Tamron Unveils 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Lens: ‘A New Category of Telephoto’
Tamron has announced a new 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD for Sony E-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras which is expected to be available from this fall.
The versatile ultra-telephoto zoom lens will “create an entirely new category for a high-performance ultra-telephoto mirrorless zoom lens,” the company says. The 50-400mm boasts an 8x zoom ratio and will be the same size as a conventional 100-400mm zoom lens, but offer a wider angle view.
The lens has a length of 183.4mm and weighs 1,155 grams. It is equipped with Tamron’s Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive (VXD), a linear motor focus mechanism that the company say offers “excellent quietness and responsiveness” when using auto-focus. It also features the Japanese company’s proprietary image stabilization mechanism, Vibration Compensation (VC).
The zoom lens has a minimum focus distance of 0.24 meters, at the 50mm end, which allows the photographer to “enjoy the world of half-macro photography.” This is because the 50-400mm provides 1:2 half lifesize magnification when focusing up close. Tamron also says that the lens is “rapid” while zooming with a zoom ring rotation arc of 75 degrees.
Tamron says that it has improved the ergonomic feature to support comfortable shooting with “improved texture and operability”. The lens also has a Connector Port for the dedicated Tamron Lens Utility, a software developed by the company to configure lenses via a computer to adapt the glass to a specific shooting situation. The Lens Utility will offer a new “Focus Limiter” function.
The 50-400mm will offer an optional Arca-Swiss compatible accessory tripod mount as well as being compatible with “camera-specific features and functions, including Fast Hybrid AF and Eye AF.”
The 67mm filter size is the same as most other Tamron Di III lenses for mirrorless cameras, minimizing the number of filters or adaptor rings needed when using multiple lenses together.
Tamron says that the groundbreaking focal length is ideal for covering sport, “until now, the 70-200mm and 100-400mm zooms have been the go-to lenses for shooting sporting events,” Tamron writes.
“But in those situations where you can’t change your position to get a wider view, or you need to get more in the picture, you must either switch lenses or simply give up. That was yesterday.”
The company has not yet announced the price of its news lens and has warned that the release date or product supply could be affected “due to the current global health crisis.” However, it is scheduled for fall 2022.
