Tamron is one of the companies that have consistently performed exceptionally. Their lenses not only have exceptional image quality but are also built sturdy to withstand harsh environments. Ergonomically, they are a perfect match for both DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. All of this at a rather cost-effective price! Thus, we are pleased to announce that our Tamron prime lens guide now has an exciting update. The guide, which was created in 2017, now has about 10 great offerings from the company. And that is not a small number, considering how often manufacturers lose their way.
If you have been following us, you know that Tamron is one of the few companies trying to reinvent and evolve themselves. That is a huge deal, considering that Sony and Sigma have more or less been stuck in the past. While the third-party lens manufacturers have multiple offerings, we decided the Tamron prime lenses need to have their own space. That’s also because the company, unlike other brands, has never focused on primes. They are better known for their zoom range, and that could be due to many photographers preferring a longer focal length over getting two to three primes. We know where they are coming from, but having a prime makes your life relatively easy if you need lighter gear.
Over the last eight years, our Tamron lens guide has collated the best in this department. For instance, we found the 20mm f2.8 to be one of the best, affordable, wide-angle lenses on the market. It is portable, has great optical performance, and offers a creamy bokeh. What’s not there to like? There is also the 35mm f1.4, which is a lens that absolutely adored. Launched in 2020, it performed exceptionally well in our review. However, we felt it was a waste of DLSRs, and the only fault we found was the lack of image stabilization. We wished Tamron would launch something similar four years later for mirrorless cameras, but we haven’t really found that want to have come true.
In our previous news post, we hoped Tamron would make new offerings for Nikon. We are glad to state that Tamron and Nikon’s partnership is the best in the industry. It is like a match made in heaven, where Tamron lenses fit like a glove on Nikon mirrorless. This wasn’t really the case before. If you look at our review of Tamron 60mm f/2 Macro for Nikon, we noted that the lens had major autofocus issues. But now, they have worked to provide lenses with a beautiful synergy with Nikon.
This year, the Tamron prime lens guide includes a first: a lens with 12 aperture blades and a 9.1-inch close-focusing distance. This is the recently launched Tamron 90mm f2.8 Di III VXD, and it is now part of the guide because it is an “excellent lens overall.” In fact, we did not find any faults or shortcomings, which is a pretty huge deal when it comes to having a perfect balance between everything.
Now that Sigma is making lenses for Canon RF mount and their APS-C cameras, we hope the door also opens from Tamron. We believe that, like Nikon, Tamron can do a much better job with Canon’s mirrorless range. We may have to wait a couple more years for this, but when it does happen, we are certain their newer lenses will make it to the Tamron prime lens guide.