Over the last few months, Tamron has announced three exciting new lenses—arguably the most anticipated of the three being the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD lens for the Sony E-mount. This lens is the world's first F2-2.8 full-frame zoom lens for Sony E-mount and features a versatile and unique range providing seamless shooting from wide-angle to telephoto.
With a 4.3x optical zoom, the lens covers the six most popular prime lens focal lengths in one zoom lens (35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, 105mm, 135mm) which is ideal focal lengths for portraiture, event, and travel photography.
Design/Features
Besides the incredibly convenient focal length combination and light gathering capabilities, this lens is packed full of beneficial and customizable features to match your shooting style. When it comes to design, it has a large 82mm filter diameter and in terms of size, the Tamron 35-150mm is 6.2” long and about 3.5" around, weighing only 41.1 oz (2.56lbs). It's similar in size to other full frame 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, despite having 50% more light gathering capability at f/2.
The Tamron 35-150mm is also compatible with TAMRON Lens Utility which can be operated via computer by connecting the lens from its Connector Port via a USB-C cable (sold separately). Users now have lens function customization and the ability to update the lens firmware.
The Tamron Lens Utility includes custom switch settings and focus ring settings. The customizations include:
- MF Ring Rotation: To change the rotation direction of the focus ring
- MF Method: To choose the method of focus operation when using the focus ring
- A-B Focus: Set 2 focus positions (A and B) to make the focus automatically shift between the two points
- Focus Preset: Set your desired focus position and move the focus to the designated point by a single button press
- Select AF/MF: Select AF and MF function using the Focus Set Button
- Switch Focus Ring Function (Focus/Aperture): Switch Focus Ring Function from focus adjustment to aperture adjustment
- Assign function from the camera: Assign custom functions from the camera body to the Focus Set Button
The Tamron 35-150mm had a lens barrel redesign that incorporated improved abrasion resistance making the lens barrel harder to scratch and resist fingerprints. The surface of the lens exterior is shiny and much glossier than previous models.
Like the majority of Tamron lenses, the 35-150mm has a moisture-resistant construction. It comes with 10 seals and gaskets throughout the lens, including the USB-C connector port. The fluorine coating on the front element helps repel water and oil, making the lens surface easier to clean and less vulnerable to the damaging effects of dirt, dust, moisture, and fingerprints.
Optical Design
Tamron claims the lens has outstanding optical performance from center to corner throughout the entire zoom range. This claim is backed up by three Glass Molded Aspherical and four Low Dispersion lens elements. The Tamron 35-150mm also utilizes camera body correction capability to achieve even greater contrast and higher resolution.
The BBAR-G2 lens coating helps minimize ghosting and flare for clear images with brilliant, sharp detail. The lower f/2 aperture provides multiple advantages such as beautiful bokeh, the ability to shoot in low light conditions, use of faster shutter speeds, and the use of lower ISO settings for less noise.
Photo Credit: Marc Morris | Sony A7RIII | Settings: 35mm, F2.5, 1/6400 s, ISO 200
The ability to capture close-up images is right at your fingertips with the Tamron 35-150mm. At the 35mm wide-angle end, the MOD is 0.33m (13 in), achieving a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.7. On the telephoto side, there is a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.9 which is impressive for a medium telephoto range.
Aperture Range
With an aperture range of f/2-2.8, photographers will have a huge advantage when it comes to capturing a shallow depth of field, especially with the lens' focal length. Below we've listed the maximum aperture with the appropriate zoom length.
- 35-40mm – F/2
- 41-60mm – F/2.2
- 61-80mm – F/2.5
- 81-150mm – F/2.8
VXD Focusing System
The Tamron 35-150mm uses TAMRON’s VXD linear motor focus mechanism. Users will find optimal AF performance since it now operates faster than ever before and the drive maintains positional accuracy down to 0.005mm (0.0002 in). To put that in perspective, that’s less than one-tenth the width of human hair! Not only that but it’s extremely quiet, making it useful in both still and video applications where near-silence is required.
It's safe to say that with the precision of the focus mechanism combined with the vibration compensation, the user will be more inclined to sharper handheld shooting and an overall sharpness in their image.
Photo credit: Max Rutherford | Sony A7RIII | Settings: 123mm, F2.8, 1/640s, ISO 250
Sales representative, Max Rutherford, was able to test the lens out for himself. Here are his thoughts:
"Very quick and snappy autofocus. Very sharp and clear photos, even when shooting into the sun or backlit subjects. For a zoom lens of this range I was really impressed with the sharpness throughout the focal range and across the frame. Main take away is that the focal range, and low aperture capabilities make this an incredibly fun lens to shoot with and the best part is that you don't need to sacrifice performance with this lens. Tamron did a great job of packing a ton of high end performance and versatility into a lens of this size, weight and price. As a family or portrait photographer, I would definitely recommend this lens."
When paired with a Sony E-mount camera, Tamron's autofocus system is fully compatible with Sony’s main camera-specific features and functions including:
- Fast Hybrid AF
- Eye AF
- Direct Manual Focus (DMF)
- In-camera lens correction (shading, chromatic aberration, distortion)
The Tamron 35-150mm is now available for sale and retailing for $1899. Find it, here.