Opinions have wavered on this new affordable telephoto lens from Canon, but I’ve been anxious to test it for myself. The operation of the lens is excellent, and I’m extremely impressed once again by the behavior of the Nano USM autofocus technology. I can already attest that the lens delivers an excellent AF Servo performance for tracking action, but I will be carefully examining the optical performance of the lens throughout my review period. You can see the images that I am taking during my review period here (check back often as I will be posting new images on a near daily basis.) My full review (and a comparison with the excellent and affordable Tamron 70-300mm VC lens) will come in a few weeks.
Images of the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM
Images Taken with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM (EOS 5D Mark IV)
Images Taken with the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM (EOS 80D)
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Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Image Gallery
Dustin Abbott
May 4th, 2016
Multi-Purpose and High Speed
Canon has released a new lens to be sold in kit with the brand new Canon 80D that is packing a number of new tricks up its nearly matte black sleeves. The Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM features a new Nano USM focus system that blows away anything we’ve seen from Canon in their consumer zooms before. It really is impressive. The image quality is largely the same as the previous generation, but it is good enough to satisfy most users of the lens. Below I will share a gallery of images from the lens and some of the lens itself. You can read my full review here or watch the video review below:
Images of the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Images by the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Purchasing your gear through B&H and these links helps fund this website and keeps the articles coming. Thank you for your support.
Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52016DA in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Canon has been renovating its entire catalog of consumer grade zoom lenses over the past several years to great effect. I’ve used a number of Canon’s previous generation consumer grade zooms, including the 18-55mm kit lens, the 18-135mm and 18-200mm superzooms, and the 55-250mm (IS II) telephoto lens. When I began getting into photography those lenses were staples of affordable general purpose photography, and it wasn’t until I was more personally invested in my photography that I moved beyond them to more expensive options. I recognize that the price of many of Canon’s professional grade lenses is beyond the reach of the average photographer, but fortunately Canon has addressed some of the most important shortcomings of many of its consumer lenses with the STM refreshes over the past couple of years. Upgrades include improved optical performance, much better autofocus, and even a slightly improved build quality. The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM is a prime recipient of many of these updates and improvements.
I used the predecessor of the 55-250 STM (the IS II) for a period several years ago, and while it was a good lens, the STM version is certainly an upgrade in almost every aspect.
The main engine of change in these refreshes is centered around the STM part of the name. STM stands for “Stepping Motor”, and is the new autofocus system that Canon has been putting into a number of lenses. The “stepping” refers to the AF system’s mean of smoothly moving from one focus point to another. The previous generation of lenses had older micromotor autofocus motors that tended to be “buzzy” in operation and often weren’t as fast or accurate as Canon’s higher grade USM (ultrasonic motor) AF system. The STM motors are a marked improvement in almost every regard over the micromotors, with much quieter, smoother focus that is often a bit faster and more accurate as well. Canon has begun to include AF Servo autofocus during video capture on a number of its APS-C (crop sensor) cameras (like the Rebel/xxxD line along with more “pro-sumer” bodies like the 70D/7DII). Most of the older designs of AF motors don’t play very well with autofocus during video, with a lot of hunting and noise as they try to make focus transitions. STM motors focus smoothly in this environment because they were specifically designed for that purpose. That is definitely true here, as the 55-250 STM is a very smooth, quietly focusing lens. You’ll note the key word here is smooth – that is the single best aspect of STM focus motors.
Features and Build
But Canon’s improvements don’t end with the autofocus system. This lens has always had a great focal length (roughly 4.5x zoom with a 35mm/FF focal range equivalence of 88-400mm).
55mm:
250mm:
That is a great deal of reach in a compact lens, and this lens perfectly meshes with the 18-55mm kit lens to provide two lens coverage from 18mm to 250mm. This encompasses nearly all the focal ranges that the average photographer might need.
The 55-250 STM is reasonably small for its impressive reach, with an overall length of 4.38”/111.2mm. This is minutely larger than its predecessor (108mm). It is also very light, with a weight of only 13.23 oz/375g (15g less than 55-250mm II).. The optical formula is a little more complex than the previous lens with 15 elements in 12 groups, with a seven bladed aperture that retains a circular shape even when stopped down. It has a very modestly sized 58mm front filter thread, and that front filter ring does not rotate during autofocus, allowing you to use circular polarizers without issue. The lens also no longer changes length while autofocusing (but will when zooming), which might account for why it is slightly longer than the previous lens. Both of these attributes result in a lens that is better to use in the field.
