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Something special: Tamron SP 35mm F1.8 and SP 45mm F1.8 real-world galleries

Published Oct 14, 2015 | dpreview staff

Canon 5D Mark III with Tamron 35mm F1.8. Photo by Jordan Stead

Tamron seemed to have taken a cue from Sigma when it launched the SP 35mm and 45mm F1.8, following that company's lead in offering fast, high quality fixed focal length lenses. Designed for full frame camera bodies, the SP 35mm and 45mm boast weather-proofing, fluorine coatings and close-focusing abilities not usually found at these focal lengths. Take a look at two full galleries of real-world sample images.

Tamron SP 35mm F1.8 Di VC USD real-world sample gallery

Tamron SP 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD real-world sample gallery

Comments

Total comments: 38

Viewing recent 'sample galleries' for different lenses --- the images posted here are doing great disservice to real capabilities of these lenses. I own both Tamron's for Nikon. These lenses are very good. Again these images failed to show what these lenses are capable of.

1 upvote

Nice shots! Good to see some pictures that were worth looking at even if I'm maybe not on the verge of buying one of these lenses.

1 upvote

available in Sony FE mount ?

1 upvote

Quick look... not impressive at all. I've seen better photos from Nikon's f/1.8 primes.

However, between the two, I like the details from the 45mm lens over the other one.

1 upvote

Here are some test shots of mine off Nikon. These were just intial focus tests on day1.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3910873

1 upvote

Looking at these compared to other samples online; these are not impressive. A lot of mis-focused. This seems like it happens often with a Canon+3rd Party lens combo. I hope someone puts up pics with a Nikon. Canon and 3rd party focusing has almost always been a miss IMHO.

1 upvote

Apologize in advance for the rant, but...

This new gallery format is stupid and poorly implemented beyond belief. You can't even view the image full screen (I can't think of any image viewing app that doesnt have full screen view). With these high-resolution samples, dragging the image in 100% in that tiny window is awfully painful. The old gallery is so much easier to use. Have they actually tried to use the new application before switching to it?

9 upvotes

The biggest, most important difference between the two systems is that the new one allows us to associate a Raw image with our conversions, which allows you to download the Raw and view it without any JPEG compression or anything of the sort, in whatever converter you prefer. For anyone seriously considering the procurement of any lens, I find that ability more handy than trying to base impressions off of JPEGS in a web browser. That said, I'll make sure your feedback reaches our developer team.

4 upvotes

Thank you for the comment and I apologize again for the rant. I've seen others complaining about the new system as well. Another thing is that I usually use larger than 100% zoom view on my browser (Chrome/firefox) to enlarge the text for easier reading (this is especially helpful with today's high resolution/large-sized monitors). But with the new system, the higher the zoom percentage, the smaller the viewing window becomes. This, combined with inability to view in full screen, makes the viewing experience more frustrating.

1 upvote

Samuel, I've noticed that with double click you can switch between the 100% and fit to screen, however it always go to the center of the image. When you double click in the fit to screen image it should (and it naturally feel that it really should) zoom in the clicked area.

About the full screen, you can go full screen from your browser (F11 in chrome and firefox) ... however it could be usefull if you could also "hide" the thumbnails and the details bars.

1 upvote

yes, pleaseeeeeeeee bring back fullscreen view!

3 upvotes

@Samuel Spencer - I primarily work on a 13" laptop - I'd like to have a full screen version too.

I can't really see the connection between downloading raw files and full screen display.

The pics are nice the lens looks great, but it would be really nice if some of the images were shot with us pixel peepers in mind.
E.g. same subject to sensor plane distance in the corners as well as the center....

Would it really kill you to shoot a lens testing chart?

I love the site and spend far too much time on it, but it can be improved and much does't cost money to do (e.g. a couple of frames suitable for pixel peepers - standardised please).

2 upvotes

I also loved the old gallery style when I could simply look at larger images. This one is pain and I have to download images just to look at them big. Please go back to old gallery style if at all possible

1 upvote

A very good set of images, those two lesnes actually look pretty amazing. I like colors, clarity and contrast are at very high level, OOF rendering is also quite pleasing IMO.
But will AF work on my ancient 1D classic? SP 70-200 AF didn't worked :-(

1 upvote

If I had to make a buying decision based upon the images presented for these lenses here, I would have to take a pass.

