As an artist who photographs multiple genres professionally and personally, I am always on the lookout for quality, durable, and reliable gear to pair with my Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras. After putting four Tamron lenses to the test, I’ve found my answer. Tamron lenses have exceeded my high expectations in a variety of shooting situations and I’m happy to say that they have earned a permanent spot in my camera bag!
As a birth and family photographer and filmmaker, I need equipment to perform well in unpredictable lighting situations, particularly in low light, where I most often find myself. Tamron lenses excel in this area — they are quick to focus and sharp even in low light. In my 11 years in business, I have seen the quality of my gear matters, and I believe having the best gear is an investment into both my business and craft.
As an avid 365 shooter and traveler, I love my gear to be both sturdy and easy to tuck in my purse, backpack, or luggage. I want the convenience of being able to take my camera wherever I go. I was excited to put a lineup of Tamron lenses to the test in the ways I most often shoot, and the results not only met my expectations but far exceeded them.
Here’s why I use Tamron lenses for absolutely everything (Video: 2 min).
First impressions:
Upon receiving my collection of Tamron lenses, I was impressed by the quality of their build while still being lightweight. One of my big draws to shooting mirrorless was the light and compact body they are known for, so having lenses with these same qualities is a big bonus.
Each of the four lenses felt sturdy in my hands and paired seamlessly with both my Sony a7R III and Sony a7S III. I knew each of the Tamron lenses would be valuable to me as a 365 shooter and was excited to put them to the test in professional settings. My goal was not only to push the boundaries with each lens but also to push myself creatively. I am excited to share my experience, takeaways, and favorite aspects of the four Tamron lenses. Here are some of my favorite features:
Lightweight yet durable build
My first and favorite aspect of these four lenses is that they feel solid in my hands while remaining portable. As someone who is always looking for solid glass and is somewhat a brand snob, the mix of these two is a perfect find!
During my birth photography and a filmmaking sessions, I tend to carry my camera for extended periods; having gear that does not weigh me down is always a plus. Shooting in small, dark spaces and more intimate settings, I prefer my gear to be minimal and lightweight so it’s not obtrusive. I handhold my camera while shooting video and stills during births and family sessions. After hours of shooting, I don’t want my footage or images to be shaky or out of focus at slower shutter speeds because my camera has become too heavy.
For personal use in my daily 365 shooting and travel adventures, portability and durability are very important. I carry my gear with me when traveling and don’t want to be weighed down by heavy carry-ons. I love to hike and adventure — I have even hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim carrying my camera! I don’t ever want to feel like I can’t take my camera with me wherever I go for fear of it becoming too cumbersome or heavy.
Each of these four lenses traveled with me on outings in the weeks that I put them to the test (of course, during the pandemic, I wasn’t able to travel far with them nor shoot many births) but still love the variety I was able to capture.
Reliability
I knew that a big test would be how the lenses performed in low-light situations. Being able to shoot accurately at wide-open apertures is a must for me. In client sessions, I need my gear to perform well every time without the worry of missed focus or inconsistent results. When photographing life’s most intimate and once-in-a-life moments like birth, capturing sharp images is vital. I don’t have the time or energy to worry about soft focus. The more I used these lenses, the more I loved them, and the more impressed I was with the consistent results.
Wide Apertures
I am a photographer who loves to shoot at wide-open apertures. Shooting at shallow depths of field helps me capture beautiful bokeh and focus on my subjects. The ability to adjust exposure without increasing ISO drastically in low light settings helps me avoid excessive noise in my images and footage. Each of the four lenses performed beautifully wide open at f/2.8.
Price Point
As mentioned earlier, I am not afraid to invest in high-quality gear as I believe it is vital for a working photographer. The beautiful surprise in shooting with this Tamron collection was that I never felt I sacrificed quality for cost. I believe the affordable price point of Tamron lenses opens up the ability to add to my collection and have confidence that my investment is a wise one. I am already looking at which of the new Tamron lenses I will be adding to my collection!
What I love about my Tamron lenses (Video: 1 min).
How I used my Tamron lens collection
I used these lenses in my Project 365 and a few client sessions in the weeks after receiving my lenses. I would love to share the types of images captured with each lens, as it is the perfect way to share what I loved about each one.
TAMRON 20mm F/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2
As I mentioned above, I wanted to use my Tamron lenses in the scenarios I shoot most often while pushing myself creatively. I haven’t had much experience shooting wider than 24mm (my previous widest angle lens) and was most curious about whether I would like this focal length. I fell in love with this lens and focal length right away, particularly for shooting inside my home and out and about in my day-to-day life.
This lens is so small and lightweight! It was so easy to carry around and tucked easily into my purse. I love what this focal length captures! I was able to creatively use it to capture tighter images for a fun, intimate feel and beautiful wide-angle images of outdoor scenes. I love prime lenses and found myself turning to it as my first choice for daily shooting. The fantastic bonus of this lens is its price point, coming in at just $299. It is such a fun, flexible, and affordable lens to add to any collection.
TAMRON 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD
This lens is also small and lightweight, and its zoom capabilities give excellent options for focal lengths. I found it gave such great, broad perspectives for environmental images and particularly loved using it indoors. This lens also traveled well on my camera. I was able to easily tuck it into my purse when out and about in my daily life.
TAMRON 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD
This particular lens was another that I found myself reaching for often in both my personal and client shooting. It is wide enough to capture wide-angle images with families with minimal distortion when shooting tighter. The range of focal lengths made it incredibly versatile when photographing any subject matter.
TAMRON 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD
This particular lens was another favorite out of my lineup. It is the largest and heaviest of the lenses, but no where is big and heavy as my prior fast telephoto zoom. I love shooting at longer focal lengths, so this was no surprise! I loved the beautiful bokeh I captured at these longer focal lengths when shooting wide open with the ability to still zoom in for more intimate details. I particularly love this lens for portraiture and will be packing it for my client shoots from now on!
My bottom line
I was excited at the opportunity to share my thoughts, experiences, and opinions about Tamron’s Sony E-mount lineup of lenses. There were so many moments that exceeded my expectations throughout my experience with them over the last weeks.
I was first astounded at the solid build and portability of these lenses. In particular, these qualities have won me over to Tamron lenses, and that is no easy feat! I will be using these lenses for years to come in my Project 365 shooting and client work and am already looking at Tamron’s newest Sony E-mount lenses (they just released two more!).
I found these lenses incredibly reliable and sharp in every situation I put them in. I used them in low light and high ISO situations and found them accurate every single time. This is huge for me! I felt comfortable using them in my client sessions right away. My clients expect the absolute best in their images and video footage, and I am confident that I can provide that each time I reach for one of my Tamron lenses.
Another unexpected bonus to shooting with these Tamron lenses was their price point. It isn’t easy to find quality lenses at an affordable price point, and Tamron provides both. With a reasonable investment, I’m able to have zooms that cover every focal length I need plus several fast primes at my favorite focal lengths. Perfect!
Specs:
- Lightweight and compact, which pairs well with mirrorless cameras to keep your entire system light and fast
- Short MOD (Minimum Object Distance) allows you to get closer to your subjects
- Unified system of lenses with 67mm filter size
- Built with mirrorless in mind and compatible with many advanced camera-specific features
- Compatible with camera-specific features like Fast Hybrid AF, Eye AF, Direct Manual Focus (DMF) and In-camera lens correction
See the full list of specs and features here.
I feel comfortable recommending a Tamron lens collection to anyone from a hobbyist to a seasoned professional photographer. They have so much to offer for such a wide variety of photographers.
Photos by Lisa Weingardt
This is a sponsored post, but opinions are those of the author.
