In summary
The relatively small size, light weight and extended focal length range of this lens make it ideal for travellers but it will also be a useful general-purpose lens for everyday photographers, particularly when covering family activities. It’s a great walk-around lens for times when you simply want to go out and take pictures but also has plenty of scope for shooting sports action and close-ups of wildlife.
It’s small enough to fit in a handbag or large jacket pocket when attached to an OM-D camera (particularly the E-M10). And it won’t take up much space in a regular camera bag.
Internal focusing allows angle-critical filters to be used without requiring re-adjustment when the focus is changed. The close focusing distance remains within the 50-65 cm range across the full extent of the zoom, giving it good coverage for a wide variety of subjects.
Without integrated stabilisation, this lens is better suited to Olympus cameras than Panasonic’s M4/3 models (apart from the GX7), because the Olympus cameras have IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation) built in, which compensates for camera shake by shifting the entire sensor. Consequently, we tested this lens on an OM-D E-M5 camera.
Full review
Tamron’s 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III is the first lens the company has made for the increasingly popular Micro Four Thirds system. The Di III (Digitally integrated) tag indicates it’s designed specifically for mirrorless compact system cameras (CSCs). Tamron is renowned for producing extended-range ‘convenience’ zoom lenses for DSLR cameras and has won numerous awards over the years. This lens is the first to be developed for the M4/3 format.
Side views of the new lens showing the black and silver versions. (Source: Tamron.)
Its optical design includes one LD (Low Dispersion) glass element, two AD (Anomalous Dispersion) glass elements, two moulded-glass aspherical elements, and one hybrid aspherical element, as shown in the diagram below. They combine to minimise common aberrations and provide high light transmission.
This diagram shows the positions of the exotic elements in the design of the lens. (Source: Tamron.)
A seven-bladed iris diaphragm closes to a circular aperture, which delivers attractive bokeh. The lens is supplied with a ‘flower-shaped’ hood
Who’s it for?
The relatively small size, light weight and extended focal length range of this lens make it ideal for travellers but it will also be a useful general-purpose lens for everyday photographers, particularly when covering family activities. It’s a great walk-around lens for times when you simply want to go out and take pictures but also has plenty of scope for shooting sports action and close-ups of wildlife.
It’s small enough to fit in a handbag or large jacket pocket when attached to an OM-D camera (particularly the E-M10). And it won’t take up much space in a regular camera bag.
Internal focusing allows angle-critical filters to be used without requiring re-adjustment when the focus is changed. The close focusing distance remains within the 50-65 cm range across the full extent of the zoom, giving it good coverage for a wide variety of subjects.
Build and Ergonomics
The build quality of this lens is a good match for Olympus camera bodies, which have magnesium alloy chassis and weather-resistant sealing. The metal barrel of the lens is solid, with a wide (roughly 40 mm) zoom ring that has a deeply-ridged rubber grip band that is secure and comfortable to hold.
Tamron makes no claims that this lens is weather resistant and there’s no evidence of the characteristic rubber sealing ring around the lens mount. However, the lens fitted so snugly to the receiving mount on our Olympus camera that we feel it could be capable of withstanding many of the rigours of outdoor use.
Two inner barrels extend the lens by approximately 40 mm when it is zoomed from the 14mm to the 150mm focal length and there’s not a trace of flexion when the lens is fully extended. Nor is there any significant rotation during zooming, allowing angle-critical filters to be used without requiring re-adjustment.
A zoom lock is provided just behind the zoom ring to prevent the lens from extending when it is carried pointing downwards. However, the combination of light weight and solid construction meant it was never needed in the course of our tests.
Immediately behind the zoom ring is the focusing ring, an 8 mm wide band clad with finely-ridged rubber. This ring rotates freely and smoothly, whereas the zoom ring is somewhat stiffer. Internal focusing also prevents the front element from rotating when focus is changed.
There’s no aperture ring, since apertures are adjusted via one of the camera’s control dials. And the maximum aperture reduces quite rapidly as the focal length is increased, going from f/3.5 at 14mm to f/4.2 at 25mm, f/4.7 at 35mm, f/5.2 at 50mm and f/5.6 at 70mm before slipping to f/5.8 between 70mm and 100mm where it remains.
No switch is provided to set the lens for manual focusing; instead this mode must be selected via the camera’s menu system. It’s a ‘by wire’ system that provides little in the way of tactile feedback but Olympus cameras can magnify the subject to make manual focusing easier and more accurate.
Performance
Subjective assessments of test images showed them to be generally very sharp and Imatest confirmed the lens could meet ““ and even slightly exceed ““ expectations for the resolution of the sensor on the test camera. Centre sharpness was highest at wide to mid-range aperture settings, between one and two f-stops down from maximum aperture.
Imatest also revealed edge softening at wide apertures, which persisted for three or four f-stops. Diffraction-limiting began to reduce resolution from about f/11, where the differences between centre and edge sharpness were relatively small. The graph below shows the results of our Imatest tests across the zoom and aperture ranges.
Lateral chromatic aberration was well controlled and we found little evidence of coloured fringing in test shots. Imatest results were mostly in the low range and shown the graph of our Imatest results below. As usual, the red line separates negligible and low CA, while the green line marks the boundary of the moderate CA band.
The stepping motor AF drive system provided fast, quiet and precise focusing and was quiet enough to provide negligible interference in soundtracks when recording movie clips. It was also effective for tracking fast-moving subjects.
