In article <4v7e5r$gou@usenetp1.news.prodigy.com>, PLSS10A@prodigy.com says...

>The WWW Lens Test Archive rated the Tamron 17mm f3.5 SP lens (actually,
>they thought it was an AF lens) as "bad - avoid" although the rating was
>based on a single magazine's test. Maybe they had poor results because
>it wouldn't autofocus...?
>I would like to know if anyone has used this lens and could comment on
>it's optical quality (or lack of same...)

I tried one several years ago, and sold it very soon afterwards - as
less-expensive superwides go, it was not terrible. But less-than-wonderful
resolution, combined with rather low contrast, produced images not to
my liking. For casual shooting with color negative materials, it is
OK, but for high-quality B & W or slide work, I would look elsewhere.
Hope This Helps