Another impressive statistic for the lens is its minimum focus distance, which is only 2.79’/85mm. At that range on the 250mm end the resulting maximum magnification is an impressive .29x, or nearly 1/3rd life size magnification. This provides a lot of versatility, allowing you to do both telephoto and macro-like photography with one lens. While the lens focuses more closely than its predecessor the rated maximum magnification figure is surprisingly a bit lower (the older lens figure was .31x). This suggests that the lens is exhibiting some additional “focus breathing” compared to the older lens (the lens’ focal length is shorter than its maximum length when focusing near minimum distances). This is fairly common with many newer lenses, as they often employ “floating elements” that allow for better resolution at those minimum focus distances. So, the lens has marginally less magnification but will focus more closely and produce better results at minimum distances. These shots show the lens is capable of very impressive results at that minimum focus distance.
The build of the lens is a mild upgrade over the previous lens, with a slightly sleeker design. The overall dimensions are highly similar, but the STM lenses have a new design philosophy that is moderately different from the previous generation of lenses. I was also reviewing the Canon EF-M 55-200mm STM for the EOS M mirrorless system, and that lens definitely felt like the more premium product in both its build and operation (read my review here). This lens has a plastic lens mount (which has been par for the course for Canon’s budget options). That probably won’t be an issue due to the relatively light weight of the lens, but my personal preference is always to see the metal mount. The lens is dominated by zoom ring, which is very wide and easy to find. The zoom action is generally fairly good, though I found when compared to the EF-M lens that the resistance through the zoom range was less consistent. There were a few points where the effort required was a bit higher, resulting in a slightly less smooth zoom action. This could improve with more use as the lens is “broken in”. There is no zoom lock, but the light weight of the front element along with the amount of resistance in the zoom ring suggests that zoom creep is not particularly likely. There is always the risk that as the lens is broken in the possibility of zoom creep might increase, though I’m not personally very concerned.
The lens has two standard switches on the barrel – AF/MF and ON/OFF for the IS (Image Stabilization) system. The final ingredient is a much more narrow manual focus ring at the end of the barrel. Manual focus rings rarely have prime real estate on STM lenses because in many ways they are less emphasized than ever. STM has many strengths, but manual focus is really not one of them. To its credit, the STM system does always provide full time manual override (which the micromotors did not), but STM is far from my favorite manual focus system. Unlike most manual focus systems, there is no direct connection to the lens elements. STM lenses rather take input from the manual focus ring, route it electronically through the autofocus motor, which then makes gradual adjustments to the focus as input. This is often referred to “focus-by-wire”. There are a couple of significant drawbacks, including a general lack of tactile feedback when manually focusing, sometimes a bit of a lag between your movements and the actual focus, and the unfortunate reality that the camera must be on and prepared to receive input before any change will be made. You cannot “prefocus” by manually focusing to a specific point in advance. In fact, even if the camera has gone “to sleep” while you waiting for a shot there is a very strong chance that the previously selected focus point will be lost. I am appreciative of many aspects of STM focus, but it is far from my favorite AF system.
I will offer up as a general observation that while some third party manufacturers based in Japan (namely Tamron and Sigma) have taken some heat over outsourcing some of the manufacturing to China and the Philippines (generally on their consumer grade products), I noted etched into the mount in a barely discernible text the words, “Made in Malaysia”. I offer no criticism but only the observation that the expedient of outsourcing manufacturing in the modern economic climate is clearly not reserved for the third party lens makers alone. Still, the placement suggests that Canon is clearly not advertising the fact.
AF Observations
Fortunately the autofocus system is quite reliable, with consistent results on the 70D and EOS M3 bodies I tested it on (the latter via the EF to EF-M adapter). I initially purchased this lens with the intent of using it on both bodies rather than purchasing the EF-M 55-200 STM. The EF-S lens had a longer focal range, closer minimum focus distance, and a slightly faster aperture. The trade-off was significantly larger size, but the price was also a bit lower (in this case less is truly more!) My experience with EF 40mm f/2.8 STM and 50mm f/1.8 STM led me to believe that autofocus would be quite snappy through the adapter, as the STM lenses all seem to perform well on the M3.
