Currently on sale for just $249 and weighing less than half a pound, the Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 lens is an affordable, versatile, and highly portable lens. How does it hold up in practice? This excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it.
Coming to you from Jacek Sopotnicki, this great video review takes a look at the Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 lens. At just 7.8 oz (221 g), the 20mm f/2.8 is highly portable, making it an appealing option for all sorts of work, especially when combined with its 1:2 macro capabilities. It comes with a variety of other helpful features as well, including:
- Three Low Dispersion elements for reduced chromatic aberrations and increased clarity
- One molded glass aspherical element for reduced distortion and increased sharpness
- Broad-Band Anti-Reflection coating for reduced flares and ghosting and increased contrast
- Minimum focus distance of 4.3 inches (1:2 maximum magnification)
- OSD stepping motor with full-time manual override
- Moisture-resistant construction and fluorine coating for dust-, dirt-, and fingerprint-resistance
- Rounded seven-blade diaphragm for smoother bokeh
Altogether, the 20mm f/2.8 looks like quite the versatile lens. Check out the video above for Sopotnicki's full thoughts on the lens.
I purchased the 24mm version of this lens earlier this year when it was on sale. My impressions:
- The lens is quite light for its girth, thanks to its the plastic construction. At least they used a full metal mount and a weatherproof o-ring.
- The lack of buttons or switches on the lens is fine by me, keeps the price down!
- The lack of VC (vibration compensation), or OSS as Sony calls it, is a bummer but at this price I didn't expect it.
- The focusing motor is a bit loud; an onboard mic would pick up the focusing noise in a quiet room if you're using it for video; but who cares if the focusing motor is loud if you're just taking stills?
- The focusing action is a bit slower than native Sony lenses, but still quite capable.
- The focusing ring isn't as smooth as a Sony or Sigma, but it does the job.
- The macro capabilities are surprisingly good! I was focusing on the text on the lens's box from 3 inches away!
Overall, not bad for the price!