

The physical mounting isn’t quite as smooth as mounting a lens to a camera body the tolerances were not as precise. Four excellent lenses in the series, but with the latter two came the announcement of the Tap In Console Tamron’s answer to the Sigma USB dock. 2016 saw the release of the SP 90mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 VC USD (a significant upgrade of Tamron’s already good 90mm macro) along with the SP 85mm f/1.8 VC USD medium telephoto. While the maximum aperture was narrower than Sigma’s ART series, the Tamrons made their own mark by the inclusion of both VC (Vibration Compensation – Tamron’s image stabilization system) and the aforementioned weather sealed design two features that the Sigmas have lacked. The SP 35mm and 45mm f/1.8 VC twins were the first in this new line, with a sleek, modern new look, improved build quality (lightweight metal construction along with quality weather sealing), and excellent optical performance at all aperture values made these lenses a critical success. That branding was not necessarily new, but building off it to highlight a completely new look of lens design certainly was. Having the USB dock allows the lens maker to address those issues quickly by rolling out new firmware without the need for lenses to be sent into repair centers.Ĭheck me out on: Google+: | Facebook: | Twitter: | Flickr: | 500px: | Sign Up for My Newsletter :įast forward to 2015, when Tamron released a brand new series of prime lenses with the SP (Super Performance) designation.

The byproduct is that sometimes new quirks arise on newly released camera bodies with third party lenses. The latter point is perhaps most important, as the first party camera makers tend to ignore the compatibility of third party lenses when tweaking focus systems in new cameras. The Sigma Optimization Pro software allowed users to customize certain aspects of lens behavior (like autofocus and optical stabilization) as well as allowing Sigma to distribute firmware updates for lenses directly to the consumer without the need to send the lens in for update. Why the Tap In console? When rival third party lens maker Sigma introduced their USB dock in 2013 it was heralded as a great move.
