TAMRON SP 35MM F1.8 DI VC USD

IT’S THE WIDEST OF TAMRON’S CURRENT F1.8 PRIMES, AND COMES WITH ALL THE USUAL TRAPPINGS

WE’VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF TAMRON’S RECENT ‘SUPER PERFORMANCE’ PRIME AND ZOOM LENSES. AS WITH THE 45MM AND 85MM PRIMES, THIS 35MM OPTIC COMBINES A FAIRLY FAST F1.8 APERTURE WITH HIGHLY EFFECTIVE OPTICAL STABILISATION, OR ‘VIBRATION COMPENSATION’.

IT’S QUITE CHUNKY FOR A 35MM F1.8 LENS, AND IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE WIDER EVEN THAN THE COMPETING SIGMA F1.4, WHICH IS TWO-THIRDS OF AN F-STOP FASTER. AT LEAST THE TAMRON IS NOTICEABLY LIGHTER, AT 480G COMPARED WITH THE SIGMA’S 665G. BUILD QUALITY FEELS GOOD AND SOLID, WITH AN ATTRACTIVE FINISH. THERE’S ALSO A FULL SET OF WEATHER SEALS, WHICH ARE LACKING IN ALL OF THE OTHER LENSES ON TEST, ALTHOUGH THE NIKON DOES HAVE A SEALED MOUNTING PLATE.

AN OPTIONAL USB DOCKING STATION IS AVAILABLE, WHICH TAMRON CALLS A TAP-IN CONSOLE. AS WITH THE SIGMA DOCK, THIS ENABLES YOU TO CONNECT THE LENS TO A COMPUTER AND APPLY FINE-TUNING AS WELL AS FIRMWARE UPDATES. HOWEVER, TAMRON’S DOCKING STATION IS PRICIER IN THE UK AT £79, COMPARED WITH SIGMA’S £39. BOTH COST $59 IN THE USA. AUTOFOCUS IS FAST AND ACCURATE, AND THE STABILISER GIVES A SIMILAR FOUR-STOP BENEFIT TO THAT OF THE CANON LENS ON TEST. MANUAL FOCUSING BENEFITS FROM A LARGE AND VERY SMOOTH-ACTION FOCUS RING THAT HAS A SURPRISINGLY LONG TRAVEL FOR AN AUTOFOCUS LENS. HOWEVER, THERE ARE NO DEPTH-OF-FIELD MARKINGS. IMAGE QUALITY IS IMPRESSIVE, WITH GOOD CONTRAST, MINIMAL COLOUR FRINGING AND DISTORTION, AND PARTICULARLY NICE BOKEH FOR A 35MM LENS. OUTRIGHT SHARPNESS IS ALSO VERY GOOD, MATCHING THAT OF THE CANON AND NIKON LENSES, BUT IT’S NOT QUITE AS EXCELLENT AS FROM THE SIGMA.