subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 18 April 2020
● The Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD for full-frame Sony
mirrorless cameras features a compact and lightweight design,
weighing 815g and coming in at 149mm in length.
● The lens uses the same 67mm fi lter diameter as other Tamron
lenses in this series, namely the 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD and the
28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD.
● The optical design includes several specialised glass elements that
contribute to the lens’s imaging performance, and its short 33.5in
MOD (Minimum Object Distance) expands overall versatility.
● The lens adopts Tamron’s newly developed VXD (Voice-coil
eXtreme-torque Drive) linear motor focus mechanism, to produce a
quiet, quick autofocus drive.
● Other features include a Moisture-Resistant Construction helpful
for outdoor shooting and Fluorine Coating for easy maintenance.
● Launch date spring 2020 (to be confi rmed, along with pricing).VXD and more
Find out more about the stand-out features of
this well-specced zoom for Sony full-frameAF switch on the body either. With
the IS systems in camera bodies
now being so good, we can avoid
having to also include it in the lens.
If we had gone for 200mm,
however, we would have needed
to use IS inside. So to confi rm, in
order to keep the fi lter size at
67mm, we needed to keep the
focal length at 180mm. Also, the
AF speed is super-fast and
accurate, it’s really amazing!AP Any plans to develop lenses
for the Nikon Z and Canon RF?
KN and MA Hmm, an interesting
question (laughter). Of course we
are seeing customer demands for
lenses for these mounts, so we are
now analysing the technology. We
are trying to make this happen,
but we have only so much R&D
resource, and we’d have to start
from scratch with the Nikon Z and
Canon RF. With Sony, all the
specifi cations are already there.
It’s the same situation with Fujifi lm
X-mount. We are certainly
interested in developing lenses
with Fujifi lm, but currently we just
don’t have the option.AP How do you feel about the
continuing fall in DSLR market
share, when it comes to
interchangeable-lens cameras?
KN We don’t think the market for
DSLRs will disappear as a lot of
photographers already own these
cameras and have invested a lot of
money in building up their systems- these are already expensive
items. According to forecasts from
the CIPA trade body, while
demand for DSLR lenses will
continue to shrink, it certainly
won’t disappear for a while. For
the moment, mirrorless is the big
market trend.
AP How has your business been
affected by coronavirus?
KN and KS We have factories in
China, Vietnam and northern
Japan, so yes it has caused us
problems. Sales in China
decreased and our factory also
closed, but it is restarting again
now. Then there is the problem of
getting hold of components fromall of our suppliers. A Tamron lens
uses 120 to 160 parts, and the
majority of them are made in
China. The latest announcement
from Tamron and how we are
responding is at bit.ly/tamroncv.
We have something very
attractive in the pipeline which
we look forward to telling you
about soon.and only for Sony E mount. It’s
also compact, which is important
to us. Although 70-180mm f/2.
seems a strange focal length, as
other makers have 70-200mm
f/2.8, this means the lens can be
smaller, shorter and weigh less.
AP That is good to hear... some
higher-end full-frame mirrorless
cameras are the same size and
weight as DSLRs...
KN Yes. Everyone requires high-
quality images, but we are always
trying to think about how we can
reduce the size, and this is a real
challenge. Because this lens’s
telephoto range is 180mm, rather
than 200mm, we can avoid having
an IS unit inside and also go for a
smaller fi lter size, in this case
67mm. It’s a trade-off. There is no The new lens features a quick autofocus drive and compact design
The new 70-180mm, which Geoff is holding, joins the 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD and the 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD