Tamron has announced the new Tamron 12-20mm F2.8 – and yes – that really is the full name of the lens, rather than the usual and mostly superfluous letters after the lens name that you’d usually get on a Tamron lens. We’re talking Di (Digital), VXD, VC letters no longer included, which should make it easier to find the lens without worrying about what all these letters mean. The lens is made for Nikon Z-mount and Sony E-mount and is designed for full-frame cameras. The new ultra-wide zoom lens will be available from the end of July in E-mount, and the end of August in Z-mount.
The lens has an ultra-wide focal range, from 12mm to 20mm, and a bright F2.8 aperture that remains constant throughout the zoom range. Tamron say that this lens “is poised to become the “new protagonist” for astrophotography and interior shooting.” In terms of the missing letters from the end of the lens name, it’s got an XGM, three GMs, and of course Tamron’s VXD(1) focus mechanism. The XGM (eXpanded Glass Molded Aspherical) element, and three GMs (Glass Molded Aspherical) elements are designed to suppress peripheral blurring and fringing, whilst correcting sagittal coma flare – all important for ultra-wide angle lenses and astrophotography.
The lens is designed to be compact and lightweight considering the level of performance on offer, measuring 119.3mm in length, and it has a weight of 570g. Whether you consider this lightweight or compact will depend on where you’re coming from and what you’re used to – but it certainly seems impressive in comparison to the Sony FE 12-24mm f2.8 GM, which has a weight of 847g, and a 137mm length, as well as the Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S lens, which has a weight of 650g, and a 124.5mm length. The lens also offers a minimum object distance (MOD) of 18cm at the 12mm wide end of the lens, which Tamron say gives “outstanding close-up performance.”
The lens features a zoom lock switch, MF (manual focus) lock switch, AF/MF switch, a custom switch, as well as a custom button. There are three rings on the lens, including focus, zoom control, and aperture/control ring (Sony/Nikon) that can be de-clicked with the click control switch. The lens also features Tamron’s new “design language” which gives the lens a more classic look.
At a glance:
- $1699 (E-mount) / $1699 (Z-mount)
- Rear filter holder
- 17 elements in 12 groups
- 570g (E-mount), 585g (Z-mount)
- Tamron.com
Related reading:
- Complete guide to Astrophotography – your window to the universe
- Best cameras for astrophotography – reach for the stars
- These astronomy photos are out of this world and they’re up for a £10,000 prize – but who will win?
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- Voicecoil eXtreme-torque Drive – a high-speed, high-precision linear motor focus mechanism – I told you that you didn’t need to know what these letters mean. ↩︎
