Tamron Announces the SP 85mm F/1.8 Di VC USD

[Nininini]

A lens like this with inaccurate autofocus is about as useful as a brick.

Pretty much, especially if your viewfinder isn't very large.

People keep saying to use manual focus.

Uhm, in the past they didn't have 24mp sensors, and the viewfinders of old 35mm cameras were very high quality. That is no longer the case.

Manual focus through the viewfinder works on the extreme high-end canon cameras that still have decent viewfinders, it doesn't work on cameras most people buy.

 

[intuition]

Have we seen any pricing, pre-order links yet?

Very curious to see what price this comes in at.

One site mentioned the Japanese price equivalent to more than $ 1000. Haven't seen official EU/US prices yet.

Ouch, that is a tough price to swallow when the Canon 85 is a third of the price. I was hoping for the 500/600 dollar range. Hopefully when official prices are announced it is closer to $500 then $1k.

You can't compare Tamron's prices in Japan with Canons prices in US.
Canon EF 85 1.8 in Japan is around 410 USD.

 

[intuition]

And BIC lists it at 890 USD equiv. in the Japanese market.
http://www.biccamera.com/bc/disp/CSfGoodsPage_001.jsp?GOODS_NO=3312192

 

[bholliman]

I might consider this lens if hands-on testing proves it to be an significant optical upgrade over the venerable Canon EF 85mm f/1.8, its autofocus is at least good and the eventual street price in the US is closer to $500 than $1k. Looking forward to Dustin Abbott's review.

 

[N2itiv]

I believe Sigma and Tamron had a big effect on Canon w/their longer zoom telephotos. I think Sigma Art lens also had a big impact on the quality improvements on Canon lenses.
If this Tamron VC 85 gets good reviews especially where accurate autofocus in concerned, it should again have a big impact on Canon, Sigma, and maybe even Tokina at some point. This 85 1.8 VC lens came at the right place and time.

 

[Ozarker]

Have we seen any pricing, pre-order links yet?

Very curious to see what price this comes in at.

One site mentioned the Japanese price equivalent to more than $ 1000. Haven't seen official EU/US prices yet.

Ouch, that is a tough price to swallow when the Canon 85 is a third of the price. I was hoping for the 500/600 dollar range. Hopefully when official prices are announced it is closer to $500 then $1k.

Yes, but the Canon feels like a can of peas in the hand with no IS and a 1 year warranty, while the Tamron feels like nearly two cans of corn with VC (IS) and a six year warranty.

I own just one Tamron lens, but the build quality and weight of the SP line is very impressive to me.

 

[Ozarker]

I will wait for Dustin Abbott to test this one and tell us how the autofocus works. A lens like this with inaccurate autofocus is about as useful as a brick.

I hope it works well, the press release says that "camera movement is the leading cause of unpleasant photographs."

If this lens can keep me from taking unpleasant photographs it will be a bargain at almost any price!

I don't hold out much hope. I think my sister is ugly no matter what lens I use. The tech just hasn't advanced enough yet, though I have read that Sony is working on a top secret sensor to soften things up a bit. Something to do with automatic Vaseline sensor coating (AVSC) for when uglo-Americans are detected via their also secret uglorithms.

 

[Luds34]

Have we seen any pricing, pre-order links yet?

Very curious to see what price this comes in at.

One site mentioned the Japanese price equivalent to more than $ 1000. Haven't seen official EU/US prices yet.

Ouch, that is a tough price to swallow when the Canon 85 is a third of the price. I was hoping for the 500/600 dollar range. Hopefully when official prices are announced it is closer to $500 then $1k.

Yes, but the Canon feels like a can of peas in the hand with no IS and a 1 year warranty, while the Tamron feels like nearly two cans of corn with VC (IS) and a six year warranty.

I own just one Tamron lens, but the build quality and weight of the SP line is very impressive to me.

Are you saying light weight is bad? I love the images my Sigma 35mm Art can produce. But there are days I pop on the old Canon 28mm f/1.8 and it feels like I just mounted a pancake lens weight wise. An almost liberating feel.

I'm not opposed to 3rd party and have used Tamron in the past. Currently I only own their 150-600, which speaking of weight, when extended to 600mm really puts some heavy glass fairly far out.

