In 2022 Fuji began to really open up their platform to third party development, and that has opened a floodgate of both new and “ported” lenses from Tamron, Sigma, Samyang, Viltrox, and more.  It was that move along with the excellent camera design of the Fujifilm X-H2 (my review here) that triggered my first Fujifilm camera purchase (I had always borrowed Fuji cameras for previous reviews).  I had previously reviewed the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD on Sony E-mount in 2021 but I’ve been interested in revisiting the lenses on X-mount for two primary reasons:  1) to see how autofocus performs on a new platform and 2) to see how the lens’ optics survive the very pixel dense 40MP Fuji X-Trans sensor on some of their new cameras.  This really pushes the envelope of lens performance, as that high resolution exposes any optical shortcomings in a big way!  I won’t be doing an entirely new review, so there will be some redundant parts in this article, but I am going through and updating the content in key areas that are specific to the performance on Fuji X-mount.   The Fuji platform is different from the Sony E-mount “lens” that I viewed the Tamron 11-20mm RXD from before, as there are more premium options on Fuji and a higher standard for what features are expected there.  Can the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD compete in the Fuji X-mount arena?

Tamron loves its initials in their lens names, so let’s sort out that alphabet soup.  Di III is their designation for a mirrorless lens design, and, in this case, the addition of -A at the (Di III-A) refers to their development for APS-C mirrorless.  RXD refers to the focus motor, which is similar to the linear motors employed on many of Fuji’s better lenses.

There are few legitimate alternatives to this lens on the Fuji platform, as while there are a number of quality wide angle primes, there are only a couple of wide angle zooms.  The first is the premium XF 8-16mm F2.8 (my review here).  That lens is large (15mm wider and 35mm longer), heavy (2 1/2 times as heavy as the Tamron), and expensive ($670 more).  The focal range does have some overlap, obviously, and the maximum aperture is the same, but there are few similarities outside of that.  A more direct competitor is the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 OIS, though unfortunately I have not reviewed that lens.  The XF 10-24mm is more similar in focal range, size, and price ($999 vs $829 for the Tamron), though it has a maximum aperture of F4 rather than F2.8.  That lens does have OIS (optical stabilizer) and an aperture ring along with a larger zoom range, while the Tamron offers the larger maximum aperture, lower price, superior focus system, and (on paper) a superior optical performance, particularly on the telephoto end.  Here’s a look at how the raw specs of these three lenses compare:

So is the Tamron 11-20mm RXD a worthy addition to the Fuji platform?  You can get my thoughts by watching my definitive video review or reading the text review here…or just enjoy the photos!

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Thanks to Tamron USA for sending me an loaner of the lens.  As always, this is a completely independent review.  I have used both my personal Fujifilm X-H2 (my review here) and a loaner of the X-S20 for this review.

Photos of the Tamron 11-20mm RXD 

Photos taken with the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 RXD

Gear Used:

Purchase the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 RXD @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada |  Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S20 @ B&H Photo | Adorama  | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase the Fujifilm X-S10 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany | Ebay 

Purchase the Fujifilm X-H2 @ B&H Photo | Adorama | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Amazon Germany 

Purchase the Fujifilm X-T5 @ B&H Photo | Amazon | Camera Canada | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Find it Used at KEH 

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