Imagine my disappointment when I received the lens, put it on the adapter and then onto the M3, pressed the shutter down halfway, and then watched the less creep like paint drying into focus. It was shockingly slow, and I was seriously disappointed. The autofocus on the lens when mounted on my 70D was quite good, but something was not working with the M3. I put the word out about this on CanonRumors to see what other photographers were encountering. Another user let me know that there was a firmware update via Canon for the EOS M3 specifically for helping focus speed with the EF-S 55-250 STM. I downloaded it, but didn’t notice any measurable improvement. I shared this. He pointed out that there was a second firmware update for the lens itself specifically for the M3/lens combination. I downloaded and installed it, and voila, suddenly the lens focuses almost as quickly and confidently as the native EF-M 55-200 STM lens. The focus isn’t as fast as with the 70D (unsurprising), but the difference isn’t much. The lens focuses very fluidly for video as well. Other than the notable size difference, the operational difference between the two lenses is now minimal. In the meantime, however, I had purchased the EF-M lens and decided that I liked the smaller size of it enough to keep it.
The 70D has a very nice AF system, and I was able to track action fairly well with the lens. There are times when the lens might be severely defocused and takes a bit longer to make an AF adjustment than what I might like (STM emphasis smoothness over speed), but overall I found the lens generally did what I wanted. My overall experience is often with lens costing many, many times more than this lens, but those really aren’t the best standard of comparison here. The STM autofocus is a significant upgrade over the former AF system of its predecessor and should suit your needs quite well. In addition, if you want to shoot video using AF Servo you will get better results with the STM lens than even much more expensive options.
The lens has an effective image stabilizer built in. One cannot overemphasize how important IS is on a telephoto lens. Without the image stabilizer one would need to keep the shutter speed very high to eliminate camera shake, and keeping the camera steady when trying to compose a shot can be difficult. IS allows you to both use much lower shutter speeds and does an effective job of keeping the viewfinder steady so that you can effectively compose your shot. I found the image stabilizer quite mannerly in this application with a minimum of movement when activating and very little noise when operating. With a static subject you can handhold very low shutter speeds of 1/10th second at 250mm, but always remember that IS doesn’t keep your subject from moving – it only corrects for movement of the camera itself. If you are shooting a subject that is going to move you are going to need to raise the shutter speed to eliminate blur due to subject motion.
Image Quality
The 55-250 STM is a significant upgrade optically over its predecessor. The older IS II lens frequently required it to be stopped down to f/8 to get decent image quality across the frame, but this lens is generally pretty good at most focal lengths even wide open. The EF-M lens (55-200) that I’ve been also evaluating has better image quality, but at the cost of a slower aperture and reduced focal range. Relative to price this lens is providing quite excellent image quality, with nice detail and resolution. I’ve not been disappointed with the images the lens has produced at all, and definitely feel this lens is worth the additional price over the older version on the merit of its image quality alone. Note the great detail in the image of the chipmunk in the photo and crop below:
Color rendition is quite good, and both vignette and chromatic aberration control are strong. Vignette is one area where this lens was definitely superior to the EF-M version.
This lens isn’t a fast one in terms of its aperture value at any point in its focal range. The f/4-5.6 aperture variation isn’t an uncommon one (even my $2000+ 100-400L II has a similar aperture value) but the 55-250 STM does move towards f/5.6 very quickly.
Aperture
f/4
f/4.5
f/5
f/5.6
EF-S 55-250 STM
55-63mm
64-99mm
100-154mm
155-250mm
Variable aperture lenses need decent light to be effective, but often compensate by being comparatively small and compact when compared to their fixed aperture brethren. The Canon 70-200 f/4L, for example, is considerably longer and heavier while having a reduced focal range. It previously had a significant sharpness advantage, but that gap has closed with this current update. The bokeh from the L series lens will be a little better, and it has an aperture advantage throughout most of the focal range. It gives up the image stabilizer, however, and that does defeat some of its aperture advantage.
