Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD

£415/$549 A stabilized prime to beat the shakes

The Tamron 45mm gives a more generous viewing angle of 51 degrees on a full-frame body, compared with the more usual 46 degrees of a 50mm lens. Unique in this group, it has an optical image stabilizer, worth about four stops in beating camerashakes during handheld shooting. Physically, the lens is smaller than the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 and lighter at 540g.

The high-grade construction features extensive weather-seals and a fluorine coating on the front element, to repel water and greasy fingerprints, and the ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system enables the usual manual override. Unlike some Tamron F-mount lenses, it’s compatible with Z-mount cameras via an FTZ mount adapter.

Performance

Sharpness is impressive, boosted in practical terms during handheld shooting by the effective optical stabilizer. AF is quick and whisperquiet, and proved reliable throughout testing. Defocused areas look soft and dreamy, and the transition between focused and defocused areas in images is nice and smooth.

N-photo verdict

A robust, high-quality lens, the Tamron is ideal if you want an F-mount standard prime with stabilization.

Sharpness

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

Fringing

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

Distortion

You’ll find that there’s less barrel distortion than with either of the Nikon F-mount lenses on test.