TAMRON SP35mm F1.8 Di VC USD Model F012N

[Zoom] Wide-zoom | Standard-zoom | Tele-zoom | High-zoom  
[Fixed-focal] Wide angle | Standard | Telephoto | Macro

Tamron's top-of-the-line SP lens series has been reborn to be compatible with ever improving digital cameras. The first model is this fixed-focal lens for full frame cameras and it explains their eagerness for this new series. To test this lens indicating Tamron's future prospect, I used the D800E body this time. The max aperture faster than F2 and the image stabilization make me imagine where Tamron will be heading in the future, and I was quite excited to test this lens.

( Photography & Text : T.Nakanishi )

The beautiful bokeh, generated by the max aperture faster than F2, is a specialty of a fixed-focal lens. And, it's realized by the latest technology inside the small lens.

I may sound subjective, but I feel it focuses faster and more accurately than previous Tamron lenses. The image quality, made possible by the sharp focal peak and the natural bokeh, is far beyond our expectation and even elegant.

Even though I gave the lens a hard time by covering the sun with cosmos flowers, this lens perfectly rendered the sky tone and the texture of the petals. As we expect from a fixed-focal lens, the clarity is so high that I cannot stop smiling.

Thanks to the smooth and quiet auto-focusing, I could shoot the dragonfly before it flew away. You know, we never want to hear a mechanical sound in such a situation.

Because of the amazing sharpness wide open, controlling aperture only changes the depth of focus. This lens is a star performer.

The minimum focus distance is 20cm, which is very short. And, the rendition at close distance is smooth and beautiful. But, considering the fact that Tamron has produced the legendary macro lens, this performance is a natural outcome. Because of the wide 35mm focal length, it includes atmosphere around the subject and I love how it is drawn.

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Take a look at the texture and the 3D separation of the wet leaves. This power of expression is hard to achieve and it explains why Tamron chose to start the new SP series with a fixed-focal lens, better than hundreds of words.

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The new SP series has a sophisticated design that makes users feel happy to own and I think it's an important aspect of a good lens because it even motivates them to take better images. And as I showed you, the bokeh is wonderful and it's amazingly sharp. In other words, I can say the image quality of this lens is elegant rather than razor-sharp. Anyway, this is a spirited lens proudly produced by Tamron as a lens manufacturer and I strongly recommend you to try it. And the good news is... Tamron will release more SP lenses in the future.

( 29.09.2015 )