Tamron 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD SP

Tamron has upped the ante in the fast-prime market, taking a note from Sigma’s book by creating new versions of its SP series of lens that have a premium feel. Tamron’s lenses include image stabilization, something of a rarity in wide prime lenses.

The Tamron 35mm ƒ/1.8 Di VC USD SP is designed to fit a full-frame sensor, and is available currently in Nikon and Canon mounts, with plans for a Sony mount in the works. On a Nikon sub-frame camera like the D7100, the lens will produce an effective field of view of 52mm, and on a Canon, around 56mm (both in 35mm film terms).

The lens ships with a hood, is available now for around $600.

Sharpness

The Tamron 35mm ƒ/1.8 Di VC USD SP offers decent results for sharpness when used at its maximum aperture of ƒ/1.8, and improves remarkably when stopped down. When the lens is employed on a sub-frame camera like the Canon 7D, the results are slightly better in the corners because the lens is trained on a smaller capture area.

The “worst” results are found with the lens mounted on a full-frame camera like the Canon 1Ds mkIII, where corners are slightly soft at ƒ/1.8; there is a sweet spot of sharpness in the center. Stopping down even just a third of a stop to ƒ/2 shows significant improvement, but one needs to go to ƒ/2.8 to get better results for sharpness: at this point it’s getting to the point where it’s almost tack-sharp across the frame.

At ƒ/4 and greater, the lens offers its sharpest performance, essentially, tack-sharp across the frame. This trend continues to ƒ/11, where we begin to note the impact of diffraction limiting, but even at ƒ/16, the impact is only slightly noticeable.

Chromatic Aberration

The Tamron 35mm holds up well against chromatic aberration – there is some visible, mostly in the corners and in areas of high contrast – where it manifests as color fringing, in the cyan-magenta spectrum.

Shading (”Vignetting”)

With the Tamron 35mm ƒ/1.8 mounted on the sub-frame Canon 7D, there isn’t evidence of any noteworthy corner shading. With the lens mounted on the full-frame Canon 1Ds mkIII however, it’s much more noticeable – at the ƒ/1.8 setting, the extreme corners are one full stop darker than the center of the frame. This is reduced as the lens is stopped down: a half-stop at ƒ/2.8, and a third of a stop at any other aperture.

Distortion

As you’d expect with a wide-angle lens, there would be some barrel distortion, but what’s unexpected is how it’s been minimized by Tamron. In this case, the worst you’ll see is +0.3% barrel distortion, and that’s with the lens mounted on the full-frame Canon 1Ds mkIII.

Autofocus Operation

The Tamron SP 35mm ƒ/1.8 Di VC USD uses a ring-type USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) that allows the lens to focus very quietly. It’s not as quick to focus as other lenses, but we’ll attribute that to the wider throw it has to cover; it takes about a second to go through the entire range of focus. There is a slight amount of lens extension as the lens focuses to its closest point, but not so much as to interfere with any attached 67mm filters. Attached filters will not rotate during focusing operations.

Macro

Tamron has made sure to note that the lens focuses very close – closer than other lenses in this category. Specifically, its minimum close-focusing distance is 20cm, just shy of 8 inches, and it offers a decent macro performance of 0.4x (1:2.5).

Build Quality and Handling

The Tamron SP 35mm ƒ/1.8 Di VC USD SP presents a new fit and finish for Tamron lenses, offering a smooth, satiny finish with just a hint of texture. A new “SP” badge is present to seal the deal. Inside the lens there’s an exotic layout of lens elements: 10 elements in 9 groups, including 1 LD (Low Dispersion), 1 XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) and 2 aspherical elements. The aperture is made up of 9 curved diaphragm blades, to ensure excellent bokeh. Tamron has provided a windowed distance scale, measured in both metric and imperial, but there is no depth-of-field scale or infrared index.

The layout of the lens is fairly simple: two switches, one for enabling / disabling autofocus, and one for enabling / disabling the Vibration Control (VC) system. The Sony-mount variant of this lens won’t come with VC, because Sony cameras have image stabilization built-in, and the two systems conflict. It’s also worth noting that there is a rubber seal at the camera-mount side of the lens.

The manual focusing ring is quite pleasant to use on this lens: it’s about an inch wide, with a deep ribbed rubber texture. There is a generous 180 degrees of focusing throw – great for manual focus – and either end comes to a soft stop to let you know that focusing further won’t do anything.

