Tamron has announced a new ultra-wide zoom for both Sony E mount and Nikon Z mount: the 12–20mm f/2.8 (model A084).
Obviously, the main feature that might make this lens useful for you is the extremely wide-angle zoom range. 20mm is as wide as many wide-angle lenses get—and that’s the telephoto end of this one! 12mm is an astoundingly wide “take-it-all-in-I-can’t-believe-the-majesty” kind of perspective… especially without creating a fisheye image. Take a look at photos two and three in the sample image slideshow, below, to visualize the same scene captured at both 12mm and 20mm, respectively.
Coming in a close second to the focal length range is the constant f/2.8 maximum aperture. Not quite ultra-bright (think f/1.4), but still brighter than your average bear. Check out the lenses’ low-light performance in the sample images below, and note the gorgeous bokeh and background defocus in the images numbered 55, 60, 71, and 72, thanks to the 12-bladed aperture. I would imagine that real-world use would rarely cause one to pine for a brighter aperture, especially given the balance offered by its compact frame: only 1.26 lb in weight and ~4.7″ in length.
Autofocus is driven (yes, quickly, quietly, and accurately) by Tamron’s excellent linear motor mechanism, the VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) and can lock focus as closely as 7.1″ at the wide side.
Optically, the light is drawn through a relatively complex path of lens elements (see below) in order to provide an undistorted, ultra-sharp image. Not only are peripheral blurring and color fringing avoided, sagittal coma flare (dreaded by astrophotographers worldwide) is effectively corrected.
Last, but not least, it is worth pointing out that this lens debuts Tamron’s new “Toned Profile Next” lens design language and includes an astonishing array of on-barrel physical controls: focus ring, zoom ring, iris ring, AF/MF switch, MF lock, zoom lock, three-position custom function button, and detent on/off. Yow!! I love as many physical controls as possible, myself, so I’m loving it.
Get thee to Mike’s Camera, in person or online, and reserve thy lens—posthaste!
Sample images
Images compressed for accessibility.