Tamron has announced a new full-frame lens for Sony’s E-mount and Nikon’s Z-mount. This model is the latest in a range of affordable Macros from the brand.
This particular lens is designed to capture very close-in 1:1 images but also has the versatility necessary for shooting portraits and even telephoto shots out to a medium distance.
One other useful feature of the new lens is that it works well with APS-C cameras too, at least according to Tamron. With these, the lens offers a 135mm-equivalent focal length.
Internally, the new Tamron lens is made up of 15 elements in 12 groups.
All of these elements are aspherical but four of them are special glass low-dispersion elements while the front element includes both a fluorine coating for oil and dust resistance and a moisture-resistant design.
In its press release for the 90mm F2.8 Di III Macro VXD, Tamron also specifically emphasizes,
“The BBAR-G2 (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2) Coating significantly minimizes ghosting and flare, ensuring that even in backlit conditions, the finest details of the subject are captured with clarity and precision.
The company also underscores the versatility of the new 90mm by adding,
This exceptional optical performance enables photographers to explore unique photographic expressions in many photographic genres, including macro, portrait, tabletop, long-distance photography, and various other types.”
Here are some sample images from Tamron:
What’s more, the lens comes with what Tamron calls its first-ever 12-blade circular aperture and the brand claims that this helps the lens deliver excellent, perfectly circular, and clear bokeh when the lens is wide open.
The lens hood on the 90mm F2.8 Di III Macro VXD is also a new design, mainly because it has a “sliding window” for easily adjusting filters without having to take the hood itself off. For these filters, the thread is 67mm.
Size-wise, the new lens isn’t exactly small, but its measurements are reasonable. It has a body that’s 12.7 cm or 5 inches long and it has a total weight of 630 grams or 22.2 ounces for the Nikon model and 640 grams or 22.6 ounces for the Sony version.
Otherwise, both lens versions for each camera brand are identical. They both also geature a focus set button and a focus limiter switch.
In the case of Nikon camera users, this lens is particularly useful too, mainly because it fits a space in which no 90mm AF-capable lenses has existed up to now for full-frame cameras.
Tamron is going to start shipping both the Sony edition and Nikon version of the lens as of October 24th for a (given its versatility and features) fairly reasonable price of $699.
