Getting to know the lens
Tamron has long been known to photographers for its optics. Particularly popular in the last ten years have been their macro lenses. Due to their high aperture and suitable focal lengths, many photographers often used them as portraits. But optics for macro is not very suitable for shooting people.Canon EOS 6D / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 100, F1.8, 1/200 s
A portrait lens does not need to be so sharp and contrasty, but the beauty of bokeh and the shallow depth of field are important. The first portrait lens in the Tamron lineup appeared in 2016. And this event is truly significant: another player has appeared on the market for high-speed portrait optics!
Looking ahead, let's say that in terms of sharpness and the level of compensation for chromatic aberrations, Tamron 85 / 1.8 Di VC USD is unlikely to yield even to the brand's well-established macro lenses.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 100, F2.8, 1/1250 s
Design
The lens body is made of plastic, similar to metal to the touch. It is made firmly and monolithically: the lens does not make any extraneous sounds, and even the lens hood clicks with a pleasant elastic click. The inner surface of the hood is corrugated and in blackness is not inferior to velvet. It is simple, cup-shaped, but looks solid. Its depth protects the front lens even during rain: it can be removed without a protective filter, and this is useful for image quality. The diameter of the thread for the filters is 67 mm. The lens has moisture protection, there are seals inside and a rubber ring around the mount.
Autofocus speed allows you to take offhand a running dog.
Canon EOS 6D / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 100, F1.8, 1/200 s Download RAW
Canon EOS 5D Mark III / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 100, F1.8, 1/800 s
The drive is designed so that after autofocus, you can manually adjust the focus by the ring on the lens - this is very convenient! The focusing ring is wide and stiff, with ribbed rubber coating.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 400, F2.5, 1/400 s
It rotates easily, the ring travel for manual focusing is relatively small - approximately 90 °, but this does not interfere. For autofocus models, this has become the norm: the smaller the stroke of the ring, the faster the focus. The Tamron 85 / 1.8 Di VC USD even has a window with a distance scale. The focus ring is the only moving part of the lens body. During focusing, the front lens does not rotate, no parts of the lens extend - the design is monolithic.
The main feature of Tamron 85 / 1.8 Di VC USD is its stabilizer. This is the world's first stabilized portrait lens for SLR cameras. The stabilizer not only helps to shoot in poor light, but also reduces the likelihood of micro-grease - many photographers familiar with cameras with high-resolution matrices (for example, Canon EOS 5DS R or Nikon D810) are familiar with this phenomenon.
The lens allows you to shoot with hand at slow shutter speeds.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 400, F2.5, 1/8 s
Canon EOS 5D Mark III / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 800, F2.2, 1/10 s
Another non-obvious advantage of the stabilizer is the compensation of jolting in the viewfinder at the time of frame construction and focusing. This has a positive effect on autofocus accuracy, especially when you focus on a single point. But this is precisely how the focus is achieved in portrait photography.
Canon EOS 6D / TAMRON SP 85mm F / 1.8 Di VC USD F016 Settings: ISO 100, F1.8, 1/500 s Download RAW
When shooting in difficult lighting conditions at a slow shutter speed, care should be taken to ensure that the person in the frame is motionless. Most people can freeze for 1/20 of a second, and at this shutter speed, the Tamron 85 / 1.8 Di VC USD guarantees sharpness of the picture. If we consider a critical long shutter speed equal to unity divided by the focal length, it turns out that the stabilizer gives 2 more gain levels, and if you take care of the stillness of the scene, then all 3 steps.
