In summary
The SP AF 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD and its 45mm focal length companion have been designed for purists; photographers who require top performance with few, if any, compromises. This lens will be more attractive to owners of ‘full frame’ cameras because the 35mm focal length is popular when a moderately wide angle of view is required and distortions must be minimal.
On cropped sensor cameras, the perspective is close to the standard 50mm focal length and there are plenty of alternatives available, including even faster prime lenses and more versatile zooms. However, built-in stabilisation is unusual in wide angle lenses and this feature could be important to photographers who do a lot of hand-held shooting in dim lighting.
The other important feature is the weatherproof sealing, which allows the lens to be used outdoors in damp and misty conditions ““ provided it’s attached to a similarly weatherproof camera. It also makes the lens dust-resistant. The presence of a moisture repellant fluorine optical coating on the surface of the front element makes it easy to wipe off droplets of water, grease and dust.
Full review
Tamron’s SP AF 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD prime lens is one of two new lenses announced in early September, 2015. Both feature a fast (f/1.8) maximum aperture, are weather-sealed and include integrated stabilisation. While designed for cameras with 36 x 24mm sensors, like the 45mm lens, this lens is usable on DSLRs with APS-C cropped sensors, where its equivalent focal length is 52.5mm for Nikon or 56mm for Canon. Tamron offers this lens in Canon and Nikon mounts, with a Sony mount version without in-built stabilisation to come. (Sony Alpha DSLRs have built-in stabilisation.)
Tamron SP AF 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD prime lens. (Source: Tamron.)
The optical design comprises 10 elements in 9 groups and includes one LD (Low Dispersion) element and one XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) element to minimise chromatic aberrations and two moulded glass aspherical elements to ensure edge-to-edge sharpness and even light transmission throughout the aperture range. Proprietary eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) and BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings have been applied to reduce surface reflections and prevent lens flare and ghosting.
The diagram above shows the positions of the exotic lens elements in the optical design. (Source: Tamron.)
Nine diaphragm blades close to a circular aperture for smooth background blurring. The lens is supplied with a petal-shaped hood plus front and end caps. SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.0 for Tamron software is included with the lens; but we’d advise against using it as there are many better-performing alternatives, including Adobe Camera Raw and PhaseOne Capture One.
Who’s it For?
The SP AF 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD and its 45mm focal length companion have been designed for purists; photographers who require top performance with few, if any, compromises. This lens will be more attractive to owners of ‘full frame’ cameras because the 35mm focal length is popular when a moderately wide angle of view is required and distortions must be minimal.
On cropped sensor cameras, the perspective is close to the standard 50mm focal length and there are plenty of alternatives available, including even faster prime lenses and more versatile zooms. However, built-in stabilisation is unusual in wide angle lenses and this feature could be important to photographers who do a lot of hand-held shooting in dim lighting.
The other important feature is the weatherproof sealing, which allows the lens to be used outdoors in damp and misty conditions ““ provided it’s attached to a similarly weatherproof camera. It also makes the lens dust-resistant. The presence of a moisture repellant fluorine optical coating on the surface of the front element makes it easy to wipe off droplets of water, grease and dust.
Build and Ergonomics
The metal outer barrel, moisture-resistant sealing and solid plastic lens hood and end caps add up to superior build quality and help justify the relatively high price of this lens. The size and 480 gram weight makes it better suited to larger DSLRs, such as the Canon EOS 5D II and EOS 7D bodies we used for our tests.
The front element is recessed by about 12 mm behind the filter ring. It’s roughly 4 cm in diameter and has a fluorine coating to repel moisture and grease, making it easy to keep the lens clear of fingerprints and smudges.
The supplied lens hood attaches to a bayonet mounting on the outer surface of the lens. Immediately behind it is the focusing ring, which is 28 mm wide and has a finely-ridged grip band covering 25 mm of its width.
This ring turns smoothly as it is rotated through the 190 degrees required to span the focusing range. A recessed distance scale is located just behind the focusing ring on a 33 mm long section of the lens barrel. It carries Imperial and metric distances spanning from 0.2 metres to infinity.
Slightly behind the distance scale and around the left hand side of this section of the lens barrel are slider switches for engaging auto or manual focus and switching the VC stabilisation on or off. The words ‘Designed in Japan’ are stamped on the outer barrel to the left of the VC on/off switch.
The outer barrel ends in an 8 mm wide brushed silver ring that surrounds the narrow, soft rubber gasket sealing off the interface between the lens and the camera body. Inside it is the metal mounting plate, which surrounds the gold-plated electronic contacts. The rear element of the lens is about 28 mm in diameter and recessed a little into the inner barrel.
The lens is supplied with end caps and a generous, petal-shaped lens hood, all made from solid black polycarbonate plastic. Unlike some other manufacturers, Tamron doesn’t supply a carrying pouch with this lens.
Performance
We tested the review lens on both the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D camera bodies to show any differences in performance between a ‘full frame’ DSLR and one with an APS-C sensor. Subjective assessments of test shots showed the lens to be a good performer on both camera bodies, although, as expected, there was slightly less edge softening on the camera with the smaller sensor because it crops out the edges of the frame.
Imatest confirmed our subjective assessments and showed the lens to be capable of meeting the expectations for the camera’s sensor at most focal length settings with measurements in the centre of the frame. Resolution fell below expectations at the widest apertures and also from about f/7.1 on, where diffraction kicked in. The graph below shows the results of our tests.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained within the negligible band for all focal length and aperture settings with both cameras. We found no significant coloured fringing in any of our test shots. In the graph below showing the results of our tests, the red line marks the border between negligible and low CA.