5 upvotes

I love this 35mm. Awesome!

0 upvotes

Tamron should really bring up a lens lineup for enthusiasts with APS-C mirrorless.

There are lots of Sony, Fujifilm, Samsung, Olympus, Panasonic users out there waiting for alternative lens-offers with weather-sealing and VR.

And at least from the Fujifilm-users I know these enthusiast are really investing good money into good lenses and don't just stay with their kit-lenses.

3 upvotes

And likewise there are non-mirrorless shooters also looking for alternative weather-sealed primes that don't cost more than the 24-70mm f/2.8 L II

1 upvote

I love how people say "its expensive"" its 600. For a FF prime piece of glass with good specs its a steal. I have it for my D810 and its spectacular. I had the Sigma art version for my A99, I loved it. The Tammy is smaller and focusses at closer distance and performs on par. Sure the Sigma is a little more impressive build but the Tam is weather sealed!

3 upvotes

Unfortunately in my country Tamron set price to equivalent of 911 usd :-( I rather bought Canon 35mm F2 IS for equivalent of 526 usd.

Comment edited 2 minutes after posting

2 upvotes

I don't know why would anyone consider the Tamron over the Canon.

In Nikon land it's a different story because their 35mm primes kind of suck.

1 upvote

Ive asked Santa (girlfriend) for the 35mm. The 45 looks a little weird to me.

1 upvote

there were a fair few 45mm around in the film days.

I hope you have been a good boy this year ;-)

1 upvote

Very good quality. One must consider that many of these were shot with a 51 MP camera and that asks a lot from the lens.

5 upvotes

And thanks to their stabilizers I was able to shoot all of the 5DSR shots handheld, meaning I could use that camera in a way that I prefer and enjoy.

7 upvotes

Finally people are seeing the value of stabilized fast primes. Over at Pentax, we've had this luxury for about a decade.

These Tamrons look great, lovely sun stars as well.

1 upvote

Comment edited 15 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Great lenses, but seriously overpriced.

1 upvote

I agree on the 45mm at least, but if you want the VC feature, which is nice, then it might be worth it compared to traditional 50mm lenses on the market. The 35mm is a bit more competitive I think.

The 35mm, is full frame, weather-sealed, has fluorine coatings and, at least for Canon/Nikon, has image stabilization.

Tamron 35mm f/1.8 VC - $600

Canon 35mm f/2 IS - $600 (slower)
Nikon 35mm f/1.8 - $600 (no VR)
Sony 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss - $800 (much slower, no OSS)
Sony 35mm f/1.8 OSS - $500 (not full frame)
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 - $900 (faster, but no IS, 33% more $)

I've been keeping an eye on these b/c I'm in the market for a FF 35, so I did some looking while I await more reviews from users and get a look at more sample images.

If one wants a non-sealed, manual-only, non-stabilized lens then a Rokinon/Samyang or older AF/MF lens will be cheaper.

The 45 is a bit out of its element I think right now, but VC could help sell it.

3 upvotes

Have you considered the Yongnuo 35mm f/2? You can get it (just) below $100, and it is FF and AF, though a bit soft at f/2. Still, hard to beat the price.

1 upvote

Talking about the 35mm, I don't see the F/1.8 as a benefit when at F/1.8 it's soft and CA galore.

Add the fact that this will always be less accurate focus wise compared to native lenses and you're left with some degree of splash-proofing and not much else.

1 upvote

Overpriced? Nonsense. Not all f/1.8 lenses are created equal.

1 upvote

There were very few pictures that highlighted wide open, close focusing to see how these 2 lens render the OOF areas. The couple that were shown didn't excite me all that much, with their busy double focus backgrounds.

0 upvotes

I agree, the bokeh is not that great.

2 upvotes

Sunbursts look nice tho

1 upvote

The bokeh from the 45 is pretty good though.

1 upvote

That CA is something special...

1 upvote

Don't seem as sharp as the Sigmas, on first look. Shame.

3 upvotes

Total comments: 38

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