 

[curby]

Are you saying light weight is bad?

Of course it's bad. Light weight means poor build quality and durability. It's like Roger says:

I usually laugh when people describe a lens as "built like a tank" because what I know is the lens they are describing has a thick, heavy outer metal shell filled with tiny delicate pieces that break and wear out with great frequency.

That's what he's saying, right?

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Have we seen any pricing, pre-order links yet?

Very curious to see what price this comes in at.

One site mentioned the Japanese price equivalent to more than $ 1000. Haven't seen official EU/US prices yet.

Ouch, that is a tough price to swallow when the Canon 85 is a third of the price. I was hoping for the 500/600 dollar range. Hopefully when official prices are announced it is closer to $500 then $1k.

Yes, but the Canon feels like a can of peas in the hand with no IS and a 1 year warranty, while the Tamron feels like nearly two cans of corn with VC (IS) and a six year warranty.

I own just one Tamron lens, but the build quality and weight of the SP line is very impressive to me.

Preorder price is $749 USD - http://bhpho.to/21KGOFg

 

[drmikeinpdx]

Dustin, I hope your pre-ordered one. I'm waiting for see what you think of this new lens before I buy one.

 

[Ivan Muller]

Sounds like an interesting lens, and if the 35mm f1.8 is anything to go by it should be very sharp to boot! But my Tamron 35 on the 6D gives terrible results with all the AF points except the center one.....

So yes Tamron is bringing out great lenses but the focusing seems to be a problem, as with all third party lenses...

There was some news a while ago that Canon wanted to buy Sigma but was turned down, perhaps they should look at Tamron instead...my 35mm f1.8 is a very very sharp lens!

 

[Ozarker]

Have we seen any pricing, pre-order links yet?

Very curious to see what price this comes in at.

One site mentioned the Japanese price equivalent to more than $ 1000. Haven't seen official EU/US prices yet.

Ouch, that is a tough price to swallow when the Canon 85 is a third of the price. I was hoping for the 500/600 dollar range. Hopefully when official prices are announced it is closer to $500 then $1k.

Yes, but the Canon feels like a can of peas in the hand with no IS and a 1 year warranty, while the Tamron feels like nearly two cans of corn with VC (IS) and a six year warranty.

I own just one Tamron lens, but the build quality and weight of the SP line is very impressive to me.

Are you saying light weight is bad? I love the images my Sigma 35mm Art can produce. But there are days I pop on the old Canon 28mm f/1.8 and it feels like I just mounted a pancake lens weight wise. An almost liberating feel.

I'm not opposed to 3rd party and have used Tamron in the past. Currently I only own their 150-600, which speaking of weight, when extended to 600mm really puts some heavy glass fairly far out.

I'm not saying light weight is bad at all.

I just really like the feel of a heavy lens when I'm spending big bucks on it. That's one reason I like my Tamron 15-30 so much. Great lens too compared to the Canon alternative and the price difference. Certainly far less coma.

I hope you are having a fine day!

 

[Ozarker]

Are you saying light weight is bad?

Of course it's bad. Light weight means poor build quality and durability. It's like Roger says:

I usually laugh when people describe a lens as "built like a tank" because what I know is the lens they are describing has a thick, heavy outer metal shell filled with tiny delicate pieces that break and wear out with great frequency.

That's what he's saying, right?

I never said light weight is bad. I just prefer heavy. I live in a huge desert and sometimes have to carry for a good distance and stay out all day. A couple of pounds don't bother me.

Once the torn tendons in my foot are fixed those treks will get even longer.

 

[Ozarker]

Sounds like an interesting lens, and if the 35mm f1.8 is anything to go by it should be very sharp to boot! But my Tamron 35 on the 6D gives terrible results with all the AF points except the center one.....

So yes Tamron is bringing out great lenses but the focusing seems to be a problem, as with all third party lenses...

There was some news a while ago that Canon wanted to buy Sigma but was turned down, perhaps they should look at Tamron instead...my 35mm f1.8 is a very very sharp lens!

I think the SP line (recent releases) are very good. I only have the 15-35. It is very good at focus, but that might just be my copy.