Tamron Announces Lenses That Break Them into the Prime Game

Tamron Announces Lenses That Break Them into the Prime Game
Tamron has announced two new lenses that break new ground for the well-known lens company. This morning, as part of their rebrand and push towards better optics, Tamron announced a new 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD and 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD for their lens lineup. Tamron invited me to test these lenses out. Prime territory is new for Tamron, but following on the heels of their recently distributed 15-30mm f/2.8, it's a welcome change. They've come out with two lenses that not only fill the day-to-day spots of professionals, but they also chose the focal lengths to make the daily APS-C user happy as well. They've developed a refined exterior design and rebrand, all while thinking about tactile comfort and usability. Both of these lenses also now have a flourine coating on the front element which helps repel oil and water.   
 

Tamron's new, sleek, and refined design.

 
The main focus of these lenses are their extremely close minimum focusing distances. Coming in at 7.9 inches for the 35mm and 11.4 inches for the 45mm, this gives the 35mm macro capabilities, meaning you can capture detail shots and wider lifestyle shots without having to change your lens. 
 
About 18 months ago, Tamron built their newest Long Island facility that has boasted a three day turnaround on warranty fixes. Along with that fast turnaround, they also have a six year warranty for their lenses. These new Canon and Nikon mount lenses will be released on September 29th with an extremely low price tag of $599. Sony Alpha mount lenses are expected to be completed in about three months. 
 

Simple and elegant.

 
I'll have my hands on both these lenses for an in-depth review for you all next week. Do you have any questions about them? Post them in the comments below! 
 
Check out some sample images from the new Tamron 35mm and 45mm prime lenses.

 

Check out that focusing distance!

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Sarah Williams is a award winning photographer in San Diego, CA. She specializes in photography for rad people and brands such as Airstream U.S.A. She has a deep love for flamingos and tattoos. If you want to know more, she's pretty honest on instagram, so check her out.

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16 Comments

So let's hope they got their bōkeh under control this time. That's really one of the things that puts me off in recent Tamron lenses, they always seem to produce overly busy blur in a range of situations, especially near to the in-focus plane, and strong rings in blurred point lights.

Hi there, good article, a promising lens for sure. How much aperture blades ? 7 ? 9 ? Special coating ? Thx

9 blades, beautiful bokeh (smooth organic round highlights in the out of focus area, and no "stop sign" shaped artifacts that are found in lenses with less blades.

What a clown, taking photos of his food.

The lenses are much larger than I thought f/1.8 optics. Maybe it's all the stabilization circuitry. I think this 35 will appeal to filmakerrs more so than Canon's new 35.

Usually the faster the lens the bigger the design becomes due to the optical mechanics.
These lenses have a nice look...5-7 years ago I never would have touched a Tamron lens but they have really stepped up their game.

"Prime territory is new for Tamron". That's apart from the 60, 90, and 180 primes they already do, obviously.

Those aren't everyday shooter primes. When most people think of everyday primes they're looking at 35/50. Nobody walks around the city with a 180mm on. Hence my statement about to 'day-to-day' shooters. Make sense?

"talking about sex of the angels", does that make sense? tamron isn't new in the prime lens business, this assumption is unnecessary before being wrong: one should say "tamron is releasing their first ever normal lenses for photographic purpose" and that would be correct, shining a light of interest upon it. english is not my main language, still I can feel the "meh" reading this post..

anyway, these lenses look amazing both aestheticly and spec-wise. we'll be waiting for your full review! : )

trolls trolls trolls <3

Bokeh is something that I never worry about, it's kind of silly to do so really. I care about overall lens quality, build, optical performance and speed. But at the end of the day I care more about getting the image and a whole lot less about "sharpness", "Bokeh" and "aperture blades". I use primes only and like great quality glass that will help me shoot the way I want in tough lighting situations I am placed in, and lens speed wins 100% of the time.

How well does the image stabilisation work in video?

How smooth is the focusing ring? I'm considering these lenses for video work as well.

Thank you Sigma for pushing the 3rd party companies to step up their game in the looks department.

Was a pleasure shooting with ya'll this week Jaron and Sarah! Now I'm just here to feed the trolls. #godblessthefstopperscommentsection #blessed

They're the best! hahaha.