Page 66 - Australian Photography Dec 2020

TESTED: TAMRON 20MM, 24MM AND 35MM F/2.8 1:2 LENSES
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TAMRON 20MM, 24MM AND 35MM F/2.8 1:2 LENSES
Tamron’s cut-price primes caused quite a stir when they launched in late 2019. Australian Photography editor Mike O’Connor takes them out for a spin.
First off, we’ll admit we’re a little The three lenses also come with lens
late to the table when it comes to reviewing Tamron’s 20mm, 24mm and 35mm f/2.8 prime
lenses for Sony E-Mount full-frame mirrorless cameras. But although they were released at the back end of 2019, there’s still nothing quite like them on the market – they’re relatively cheap, very lightweight, and importantly, super sharp where it counts.
BUILD QUALITY
All three lenses weigh less than 250g, and all use the same 67mm filter thread. Build-wise they carry the sleek, mini- malist look of lenses such as the Zeiss Batis range, but with a much more plasticky feel – not that there’s anything wrong with that.
All three lenses have metal mounts and rubberised focus rings that are easy to grip with minimal resistance, and Tamron says they are weatherproofed – although beyond a small rubber gasket it’s difficult to know for sure.
hoods, with the 20mm getting a petal- style hood (owing to the wide field of view) and the 35mm a slightly funky looking square hood.
At such a compact size, the lenses pair beautifully to Sony’s full-frame mirror- less cameras such as the Sony A7III and A7C, which I tested these with. They all fit really nicely in a camera bag or pocket, too, making them very versatile as carry-everywhere lenses.
FOCUS
The three lenses aren’t the speediest autofocusers, and despite Tamron’s Opti- mised Silent Drive autofocusing motors, they do make a little noise when hunting for focus. But it’s not overly distracting and doesn’t sound during video recording. We probably take it for granted how quick autofocus has become, and the lack of fast AF in the Tamron lenses is likely down to the fact that while the physical length of the lenses remains fixed, the internal barrel is quite deeply
recessed at long focus settings. To travel from one end to the other (say, when focusing from short to far) requires the elements to move a significant distance, which does seem to also take a while. But that said, once focus is acquired, the lenses hold it very well.
When it comes to manual focus, it’s non-linear, which means changes to the focus distance are dependant on the speed with which the focus ring is turned. The trio of lenses are focused by wire, too, which can occasionally mean there’s a little lag, but in most manual focus settings this shouldn’t be an issue.
IMAGE QUALITY
With a minimum focusing distance of 11cm, 12cm and 15cm for the 20mm, 24mm and 35mm lenses, respectively, the three lenses reach a magnification of 1:2 (hence the name) which is unusual for lenses as wide as these three.
The Tamrons are probably not the first you would reach for if you were looking for a dedicated macro lens,
| 66 | DECEMBER 2020 | AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM