Pros & Cons
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- Quite sharp.
- Minimal distortion.
- Wide aperture.
- Optically stabilized design.
- Very close focus capability.
- Weather-sealed.
- Available for Canon, Nikon, and Sony SLRs.
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- Edge performance lags behind center at wide apertures.
- Heavy for its size.
Tamron SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD Specs
| 35mm Equivalent (Telephoto) | N/A mm |
| 35mm Equivalent (Wide) | 35 |
| Dimensions | 3.2 by 3.2 inches |
| Lens Mount | Canon EF |
| Lens Mount | Nikon F |
| Lens Mount | Sony A |
| Optical Zoom | None x |
| Stabilization | Optical |
| Type | Lens |
| Weight | 16.9 |
If you're shopping for a wide-angle prime lens for your full-frame camera, or one that covers a standard-angle field of view when paired with an APS-C image sensor, you should give strong consideration to the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD ($599). The lens includes an optical image stabilization system—a rarity for a fast wide-angle—and also doubles as a short macro. It's very sharp, even at f/1.8, and focuses quickly. The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM Art ($642.78 at Amazon) has been our Editors' Choice for wide-angle prime lenses since its release, but the Tamron SP 35mm is just as worthy of that accolade. If you love shooting at f/1.4, the Sigma is still an excellent choice, but you won't miss much else by opting for the less expensive Tamron SP 35mm.
Design
The SP 35mm ($599.00 at Amazon) is fairly compact, measuring just 3.2 by 3.2 inches (HD), but it's heavy for its size at 1.1 pounds. It supports 67mm front filters and includes a reversible lens hood, as well as front and rear caps. The barrel is metal, with a rubberized focus ring and a silver accent ring at its base. There are internal seals to protect against moisture, and a gasket around the lens mount, so you can feel comfortable in inclement weather when the lens is paired with a similarly sealed camera body. The front element also incorporates a fluorine coating, which helps to repel grim and makes the lens easier to keep clean. Tamron sells the lens for Canon, Nikon, and Sony SLRs, although the Sony version omits the optical stabilization system.
There are two switches on the barrel—one switches between autofocus and manual focus, and the other turns the optical stabilization system on and off. There aren't a lot of 35mm prime lenses available with stabilization. If you shoot with a Nikon camera, this lens is your only option at the moment. Canon offers its EF 35mm f/2 IS USM ($599.99) with stabilization, and Sony includes in-body stabilization with its Alpha SLR lineup. Stabilization will help you get a steadier shot at slower shutter speeds, so you can keep the ISO lower or stop the lens down for a larger depth of field when working in challenging light. It's also a boon for video use; handheld footage shot with a stabilized lens doesn't jitter like unstabilized footage.
Close focus is an area in which the SP 35mm stands by itself. It can lock onto subjects as close as 7.9 inches (0.2-meter) from the image sensor. That's a 1:2.5 reproduction ratio at the minimum focus distance, which enters into macro territory. You'll need to get up close and personal with your subject when working that close—some photographers may prefer a longer focal length for macro shots—but it does save you from changing lenses in the field when you want to get right up to an object for a close shot. You'll likely want to stop the lens down when working close to get a useable depth of field. Out of focus highlights will remain circular when the aperture is narrowed thanks to its 9-blade design.
Image Quality
I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the lens when paired with the full-frame Nikon D810 ($1,996.95 at Amazon) . At f/1.8 the lens exhibits excellent sharpness, scoring 2,848 lines per picture height on a center-weighted test. That's better than the 1,800 lines we like to see in an image. Sharpness does drop as you move away from the center of the frame; at the edges the lens shows 2,420 lines, which is a 15 percent decrease, but details are still crisp to my eye. You can comfortably frame subjects at the edge without worrying about clarity.
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There's a modest improvement in resolution at f/2 (2,950 lines), and a more significant jump at f/2.8 (3,223 lines). This trend continues until the lens hits its peak resolution at f/8—3,651 lines. Edge performance increases as well; at f/4 the edges top 3,000 lines, and they approach 3,300 lines at f/8. There's a slight drop in image clarity due to diffraction at f/11 (3,625 lines), and a more significant dip at the minimum f/16 setting (3,297 lines)—but I'd feel comfortable using the lens at either of its narrowest f-stops when the shot calls for it.
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The lens shows about 0.4 percent barrel distortion, which isn't noticeable in field conditions. Fall-off, which darkens corners, is well-controlled. I used an ExpoDisc 2.0 to capture a softened white image. Imatest's Uniformity tool shows that there is just 1.4 stops of light loss at the periphery of the frame when shooting wide open at f/1.8—noticeable, but easily remedied using software correction. It drops to 1 stop at f/2. At f/2.8 and f/4 there's a barely noticeable 0.5-stop loss of light at the corners of the image, and at f/5.6 illumination is just about even across the frame.
Chromatic aberration does show up occasionally in images, but not as frequently as with the Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD ($399.00 at Amazon) . When shooting at wider apertures it's noticeable when a high contrast area of the image is slightly out of focus, but that's a criticism that can be made of a number of lenses. Many image editing applications, including Lightroom CC ($9.99/Month at Adobe) , include tools to remove it, and I found that eliminating it from images shot with the SP 35mm was easy enough.
Conclusions
There's a lot to like about the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD. Its wide aperture captures a lot of light and allows for a shallow depth of field, and its close focus capability means that the lens serves double-duty as a wide-angle and short macro. Integrated image stabilization steadies handheld shots, and is a boon for videographers who take a run-and-gun approach to filmmaking. Add an attractive price tag and you have a lens that is a winner. We're naming the Tamron SP 35mm our Editors' Choice for wide-angle prime lenses. It's not an f/1.4 lens—and if that's what you crave, the Sigma 35mm Art is still the best way to go—but it's a bit more versatile than the Sigma thanks to its close focus capability and stabilization sytem, and it's less expensive to boot.
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