The Vibration Control image stabilization is a definite perk for this lens, as most manufacturers don’t include it for a prime lens: however, with digital cameras being used more and more for making movies, having built-in stabilization is very useful indeed. In our testing, the system offers around three stops of hand-holding improvement: check out our IS Test tab for greater detail.

The lens ships with the HF012 lens hood, which is a petal-shaped, bayonet-mounted hood. The interior of the hood is ribbed to improve resistance to flare. It’s about 1 3/4 long, and it will add about 1 1/2 inches to the overall length of the lens when it’s mounted.

Alternatives

Canon EF 35mm ƒ/2 IS USM ~$600
Canon’s the only other manufacturer to offer a lens with image stabilization in this category, and it performs very well. However, the Tamron is a bit sharper than the Canon, and is more resistant to chromatic aberration; as well, it offers a wider ƒ/1.8 aperture (though this is only a third of a stop). Since the lenses cost about the same, you get slightly more out of the Tamron.

Nikon 35mm ƒ/1.8G AF-S Nikkor ~$600
Though we’ve yet to test this lens, it’s Nikon’s full-frame affordable 35mm prime. The other option from Nikon is the 35mm f/1.4, which tips the scales at three times the price. Unlike the Tamron, the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G is not stabilized, but it is competitively priced similar to the Tamron.

Sigma 35mm ƒ/1.4 DG HSM “A” ~$900
Sigma’s offering in this category offers very sharp results, even wide open at ƒ/1.4, at a competitive price; it also fares very well with CA and distortion, but presents some significant corner shading.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to like in the Tamron 35mm ƒ/1.8 Di VC USD SP. One usually expects the third-party manufacturers to produce lenses that are less expensive than the name-brand manufacturers, but in this case, Tamron has produced a superior lens and priced it for at least as much as its Canon equivalent, making it an attractive option indeed.

Product Photos

Sample Photos

The VFA target should give you a good idea of sharpness in the center and corners, as well as some idea of the extent of barrel or pincushion distortion and chromatic aberration, while the Still Life subject may help in judging contrast and color. We shoot both images using the default JPEG settings and manual white balance of our test bodies, so the images should be quite consistent from lens to lens.

Still Life shot

VFA target

As appropriate, we shoot these with both full-frame and sub-frame bodies, at a range of focal lengths, and at both maximum aperture and ƒ/8. For the ”VFA” target (the viewfinder accuracy target from Imaging Resource), we also provide sample crops from the center and upper-left corner of each shot, so you can quickly get a sense of relative sharpness, without having to download and inspect the full-res images. To avoid space limitations with the layout of our review pages, indexes to the test shots launch in separate windows.

(From Tamron lens literature) 35mm Standard Wide-Angle Lens with VC and World’s First 7.9″ Minimum Object Distance for Full-Frame DSLR Cameras

Overview

• Natural perspective and field-of-view for instinctive image capture.
• A fast, primary standard lens for those who prefer wide-angle shooting.
• Responsive to your intuitive and inspirational motives.
• Provides an equivalent focal length of 54mm on APS-C cameras.

