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

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

25 February 2022

Maciej Latałło

10. Autofocus

The autofocus of the Tamron 17-70 mm employs a motor unit called Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive (RXD in the name of the lens). The tested lens joined with the Sony A7R III is noiseless indeed. When it comes to its speed we can describe its performance in superlatives only. At the shortest focal length the lens is really flash-quick, with focusing time never exceeding 0.3 of a second. At the longer focal length it is a tad slower but still it usually manages to focus under 0.5 of a second - a very good performance indeed!

When it comes to accuracy the lens fares a bit weaker. There were slip-ups during our test and we experienced them both during outdoor sessions and in well-lit studio. Overall we estimate that in 5-6% of shots the lens might misfocus.

Still there were no problems whatsoever with any front or back focus tendencies – you see that very clear below, where we present photos shot in the most difficult conditions so near the minimum focusing distance.

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