GEAR MINI TESTS
TAMRON 35-150MM F/2-2.8 DI III VXD LENS £1799/$1899 tamron.eu
There was a time when many independent lens manufacturers were viewed as lesser brands. They tended to copy the marquee names, but were often slower, less sharp and had more basic design. But they sold well, thanks in part to significantly cheaper prices. Things have shifted in recent years, as companies like Tamron and Sigma made wholesale changes. Now, these are high-end brands that not only often beat the famous makers’ own products in terms of performance, but are breaking new ground with some serious innovation. The Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD is one such lens, offering a wide zoom range with a ridiculously fast f/2 maximum aperture at the wide end. Canon is the only manufacturer with something similarly fast – its 28-70mm f/2L USM – but this is for the bigger RF lens mount only. Nobody else has managed a wide- ranging zoom with f/2 aperture for the most popular mount: Sony E. Until now, with this Tamron beast. At 1165g/2.57lb in weight and 89x158mm/3.5x6.2in in size – with an 82mm filter thread – this is no featherweight optic. It’s solidly built and weather-sealed, though. And it can replace more than a few lenses in the kitbag, so it’s not too bad in total weight. The only issue is that it does make a Sony mirrorless camera feel quite front-heavy.
At the wide end, the lens is a 35mm f/2, closing down to around f/2.5 at 60mm, and then f/2.8 from 85mm all the way to 150mm. That’s very impressive, giving a sufficiently wide aperture at short focal lengths to create some decent bokeh, although close focusing is not on par with a dedicated 35mm f/2 prime. Of course, at the longer lengths, 150mm at f/2.8 produces plenty of out-of-focus highlights. A super- speedy aperture means it’s good for low light too, even if there’s no optical image stabilisation. Variable aperture also affects the smallest iris settings. At 150mm it’s f/22; at 85mm around f/20; at 70mm f/18; and at 45mm f/16mm. We shot some motocross action videos at the longer length, where
ACTION STATIONS Fast-moving sport isn't Tamron's ultimate forte,
but it still works OK
we would usually have Sony’s 70- 200mm f/2.8 G Master II. This does have stabilisation and, incidentally, is actually lighter than the Tamron. We really missed optical IS; at longer lengths, a tripod is imperative to avoid the shakes. We were using a monopod, plus the camera’s in-body image stabilisation, too. While AF works excellently in single-shot or continuous at wide and medium distances, with all of Sony’s tricks like eye AF functioning well, it’s not the best at shooting fast action. But it’s an all-purpose lens rather than a long sports lens, so that’s perfectly understandable. Image sharpness was very good right across the frame, at both the wide and telephoto ends – but there was a slight loss in the middle focal distances. That’s pixel-peeping though, as it’s a sharp lens which produces neutral colours and no fringing. Since it’s only a nine-bladed aperture, bokeh is slightly more jagged than G Master optics, for example. But it does flare nicely and contrast is retained. Compared to the 28-75mm Tamron we tested in the last issue that doesn’t have an AF/MF switch on the lens, the 35-150mm does. And a
CUSTOM SHOP Plug the lens into your computer to change settings
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