Canon has persisted in its refusal to include lens hoods with its consumer lenses, so this lens does not ship with a lens hood. The ET-63 lens hood is an additional $24, but if the budget is tight you can grab this one from Vello for for half that. It is probably a worthy investment, however, particularly if you plan to do some shooting with the sun directly in the frame. I found that in some situations the lens was prone to veiling (a hazy effect where the image appears washed out due to the sun being in the frame).
This was more true at telephoto focal lengths, and it is here where a lens hood would come in handy. A lens hood will also often allow for a bit more contrast due to preventing stray light from reaching the lens. If there is good news here it is that the kinds of situations where the sun is right in the frame in a destructive way is less frequent with telephoto lenses. Still, if you are planning on shooting some backlight portraits you may want to consider a different lens for this reason.
The lens bokeh is somewhat of a mixed bag. I’ve found it to be quite decent in a number of situations. In fact, I shot a scene of beautiful lit autumn maples leaves with a number of combinations (all of which were more expensive than this lens), but settled on an image from this lens as my favorite of the bunch.
In some situations, however, the lens will exhibit a bit of a nervous look and it certainly shows the tendency towards “cat-eye” shaped bokeh towards the edges of the frame. This is probably nit-picking at this price point. If you get close to your subject, the lens will do a fine job of throwing the background out of focus and creating some delineation of the subject from the background. Delineation isn’t always a strength for APS-C cameras anyway, however, as the larger sensor of the full frame cameras (and medium format beyond) allow for increasingly shallow depth of field. Here’s a little gallery to allow you to draw your own conclusions:
All in all, though, this lens is providing a LOT of bang for the buck when it comes to image quality. Relative to its price it is a fantastic option.
Conclusions
If you have a limited budget but need a telephoto lens there is really no need to look any further. The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM gives a lot of performance for its relatively low purchase price of right around $300. The redesign of its optics makes it a legitimate competitor of much more expensive options, and, while it may lack the higher grade build of those lenses, it is actually surprising how close this lens comes in optical performance. It really doesn’t have a lot of optical weaknesses other than being a little prone to veiling when the sun is in the frame (at telephoto lengths), but that isn’t really a situation that will come up all that much. The maximum apertures at most focal lengths suffer relative to competitors, but the great wide open image quality as means you don’t have to stop the lens down as much. The build quality isn’t impressive, but it’s not terrible, either, and the lens handles fine overall. I found the image stabilizer to be effective, and, while STM focus is not my favorite AF system, the lens performed quite ably in most situations. If I didn’t have the EF-M 55-200 STM I would be very tempted to keep this lens even as a travel option because it is so light and compact. This is an excellent upgrade of a compact telephoto lens with a great focal length. Nicely done, Canon!
Pros:
Excellent optical performance to cost ratio
Optical improvements across the image circle
Effective image stabilizer
Improved autofocus performance in accuracy, speed, and noise
STM provides smooth AF Servo video focus
Low chromatic aberrations and vignette
Compact size and low weight
Cons:
Prone to veiling on telephoto end
STM manual focus still frustrating
Build suffers compared to the EF-M version
Plastic lens mount
Lower maximum magnification figure than predecessor
Notes: I reviewed a retail copy of the lens that I purchased myself and is thus representative of what you can expect.
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In photography there are moments when we have “fortunate accidents”; can we also have those with gear purchases?
I didn’t originally set out to purchase the Canon EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM telephoto lens. It wasn’t readily available in the North American market and I initially decided that I would purchase the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens to use on both my 70D and the EOS M3 bodies (via the EF Adapter). The EF-S lens had a longer focal range, closer minimum focus distance, and a slightly faster aperture. The trade-off was significantly larger size, but the price was also a bit lower (in this case less is truly more!) My experience with EF 40mm f/2.8 STM and 50mm f/1.8 STM led me to believe that autofocus would be quite snappy through the adapter, as the STM lenses all seem to perform well on the M3.