Some vignetting (edge and corner shading) was observed in test shots taken at f/1.8 with both cameras but assessments of uncorrected raw files showed little in the way of corner darkening by f/2.8. Barrel distortion was effectively negligible in converted CR2.RAW files from both cameras. Both distortions can be corrected in-camera in the latest DSLRs as well as post capture in standard raw file converters so neither problem is a deal-breaker for this lens.
Autofocusing speeds were a little sluggish, particularly when moving between the closest focus and infinity, which took almost one second. We had no problems with back- or front-focusing at normal focusing distances.
The AF system operated almost silently, thanks to the USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) motor. Manual focusing was straightforward, thanks to a solid focusing ring, which turned smoothly.
We tested the capabilities of the VC (Vibration Compensation) stabilisation system with the EOS 7D body because it magnifies any vibrations by 1.6x. We were able to hand-hold the camera at shutter speeds as slow as 1/8 second and obtain more than 60% of the images we recorded sharply focused. This is equivalent to approximately three f-stops of shake compensation, which matches the manufacturer’s claims.
Strong backlighting was handled extremely well, and we could only force the lens to flare by including a bright light source within the image frame. Even then, the lens produced very little in the way of veiling and ghosting and contrast remained relatively high.
With a close focusing limit of 20 cm and a moderately wide angle of view, this lens isn’t ideal for shooting close-ups. It is only usable for photographing larger flowers and small animals.
Bokeh at f/1.8 was slightly better than the 45mm lens provided when both lenses were confronted with challenging conditions. Some outlining could be seen when bright out-of-focus highlights were present in the backgrounds with both cameras. However, when backgrounds were more evenly lit, out-of-focus areas were pleasantly smooth, remaining so until about f/2.8 when the wider depth of field made background details visible.
Conclusion
Although it faces some stiff competition from both the camera manufacturers’ lenses and third-party manufacturers (particularly Sigma), Tamron’s 35mm f/1.8 lens is a solid performer; not great, but certainly good. Performance-wise, there’s not much difference between the new lenses, although we think the 35mm has a slight edge on its longer sibling when it comes to overall image quality, in part because its slightly less susceptible to edge and corner softening.
Our Imatest tests showed the review lens to be capable of reaching expectations for the sensor resolutions of the two cameras we tested it on, neither of which is the latest model in its line. But it didn’t exceed expectations to any degree and we feel it might fall short of matching the resolutions of newer and higher-resolution sensors.
Vignetting was relatively low and distortion and chromatic aberration were effectively negligible. All three are easily corrected either in-camera or in post-production. Autofocusing was adequate but not really fast.
Bokeh was a little smoother than the 45mm lens and the 35mm lens seemed somewhat less susceptible to outlining when bright areas were in the background. With low-contrast backgrounds that were tonally similar, it tended to be nice and smooth.
Photographers looking to purchase this lens will doubtless consider three key factors when comparing it with other options on the market:
1: The lens speed. Faster lenses are available at similar, higher and lower prices.
2: Stabilisation. Few 35mm lenses come with built-in stabilisation.
3: Weather resistance. Few lenses offer this.
4. Minimum focusing distance. The Tamron 35mm lens has the closest focus outside of dedicated macro lenses.
Tamron tends to set the RRPs for its lenses a little high, allowing them to fall over time. Already the price for this lens has fallen below AU$1000 on several Australian specialist websites. It’s listed on several US websites at US$599, which works out at around AU$842 with the current conversion rate. Add between US$11 and $20 for shipping costs and it’s not much less than the best local price so we’d recommend buying from a local dealer that can provide personalised advice and back-up service.
SPECS
Picture angle: 63 degrees 26 minutes for full-frame format; 43 degrees 29 minutes for APS-C format
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens construction: 10 elements in 9 groups (including 2 moulded glass aspherical lens elements, one LD element and one XLD element)
Lens mounts: Canon, Nikon, Sony (without VC)
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: USD (Ultrasonic Drive)
Stabilisation: VC (Vibration Compensation)
Minimum focus: 20 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:2.5
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 80.4 x 80.8 mm
Weight: 480 grams
Standard Accessories: Flower-shaped lens hood, front and end caps
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera.
Based on JPEG files taken with the Canon EOS 7D camera.
SAMPLES
EOS 5D II; vignetting at f/1.8. (Taken from an uncorrected raw file.)
EOS 7D; vignetting at f/1.8. (Taken from an uncorrected raw file.)
EOS 5D II; rectilinear distortion. (Taken from an uncorrected raw file.)
EOS 7D; rectilinear distortion. (Taken from an uncorrected raw file.)
EOS 5D II; ISO 125, 1/640 second at f/5.6.
EOS 7D; ISO 100, 1/320 second at f/8.
EOS 5D II close-up; ISO 125, 1/250 second at f/7.1.
EOS 7D close-up; ISO 200, 1/2000 second at f/4.
EOS 5D II flare; ISO 100, 1/6400 second at f/9.
EOS 7D flare; ISO 100, 1/1600 second at f/7.1.
Stabilisation test with EOS 7D; ISO 200, 1/8 second at f/4.
Bokeh with EOS 5D II; ISO 125, 1/3200 second at f/1.8.
Bokeh with EOS 7D; ISO 100, 1/4000 second at f/1.8.
EOS 5D II at f/1.8; ISO 125, 1/6400 second at f/1.8.
EOS 5D II at f/2.5; ISO 125, 1/6400 second at f/2.5.
EOS 5D II at f/5.6; ISO 200, 1/1600 second at f/5.6.
Rating
RRP: AU$1099; US n/a
- Build: 8.9
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 8.9
- Versatility: 8.5