Teaser Images of Tamron Lenses

Four New Tamron Lenses for Sony E : What Will They Be?

Tamron has made two of the most popular lenses for Sony E-Mount cameras over the past two years. What's coming next, and will they be as good?

A couple of weeks ago, Tamron posted a video on their social media channels teasing four new lenses for Sony E-mount. Most people have been on the same page about what the first will be (70-200 f/2.8), but it may not be as clear as it looks, at first… and what are the other three?

I haven’t heard anything from Tamron, so I can only guess. But this is what it looks like to me. Let me know your guesses in the comment section below!

Lens One

I agree with most people that the large lens in the video is going to be something in the 70-200mm range. Looking at how tightly Tamron’s existing lenses fit together, I’d guess that it will be a 75-200 or 75-210mm lens.

From the proportions in the video (which may not be accurate), though, the lens appears to be only about 1.5 inches longer than the 28-75mm, which would put it at about 6″ long, which would be amazingly short for a 70-200 f/2.8.

For comparison, the Sony 70-200 f/2.8 GM is around 7.5″ long (excluding the mount), and the 70-200 f/4 is about an inch shorter. Does this mean that the lens is likely to be an f/4 rather than an f/2.8? Tamron representatives have told me that their focus with Sony-E lenses is to keep them compact, to suit the compact camera bodies of Sony’s cameras, so there’s a chance that Tamron would release an f/4 lens if it meant keeping the lens in line with their goals.

Image Courtesy of Tamron The Tamron 70-200 f/4 for Canon EF is around 6.5 inches long, excluding the mount, and the width is right in line with the teaser image of the new lens as well.

However, the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 is dramatically smaller than Sony’s 24-70 GM, as you have probably seen in my video comparing the two. If Tamron has managed to make a 75-210 equally compact while maintaining the optical standards of the 70-200 f/2.8 VC USD G2 lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs, this lens will be an instant hit, and will probably be sold out for months after its release, just like the 28-75 was and the 17-28 f/2.8 is now. It’s possible, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

But what are the other possibilities? It appears to be a medium sized lens, so maybe it’s a medium zoom, something like a 24-105mm f/2.8 or f/4 (or 2.8-4, like the 35-150). Or it could be a 70-300 4-5.6, which has been a very popular Tamron offering for the past decade. Alternately, it could be a telephoto prime: perhaps a 135mm f/1.8 like the Sony GM or Sigma ART. That would be about the right size.

[Update: rumors suggest that this lens will be a 70-180mm f/2.8 . That strikes me as a somewhat odd focal length. 75-180 would actually make more sense. In any case, we’ll see in a few weeks at the press conference.]

Lens Two

The other three lenses are all represented by identical placeholders in the video, which I take to be just that: placeholders, not actual models. They all look like short-ish prime lenses.

Image Stolen from YouTube

Just a few years ago, Tamron released a triad of primes for Canon and Nikon: a 35mm f/1.8, a 45 f/1.8, and a very well regarded 85mm f/1.8. These at least give us an idea of some of the focal lengths that Tamron thinks are important.

We’ve also seen them release perhaps the best 35mm f/1.4 lens on the market for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts, at any price.

So, my guess is that one of these lenses for Sony E mount will also be a 35mm lens. It looks a little compact for an f/1.4, so f/1.8 seems more likely. So, that would make it a Tamron 35mm f/1.8 Di RXD, perhaps.

Image Courtesy of Tamron The Tamron 35mm f/1.8 VC USD for Canon EF. For Sony-E, the lens would likely not include VC, making it more compact.

Lens Three

A 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8 would be the obvious next stop. Tamron released a 45mm f/1.8 for Canon, as mentioned previously, but I haven’t heard about that lens flying off shelves, so Tamron will probably extend it to 50mm for marketing purposes alone, but they make stick with 45mm. It’s a great all-around focal length, with lots of optical formulas out there to work with, and f/1.8 would keep it compact. So: Tamron 50mm f/1.8 Di RXD

Lens Four

This one is a little trickier. First, let’s assume that the teaser images ARE representative of the actual forthcoming lenses. If so, something like a 24mm f/1.8 or f/2 would make the most sense, but it really could be something even wider: an 18mm, even.

But if the teaser image is NOT accurate, then I’d lean towards an 85mm f/1.8 The Sony version is good and the Viltrox version is cheap, but neither one is outstanding like the Tamron 85 f/1.8, which has wonderful optics.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of these guesses, and what options have I forgotten? Let me know in the comments section below!


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