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5 Great Wide Angle Lenses Under $1,000

Chris Gampat
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12/19/2022
5 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 product images 21-320s200 1

There are fantastic wide angle lenses that can be had very affordably. If you’re photographing the clouds over the city, one of these lenses is bound to be great for you. But that also means photographers walking through the forest, or capturing photos of fascinating buildings, or shooting at an event will also benefit. So we dove into our Reviews Index to find some of the best wide angle lenses under $1,000. And we think you’ll love these.

Using This Guide on Great Wide Angle Lenses Under $1,000

Here are some tips on how to use this roundup:

  • We’ve tested all the wide-angle lenses featured in this roundup. The sample photos and product photos were all shot by our staff. We’re recommending only products we’ve used ourselves, so you can trust our endorsements.
  • These wide angle lenses work well on both APS-C and full-frame cameras. We’ve tested them accordingly, and you can see more for yourself in our hyperlinked reviews.
  • Our favorite image quality from these lenses comes when you lock the white balance to either daylight or tungsten. In many cases, you don’t even need to stop the lenses down, but it can’t hurt!
  • All these wide-angle lenses are also weather-resistant. That means more than them just being functional in the rain; it means the product will also last longer. We’ve tested these marketing claims ourselves. And you can see the results in our hyperlinked reviews. Click on our Build Quality section in the table of contents of each review to see more.

Tamron Nomenclature

Here are some common Tamron terms in their lens naming and what they mean.

  • Di: Tamron Di (Digitally Integrated) lenses are performance-optimized for digital cameras. Lenses with the nomenclature Di are lenses for DSLRs featuring full-frame sensors; Di II for DSLRs with APS-C sensors; Di III for mirrorless cameras with full-frame sensors; and Di III-A for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors.
  • VXD: (Voice-Coil eXtreme torque Drive) The VXD AF Drive provides the highest levels of autofocus speed and precision in Tamron’s long history. It is Tamron’s first-ever linear motor focus mechanism for stunningly fast and accurate auto-focusing. Two VXD units are arranged in a floating system and operated simultaneously via electronic control to achieve excellent optical performance at all shooting distances near and far. Focus tracking is vastly improved for sports and racing photography.
  • G1 or G2: First or second generation of a particular Tamron lens.
  • VC: (Vibration Compensation Image Stabilization System) Tamron’s VC uses a proprietary actuator and algorithms to deliver an extremely stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking. The 3-coil system electromagnetically drives the lens element that compensates for vibration, which glides smoothly on three balls with little friction. Several lenses offer different modes for panning and video shooting. VC can also be customized with the TAP-In Console or Tamron Lens Utility. VC should always be turned off when using the lens on a tripod.
  • RXD: (Rapid eXtra-silent Drive) The RXD stepping drive uses an actuator to precisely control the rotational angle of the motor, allowing it to directly drive the focusing lens without passing through a reduction gear. A sensor that accurately detects the position of the lens enables high-speed and precise AF, which is ideal when shooting moving subjects or video.

Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD

  • Weather sealed
  • Sharp image quality
  • Fast autofocus – nearly on the same level as Sony’s
  • Compact
  • Lightweight
  • Overall pretty useful
  • Available for Sony E- Mount

In our review, we state:

“The Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 Di III RXD is a fantastic lens when it comes to image quality. This overall makes it a stellar performer.”

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Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 Di III-A RXD

  • Short minimum focus distance
  • Widest f2.8 zoom for Sony’s crop sensor E-Mount available
  • Excellent center sharpness
  • Lots of bendy character
  • Weather-sealed
  • Reasonably priced
  • Available for Sony E-Mount (APS-C)

In our review, we state:

“At the center, this ultra-wide zoom is exceptionally sharp. Subjects placed at the center or right around the Rule of Thirds marks have great, down-to-the-eyelash detail.”

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Tamron 17-70mm f2.8 Di III-A VC RXD

  • Small
  • Weather sealed
  • Under $1,000
  • Image stabilized
  • Basically a 24-105mm at f2.8
  • Lightweight
  • Available for Sony E-Mount (APS-C) and Fujifilm X Mount

In our review, we state:

“As always, it’s hard to complain about Tamron’s image quality. They’re not always the sharpest lenses on the market, but they provide massive value. And the Tamron 17-70mm f2.8 Di III-A VC RXD is no exception. You’re getting a generally solid lens with a bit of character to it. This lens made me a bit nostalgic. When shooting with it and the a6600, the images looked familiar. On further inspection, I knew I’d seen this somewhere. The images look a whole lot like the output from old Sony cameras. Remember when they had more of a purple tone to them? I’m talking about way back in the NEX days. That’s the case here. And it’s awesome!”

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Tamron 20mm f2.8 Di III OSD

  • Well built
  • Affordable
  • Nice colors
  • Tamron is embracing Mirrorless with a small and lightweight offering
  • Weather sealed very well; it survived a few hours in the rain
  • Autofocuses quickly
  • Priced at only $349
  • Available for Sony E-Mount

In our review, we state:

“This lens has great image quality with nice bokeh (when possible), very good sharpness, and beautiful colors. On top of all that, it’s lightweight and built like a tank. Best of all, the price and portability are things you’ll be very happy with.”

Buy Now

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M1:2

  • Small footprint
  • Lightweight (7.6 oz / 215g)
  • Very robust weather sealing
  • Excellent image quality overall
  • Close minimum focusing distance
  • Affordably priced at just US $349
  • Available for Sony E-Mount

In our review, we state:

“Overall, you’ll be happy with the images produced by the Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M1:2. The results are in-line with Tamron’s other Sony FE Mount lenses that pair quality optics with affordable price points.”

Buy Now

The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

This piece is presented in partnership with TAMRON. We’ve independently and ethically reviewed all the products in this post already without sponsorship. And we worked with them to recommend a few key gems to you.

aps-c fujifilm x mount sony tamron tamron 11-20mm Tamron 17-28mm Tamron 17-70mm tamron 20mm tamron 24mm Wide Angle wide angle lenses
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.