Imagine my disappointment when I received the lens, put it on the adapter and then onto the M3, pressed the shutter down halfway, and then watched the less creep like paint drying into focus. It was shockingly slow, and I was seriously disappointed. The autofocus on the lens when mounted on my 70D was quite good, but something was not working with the M3. I bit the bullet and imported the EF-M 55-200 STM from Japan (it has since become available in North America!) I’ll come back to that in a moment. Let me finish the story on the EF-S lens for those of you considering it…
I put the word out about this on CanonRumors to see what other photographers were encountering. Another user let me know that there was a firmware update via Canon UK for the EOS M3 specifically for helping focus speed with the EF-S 55-250 STM. I downloaded it, but didn’t notice any measurable improvement. I shared this. He pointed out that there was a second firmware update for the lens itself specifically for the M3/lens combination. I downloaded and installed it, and voila, suddenly the lens focuses almost as quickly and confidently as the native EF-M 55-200 STM lens. It isn’t as fast as with the 70D (unsurprising), but the difference isn’t much. The lens focuses very fluidly for video as well. Other than the notable size difference, the operational difference between the two lenses is now minimal. We’ll come back and examine the pros and cons of both these lenses at the end of the review, but let’s get back to the actual lens at hand.
Nicely Compact
Prefer to watch your reviews? Just click below:
After actually getting and using the EF-M 55-200 STM lens, I’m not at all disappointed at how things ended up. The lens has quickly found a place into my heart for a number of reasons I’ll detail throughout the review.
The 55-200STM is a nicely compact lens for a lens that has an effective 88-320mm full frame equivalent focal length. Doubtless the choice to have a slightly slower aperture at all focal lengths when compared to the EF-S 55-250mm helped to enable this size. The EF-M 55-200 STM is basically 1/3rd stop slower at all focal lengths.
Lens
f/4
f/4.5
f/5
f/5.6
f/6.3
EF-M 55-200 STM
————-
55-62mm
63-99mm
101-163mm
164-200mm
EF-S 55-250 STM
55-63mm
64-99mm
100-154mm
155-250mm
————–
The EF-M is not a fast lens when it comes to aperture by any stretch of the imagination, but the trade-off is a fantastic size for a telephoto: 2.40 x 3.41″ (60.9 x 86.5 mm) and only 9.17 oz (260 g). It’s not a lot bigger than the size of the EF-M 18-55mm kit lens [2.40 x 2.40″ (60.9 x 61.0 mm)] and is only 50g heavier [7.41 oz (210 g)]. Both share a small but common 52mm filter size (a relief, as so far Canon’s EF-M lens filter sizes have been all over the small end of the map.) Like the 18-55mm, the 55-200 STM has a seven blade aperture iris. The blades on the 55-200 STM are rounded and do an effective job at producing fairly nice bokeh.
What the EF-M 55-200 STM doesn’t share with its little brother is a metal bayonet lens mount, substituting a plastic mount like the EF-S 55-250 STM instead. The lens is so light that this surely won’t ever provide any issue, but as a matter of principle I prefer the better build of a metal mount and had hoped that this would be status quo for the EF-M lenses from Canon. Perhaps the metal mount was sacrificed for weight savings, but it was probably more a cost saving move.
I have been very pleased with the overall look and build quality of the EF-M lenses. They seem like more premium lenses than the EF-S counterparts. I like the sleek barrel design and the fine texture of the zoom rings. They give you a metal instead of plastic feel, though this is just perception. The texture on the zoom ring feels like it has been machined into metal. I like it. This lens continues to the EF-M tradition of having no external switches, relying on the camera body to turn the IS on/off or to switch from AF to Manual Focus. Fortunately the M3 has a dedicated switch for this, making the transition less abrupt than before. The relatively small manual focus ring on the lens is a quick reminder that manual focus is really not much of a priority on STM lenses, and I still really dislike the disconnected feel of manually focusing STM lenses (which use an electronic “focus by wire” rather than a mechanical coupling to the lens elements for manual focus).
The inner barrel of the lens protrudes about 1 ¾”/5cm when at its 200mm end. The zoom design is a single barrel extension that feels secure and without any wobble. The zoom action is exceptionally smooth and very well damped. The smoothness feels more like an internal zoom action than an external one and is noticeably superior to EF-S lens which feels a little crude by comparison.
