tamron sp 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD

£479/$399

a Stabilized Standard prime to beat the Shakes

Not quite a 50mm lens, the Tamron 45mm gives a slightly more generous viewing angle of 51 degrees rather than the more usual 46 degrees, on a fullframe Nikon. As with the Tamron 35mm lens on test, a modest f/1.8 aperture rating is combined with 4-stop stabilization. It’s slightly smaller than the Sigma and Zeiss 50mm lenses and more lightweight at 540g. That’s still practically three times the weight of the competing Nikon 50mm f/1.8.

The Tamron features weatherseals and a fluorine coating on its front element, to repel water and greasy fingerprints. The ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system enables the usual manual override.

Performance

Centre-sharpness is much better than from the Tamron 35mm lens in the aperture range of f/1.8 to f/2.8, although both lenses perform similarly well towards the edges and corners of the frame. Meanwhile, defocused areas look soft, and the crossover between sharp and blurred areas in images has a nicely smooth transition.

Sharpness

Wide-open, the Tamron eases ahead of the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 for sharpness.

Fringing

Both lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are minimal and hard to spot.

Distortion

There’s less barrel distortion than with any of the Nikon lenses on test.

Verdict

Features Build/handling Performance Value for money

Overall

The Tamron is ideal if you want an FX standard prime with stabilization.