Manual focusing was straightforward with both options provided on the E-M5: direct manual focusing and manual over-ride for AF. In both cases, automatic magnification of the subject made it easy to focus on the desired area in a scene. The system worked well when the default AF setting would otherwise have focused on subjects further from the camera.
Backlit subjects presented few problems and there was no significant loss of contrast or flare artefacts with strongly backlit scenes, regardless of the focal length setting. This remained true even when a bright light source was inside the frame (in such cases local over-exposure presented the main problem. Effective coatings and the provision of a well-designed lens hood undoubtedly contributed to superior performance in this area.
With a minimum close-focusing distance of around 50 cm, this lens can only be useful for close-ups at longer focal lengths. At the maximum focal length of 150mm, users have what equates to a 300mm lens (in 35mm format) that can capture dramatic close-up shots. It lacks true macro capabilities but most potential users will welcome the ability to record flowers, insects and other small objects with the same lens as they use for general picture-taking.
Bokeh at the widest apertures was very smooth when the size of the sensor and relatively small maximum apertures of the lens were taken into account. We found no instances of obvious outlining of blurred highlights and, although tones in the out-of-focus areas sometimes didn’t blend into each other as much as they would with a faster lens on a camera with a 35mm sensor, in general the results were acceptably attractive.
There was very slight vignetting at the widest apertures at both ends of the zoom range when we checked raw files from the camera. Similarly, raw files showed very slight barrel distortion at the 14mm focal length and barely detectable pincushion distortion from about 50mm on. Most modern M4/3 cameras include in-camera corrections for at least one of these aberrations, although in the case of this lens, they’re not really required.
Conclusion
Without integrated stabilisation, this lens is better suited to Olympus cameras than Panasonic’s M4/3 models (apart from the GX7), because the Olympus cameras have IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilisation) built in, which compensates for camera shake by shifting the entire sensor. Consequently, we tested this lens on an OM-D E-M5 camera.
Olympus already markets a lens with the same zoom range, although it is half a stop slower at 14mm but marginally (less than 1/4 stop) faster at 150mm. Panasonic has a lens with a slightly shorter zoom range (14-140mm) with maximum apertures from f/3.5 to f/5.6 and optical stabilisation. The table below compares key specifications of the four lenses.
|
|
Tamron 14-150mm |
Olympus 14-150mm |
Panasonic 14-140mm |
|
Maximum apertures |
f/3.5-5.8 |
f/4-5.6 |
f/3.5-5.6 |
|
Minimum aperture |
f/22 |
f/22 |
f/22 |
|
Stabilisation |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Construction |
17 elements in 13 groups |
15 elements in 11 groups |
14 elements in 12 groups |
|
Diaphragm |
7 blades (circular) |
||
|
Focus drive |
Stepping motor |
Micro motor |
Stepping motor |
|
Minimum focus |
50 cm |
50 cm |
30 cm |
|
Filter size |
52 mm |
58 mm |
58 mm |
|
Dimensions (Diameter x L) |
63.5 x 80.4 mm |
63.5 x 83 mm |
67 x 75 mm |
|
Weight |
285 grams |
260 grams |
265 grams |
|
Lens hood included |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
|
RRP ($AU) |
$849 |
$799 |
$899 |
Price-wise, the Tamron lens is positioned between the Olympus and Panasonic lenses, which is logical. The Tamron lens uses more metal in its construction, whereas the Olympus lens uses more plastic and is supplied without a lens hood. The inclusion of POWER O.I.S. stabilisation in the Panasonic lens makes it more expensive to produce.
SPECS
Picture angle: 75.4 degrees to 8.2 degrees
Minimum aperture: f/22
Lens construction: 17 elements in 13 groups (including 2 moulded-glass and 1 hybrid aspherical elements, 1 low dispersion glass element and 2 anomalous dispersion glass elements)
Lens mounts: Micro Four Thirds
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Stepping motor
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 50 cm
Maximum magnification: 1:3.8 (at f=150mm, MOD=0.5m)
Filter size: 52 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 63.5 x 80.4 mm
Weight: 285 grams
Standard Accessories: ‘Flower-shaped’ lens hood, front and end caps
TESTS
Based on JPEG files from the Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 14mm.
Vignetting at 50mm.
Vignetting at 150mm.
Distortion at 14mm.
Distortion at 50mm.
Distortion at 150mm.
14mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/9.
150mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/9.
14mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/5.6.
150mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/125 second at f/5.8.
Close-up at 14mm; ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/7.1.
Close-up at 150mm; ISO 200, 1/1250 second at f/5.8.
Flare at 14mm; ISO 200, 1/400 second at f/10.
Flare at 150mm; ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/6.3.
Flare at 14mm; ISO 200, 1/125 second at f/8.
Backlit shot showing minimal evidence of coloured fringing; 150mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/9.
Close-up of wild birds, taken with the 150mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/8.
An example of the wide depth of field with the maximum aperture at 82mm focal length; ISO 200, 1/125 second at f/5.8.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100%.
Bokeh at f/5.8 with the 150mm focal length; 1/500 second at ISO 200 for a close-up subject.
Bokeh at f/5.8 with the 150mm focal length; 1/500 second at ISO 200 for a subject in the middle distance.
An example of the use of manual focus override; 150mm focal length, 1/320 second at f/6.3, ISO 200.
123mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/250 second at f/5.8.
90mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/30 second at f/5.8.
Rating
RRP: AU $849; US$589
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 9.0
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 9.0