The 55-200 STM is noticeably smaller than the EF-S 55-250 STM lens. The EF-S lens is reasonably compact and light, but is an inch longer (4.38”/111.2mm), thicker around, and weighs a third more (375g). To use it on the M3, though, one must also add another inch in length for the EF Adapter along with another 110g of weight. The end result is 485g, which is uncomfortably close to twice as heavy and nearly 50% longer. The visual difference is even more striking than the numbers suggest. It ends up feeling fairly front heavy on the compact M bodies.
All in all I’m very thankful for the compact size and this has become instrumental to the way I actually use the lens. The combination is small enough that I have taken to bringing it along when I go out to shoot landscapes with a full frame wide angle kit (my current combo is the Canon 6D, Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 VC, and the Fotodiox WonderPana filter system.) The option of having a telephoto look at landscape scenes has already produced some new favorite images. It’s a small combination, but the great sensor of the M3 and the great optics of 55-200 STM are a winning combination. One of my favorite small bags for the M (and now M3) system has been the Vanguard 2GO 10. It’s nicely made and very compact, and I’m able to still fit this combination into it and have great protection for the combo. It is also discrete enough that I have started taking it along to non-critical events like school events and capturing the board room, for example:
The 55-200 STM is a fairly complex optical instrument for its diminutive size, with 17 elements in 11 groups. This is a bit more complex than the EF-S lens at 15 elements in 12 groups. It continues the trend of the EF-M lenses being optically superior to their EF-S counterparts, although the EF-S 55-250mm is already a fairly impressive lens for its very low price point. Still, the 55-200 STM manages to provide an optical advantage across most of the focal range, with perhaps a very slight advantage at 200mm for the EF-S lens (which is still not at the end of its own focal range). Still, you could not really ask for a better optical performance from this lens. It is essentially perfectly sharp from corner to corner save at 200mm, and even then it is near flawless. The image quality in fact is fairly close to the amazing Canon 70-300L, though the full frame lens enjoys other advantages. All in all this is really a very impressive little lens optically.
One area where it does give up an advantage to the EF-S lens is in the area of vignette. The extreme corners show a full 3 stops of shading compared to less than half that for the EF-S lens. The lens has to be stopped down to f/8 to really compete with the 55-250 STM wide open. If there is any advantage for the EF-M lens here it is that the vignette is extremely linear and is thus easy to correct for and in many cases actually quite flattering. Overall this must be considered one of the major optical shortcomings of the lens.
Another shortcoming is one shared with the EF-M 18-55 STM – a somewhat lackluster performance when it comes to flare resistance. While the lenses exhibit a fairly decent resistance to veiling when the sun is placed in the frame (particularly at wider focal lengths), there are a number of ghosting artifacts that show up at various focal lengths and apertures. The EF-M lens is better in the veiling department than the EF-S lens but worse in the ghosting artifact department. Canon has continued its unfortunate tradition from its EF-S mount lenses of not including a lens hood with the EF-M lenses. The 55-200 STM could probably use one in some circumstances. Contrast remains fine with the sun in the frame, but you just might end up with one of those green blobs floating across your image. I know from experience that those aren’t much fun to try to edit out in post. My advice is to keep the sun out of the frame for the most part (which is easier to do with a telephoto!)
The upside is that chromatic aberrations are exceptionally well controlled. I have searched though a number of images that I know from experience would be likely suspects but simply can’t find the CA. This is a very nice performance and contributes to the good overall image quality.
Contrast is very good, as is color rendition, resulting in crisp, detailed images from the lens that just look good…and sometimes great!
