to shoot many 'up close' images from the vantage point when 8 might rely upon better autofocus that I can't plan when I'm guessing focus do to depth of field that snaps into focus (you know where wider apertures have a shallower depth of field than the narrower apertures long/dep depth of field) field

[IdahoMthman]

Taken my A6700 and my Tamron to Costa Rico. Wish me luck on my photo journey

[JonathanBarrow]

Basically I wish Sony made the 17-50 with the nice build quality and buttons, plus active stab.

[DmitryBrodsky]

which one would be ideal for European in city travel, like Paris or Rome?

[Princeton_James]

That 50-70 is a big junp capared to the 17-20 (3mm difference). Id rather stay native as much as possible. Tamron makes some awesome lenses but the Sony has the edge here.

[pslaathaug]

Man your drone is giving me anxiety hovering over the water like that in the background of some of the shots lol.