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Mike Johnston’s “Sunday Morning Photographer” column this week is devoted to digital, with opinions about the new DSLR cameras on the market, a cheap and effective black and white printing system, and the Tamron 17-35mm Di lens (pictured).

“Got all that? It’s not quite all. Two very important specifications you also need to know about are: weight, 14.4 ounces (440g); and price, less than $500.

These last two bits make the Tamron 17-35mm Di truly stand out. Virtually any lens maker can make superb lenses if a) it can charge enough money for it, and b) if it can make the lens as large and heavy as it wants to. Most lenses of this specification are, to put it kindly, beasts. As in, big and heavy. This lens isn’t. I know, I know, real men don’t care about weight…and yet you know in your heart you do, especially if you practice a style of photography that has you carrying the camera around with you wherever you go. Virtually anyone who has been in this game for a few decades has owned lenses that more often than not get left behind because they’re just friggin’ bricks, and I don’t care if you’re the Guvernator. I’m not a nut about small and light, but small enough and light enough are plusses.”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: A Killer Digital Lens

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