One final area that I’m a little disappointed in when comparing to the EF-S lens is that the minimum focus distance is higher for the EF-M lens (3.28’ vs. 2.79’) and the combination of that plus a shorter maximum focal length results in a considerably lower maximum magnification figure of .21x vs the .29x figure for the EF-S lens. This is still a useful figure, obviously, but the 55-250mm lens’ figure is even more useful. Here’s one near minimum focus from the 55-250 STM:
And now one from the 55-200 STM:
Handling in the Field
I doubt any of you will be surprised to hear me report that the EOS M line of cameras leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to sports action. Even the M3 (read my review here) though a delightful little camera in other areas is seriously underspecced when it comes to competing with, say, a Sony A6000 when it comes to burst rate and AF Servo tracking. Since there isn’t a great body to evaluate AF Servo tracking on, right now my assessment of the lens will limited by the limitations of the system it was designed for. If you are looking for top of the line option for sports, neither the M system nor this lens are your top choices. The lens performs fairly well within the constraints of the M3’s AF Servo and Continuous AF systems. I moved from one distance to another while firing off shots and got generally well focused results, and I’ve had no issues in normal mode using One Shot AF and capturing normal, reasonably still targets.
But trying to use the lens to capture fast moving action (like my dog playing fetch) is generally a disaster. The M3/EF-M 55-200 STM combo just doesn’t track. If I were using my EOS 70D for a sequence of the dog charging towards me I would have 7-10 frames, and, depending on the lens, they might just all be in focus. I was lucky to get the camera to even take a picture under the same circumstance, and even if it did do a bit of a burst (like in this brief four frame sequence), even the first picture wasn’t particularly well focused and it was clear that the camera did not refocus at all during the sequence. Focus stayed at the same point.
If you need a camera to track action you simply have to look elsewhere. The M system is not at all satisfactory for this type of shooting.
It can also be a bit of a frustration if you are trying to track, say, a bird flitting from branch to branch. The improved screen refresh rate of the M3 is an improvement over the M1 I used before, and the EV-F helps further, but the system is still a bit limited at telephoto distances when trying to track a moving target. Still, if you own a EOS M3 camera body, this lens is one of the better uses of its EV-F DC-1 electronic viewfinder. I find the EV-F helps to isolate you from distractions and enables you to more quickly latch onto a moving target visually.
I should also add that of all the EF-M lenses I have used, this is the most likely to miss focus and severely defocus before attaining the correct focus. It doesn’t happen often, but it typically just doesn’t happen at all with the other EF-M lenses. For the most part, however, the AF performance is fine for most of what I need the lens for.
I guess the point that must be made is that you need to have reasonable expectations for what you are going to get out of Canon’s mirrorless system and this, the lone telephoto lens. Mirrorless just isn’t a replacement for a good DSLR when it comes to action shooting, so if that is a priority for you, this isn’t your combo. If you are willing to accept those constraints and use the system to its strengths, you will be far more satisfied.
Strengths
I’m very happy to have this lens myself because of the focal range. I’ve already mentioned that this is a great option for landscape work. Often a telephoto focal length is just what the doctor ordered for many landscape scenes. It is either bring distant details close, compresses scenes in a flattering way, or enables you to isolate important details. I wrote an article about this that you can read here. I’ve often taken along my 70-300L telephoto lens for a telephoto perspective when shooting landscapes or traveling. There have been moments that I have regretted packing it along, however, mostly because it isn’t light and I didn’t end up using it very much. Since adding this lens to my kit I have elected to sell my 70-300L in lieu of the 100-400L II. The latter is the better wildlife telephoto option, and I have instead chosen to carry the M3/55-200 STM combo when traveling or shooting landscapes. I mostly need the focal length when traveling, not speed or action, and this combination produces some very, very good results that aren’t much behind what I could get from the 6D/70-300L under similar circumstances. So, when used to its strengths, it is a great option.
The 55-200 STM also has an effective image stabilization (IS) system. I have found that with careful technique I can get great results at 1/10th second and even reasonable results as low as 0.4 seconds at 200mm.
That becomes very useful when shooting static scenes (if there is any subject movement you HAVE to get your shutter speed up to stop action). When you do have a static scene, however, you can use a low shutter speed and help keep the ISO setting down. This helps a lot for various travel and general shooting situations. It is also a blessing when shooting video. The IS does a very credible job of providing a stable platform for video capture. The lens is rated at 3.5 stops of camera shake, which is a bit lower than the 4 stops that is often the standard in regular DSLR lenses, but I would say that the IS is actually very well implemented here. It is essentially silent in operation, doesn’t cause any jump of the “viewfinder” image (on the LCD or EVF), and does a great job of holding the image steady on the screen. It’s so good that you forget it is working, save you have a very steady screen and steady results.
