Not so great pictures with Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II..

keep your apertures under f/11 to avoid diffraction. you get a soft image because of that.

mannetti21 wrote in post #14277682
Based on your choices of camera settings, I'd like to give you some very sincere advice...you will save yourself A LOT of money in the future on cameras/lenses by learning as much as possible about lighting/exposure/edit​ing before upgrading your gear any further. Among other things, your choice of f/32 (regardless of the situation), makes it evident that you haven't quite familiarized yourself with the fundamentals of photography.

I somewhat i disagree.... Not knowing that you are not supposed to use f/32 at all is not a fundamental concept..DOF should increase with lower f-stop, that is what i learnt about fundamentals... It is the imperfections of a body/lens that I need to familiarize more (as Numenorean indicated about diffraction at f/32 earlier)...

Saginus wrote in post #14278091
I somewhat i disagree.... Not knowing that you are not supposed to use f/32 at all is not a fundamental concept..DOF should increase with lower f-stop, that is what i learnt about fundamentals... It is the imperfections of a body/lens that I need to familiarize more (as Numenorean indicated about diffraction at f/32 earlier)...

You further prove my point. I'm hard-pressed to identify a situation where, after quickly weighing the pros and cons, I would settle on an f/32 aperture. Why? Because practically ALL lenses would suffer at f/32...which is why I would label that concept fundamental. But again, I was only providing advice in hopes of saving your wallet.

Maybe this exercise will better illustrate my point...think of a lens that is clearly inferior to the one you are using. Browse through the Len's Image sample thread, and if you are not consistently taking better pictures than the ones in that thread, then you are not using your equipment to its full potential. I will leave you to figure out the reason for that. (and you are correct, becoming familiar with the equipment is certainly a contributing factor)

When I first started out with an SLR (film days) I thought the secret to getting sharp photos was to use narrow apertures (larger numbered f stops, like f/16, f/22, etc.) because that would maximize the depth of field and get everything sharp. By doing so, I often ended up shooting at shutter speeds that were too slow which caused the photos to be less sharp than if I had shot at a more normal aperture (f/5.6, f/8, f/11). I rarely shoot over f/11 now unless I'm checking my sensor for dust.

aximrocks wrote in post #14277827
keep your apertures under f/11 to avoid diffraction. you get a soft image because of that.

This.

OP you have a lot to learn. f32 is never needed and @ f11 will gives you pretty much all dof you will ever need.

your ISO, aperture and shutter speed were all wrong.

The len's main strength is the constant f2.8 across the zoom range. Your examples were not utilizing any of that, it came in no surprise that it is no sharper than the kit lens (or worse than kit).

Thanks a lot guys... I think i learnt a valuable lesson... In a way, it is what i was looking for... I did not want to hear that my lens has an issue...
less than f/11 it is my thumb rule...

Have a read about Lens Diffraction and why extreme f/stops can cause softness.
http://www.cambridgein​colour.com …ffraction-photography.htm

I just felt like posting this...

Same lens, but under strobes so doesn't really count.

aximrocks wrote in post #14277827
keep your apertures under f/11 to avoid diffraction. you get a soft image because of that.

This.

My copy of this lens was good up to F16 before diffraction was too much for me.
Second, this lens is known to be soft at 2.8, but very sharp 3.2 and higher.
Third, be mindful of the slow AF and lack of IS.

Saginus wrote in post #14276090

i tried almost all the modes... tried landscapes, silhouettes. portraits, etc...

This is the main issue. You have to learn to use real camera modes - most importantly Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, to learn how to get the most out of your gear.

Saginus wrote in post #14276621
one more..

at f/32 and ISO 400..this was on a tripod...
Even at 2X zoom, the quality degrades a lot..

Well, diffraction caused by use of any lens at f/32 on any APS-C body is not going to help IQ!

I know this is old, but your exif says your shooting in Aperature Priority. Thats also part of the problem. Yo need to control your aperature and ISO and Shutter indoors. Outdoors it is a hit or miss.