Key Features

1. Even when used wide open at F/1.8 aperture, provides outstanding image quality with maximum aberration compensation, thanks to optimal use of sophisticated glass materials and highly advanced optical design
   SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012) is a 10-element, 9-group construction, utilizing two molded glass aspherical elements, one LD (Low Dispersion) and one XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion) element. Two of the aspherical elements effectively correct the field curvature to ensure planarity of the image plane, while efficiently compensating for spherical and comatic aberrations to achieve superb uniformity across the field with high-fidelity point spread reproducibility. Outstanding resolution is rendered from corner to corner and the sagittal comatic flare (a type of aberration that a point image at corners induces a comet tail-like blur), which tends to become prominently noticeable in night scenes, is corrected. The LD and the higher grade XLD glass elements optimally compensate for chromatic aberrations, which tend to become particularly prominent in fast-aperture lenses in general, and deliver crystal clear images without any residual color fringe
2. 35mm focal length with fast F/1.8 maximum aperture and integral VC (Vibration Compensation) for full-frame DSLR cameras
   The desirable maximum aperture of F/1.8 was chosen as part of the very challenging design goals which included achieving superb optical performance, minimizing the closest shooting distance and integrating VC functionality while packaging those key attributes in a reasonably-sized barrel construction for better practical handling. Repeated performance simulations were conducted throughout the entire design phase to assure achieving the essential, fundamental property of a fast-aperture lens in full-frame format, namely the harmony between excellent resolving power and beautifully-tuned background blur (bokeh). The VC feature has become virtually indispensable in the era of high-pixel-density cameras. Freedom in handheld shooting at dusk or in a dimly lit room is dramatically expanded by cancelling the camera shake that often occurs under such low light conditions due to slower shutter speeds. Minute vibrations that plague cameras with high pixel count can be well muted to make the most of the performance of the camera and lens outfit.
3. MOD (Minimum Object Distance) of 7.9″, the best-in-class close-focusing capability
   MOD measures just 7.9″, yielding a magnification ratio of 1:2.5, the shortest close focusing capability among fast-aperture fixed focal lenses in full-frame format. Since the lens allows for shooting at distances extremely close to the subject (similar to a macro), close-up pictures with spectacular background blur effect (bokeh) can be obtained with the aperture wide open, thereby expanding the scope of photo opportunities. Tamron’s proprietary Floating System, which places a group of elements at the optimal location as the focusing group travels relative to shooting distances, ensures the best imaging performance at any range. From the closest to a normal shooting distance range, image quality is excellent.
4. Optimal relative illumination means no dark corners
   Some fast-aperture lenses “vignette” or have darkened corners due to uneven light distribution. However, even at the full open aperture, the overall illumination level across the entire field is well balanced and optimized. Because there is a sufficient amount of corner illumination, photographers can enjoy making full use of the wide open aperture.
5. eBAND Coating deployed to thoroughly suppress ghosting and flare
   eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) and BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings, both providing outstanding anti-reflection effect, are applied to critical element surfaces for maximum light transmission. Internal reflections from element surfaces which cause ghosting and flare are reduced to an absolute minimum. Flawless, crystal clear images can be obtained. eBAND Coating, a hybrid nano-structured layer with extremely low refractive index coupled with multi-layered anti-reflection coating technology, efficiently minimizes reflection of extremely angulated incident light — something that cannot be achieved by conventional anti-reflection coatings alone.
6. High-speed AF with USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive)
   Fast, quiet AF is achieved by employing a USD ring-type ultrasonic motor which enables remarkably precise focusing drive with high torque and responsiveness. Because the rotational torque of the USD is generated by waves of ultrasonic vibrations, inherent operating noise is extremely low and practically imperceptible. In addition, Full-time Manual Focus override is available at any point during the autofocus operation for deliberately shifting focus without switching the AF-MF mode back and forth.
7. Fluorine coating on the front element repels water and fingerprints
   Fluorine coating technology, developed for use in industrial optics applications, has been adapted to photographic lenses. The water and oil repellent coating applied to the front element surface allows instant removal of dirt or smudges with ease. The coating also provides a reasonable level of durability, and will sustain its effectiveness for years.
8. Moisture-resistant construction for shooting outdoors under adverse weather conditions
   Seals are located at the lens mount area and other critical locations to prevent infiltration of moisture and/or rain drops and provide moisture-resistant construction. This feature provides an additional layer of protection when shooting outdoors under adverse weather conditions.
9. Circular aperture for enhanced bokeh
   The 9-blade diaphragm retains a nearly circular opening even when stopped down by two stops. Marvelously tuned blur in the subject background can be obtained without generating undesirable shapes of aperture patterns.
10. Compatibility with Adobe and Silkypix software
    Supplied with SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.0, advanced editing software that features correction menus for various aberrations (lateral color, distortion, relative illumination) based on the optical design data of this specific lens. Shooting RAW image files enables creation of more stringent and high-fidelity image quality.

Most people tend to think of image stabilization as being mainly for telephoto lenses. While it’s true that their longer focal lengths tend to magnify the effects of camera shake, image stabilization can provide a very useful assist at wider angle focal lengths as well; anyone who’s ever tried to blur the image of a waterfall, while keeping the surrounding landscape tack-sharp knows exactly what I’m talking about.

With the Vibration Control system, we “should” see stable results at around the 1/30 shutter speed, if we listen to the “one over focal length” rule of thumb, and indeed this is the case. With VC turned on, we can get sharp, hand-held results all the way down to the 1/4s shutter speed (well, 90% sharp), representing an improvement of 3 stops.

Mouse over this chart to show results with IS activated.

IS systems tend to provide more benefit to less-stable shooters than very steady ones, so most users will see the same or greater amounts of shake reduction as we measured here. You can read more about our IS test methodology here: SLRgear IS Test Methodology, v2.