Vs. the EF-S 55-250 STM
If you perform the firmware updates to the lens and EOS M3 body, the EF-S 55-250 STM remains a credible alternative to the EF-M 55-200 STM. It is larger than what feels natural for the system, of course, but I’ve used the combination for at least 100 shots and found it to not be a burden to use, either. The improved grip and ergonomics on the M3 body help in this regard. AF speed is just a fraction slower with the adapted lens, but is very usable after the firmware updates. The EF-S lens has a $50 advantage in price, but that advantage vanishes if you don’t already have the EF adapter. There is also the advantage of being able to use the lens on another APS-C body (in my case I also own a Canon EOS 70D). Here’s a brief breakdown of pros for each lens:
EF-M 55-200mm STM
Significant size advantage
Construction and handling are superior
Better overall image quality
Better balance on EOS M/M2/M3
Greater portability (retains the compact nature of the mirrorless system)
EF-S 55-250 STM
Price advantage (if you own the EF adapter)
Longer focal range
About 1/3rd stop aperture advantage at all focal lengths
Can be used on EF-S mount cameras as well.
Better minimum focus distance and maximum magnification
As you can see, there is no clear winner. For my own purposes I will probably just keep the actual EF-M lens. Its small nature makes it a logical companion for travel and it is the more natural fit for the M system – which is where I will primarily use it as I have better telephoto options when using my DSLRs. Still, my unique needs may not be yours, and if you are looking for a 1 lens telephoto solution to share across a couple of camera bodies, the EF-S lens may be the better choice for you.
Conclusions
All in all the EF-M’s lone telephoto option at the moment is at least a good one. It is very compact, has a great focal length, is nicely built (despite the plastic lens mount), and delivers excellent image quality. It is held back by the focus limitations of the M system when it comes to action photography, but it is a very fine option for general purpose shooting and landscape. It is even a decent portrait lens in a pinch. Its only real optical shortcomings are being prone to ghosting with the sun in the frame and a fairly heavy vignette, though I’ve not really noticed a big issue with the latter in the field and the former can be fairly easily avoided. It has a very effective image stabilizer, is cosmetically pleasing, and mechanically functional. It has a quickly found a niche in my own kit, and it can do the same for you, but only if you have realistic expectations about the limitations of the M system.
Pros:
Overall excellent optical performance across the focal range
Excellent contrast and color rendition
Compact and light
Nicely designed cosmetically
Mechanically very functional (great zoom action!)
Great chromatic aberration control
Effective image stabilization system (IS)
Cons:
Highlights limitations in the EOS M AF system
Has fairly heavy vignette on the wide end
Is prone to ghosting artifacts with the sun in the frame
Will occasionally hunt when acquiring focus
Has less focal range and smaller maximum magnification compared to EF-S equivalent
I reviewed a retail copy that I have personally purchased an added to my own kit. Here is a collection of more images that I’ve taken with the lens over the past few months:
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It’s been a long time since we have seen a prime lens from Tamron outside of some very good macro lenses. While Sigma has been making a name for itself with its ART series primes (along with a few innovative zooms), third-party rival Tamron was accomplishing something similar with its pro quality stabilized zooms like the 24-70mm f/2.8 VC, 70-200mm f/2.8 VC, and, most recently, the superlative 15-30mm f/2.8 VC (which has rapidly become one of my favorite lenses, particularly since I got the Fotodiox WonderPana filter system for it). But it’s clear that Tamron was keeping an eye on Sigma’ success with the ART series and has been quietly working behind the scenes to create its own pro-grade prime lenses. This new line of primes has now been unveiled, and I’ve been spending some quality time with the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 and Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 VC lenses over the past few weeks. The 35mm f/1.8 VC and the 45mm f/1.8 VC are only the first in a line of SP (Super Performance) prime lenses.
I spent time with both lenses at the same time, and I must confess that I initially was keyed in more on the 45mm than the 35mm for the simple reason that I already have a 35mm lens that I’m very happy with (the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS) but don’t currently have an autofocusing 50mm lens in my kit (I’ve got some old manual focus 50s that I’ve got a love affair with). I’ve been reviewing a lot of 50mm lenses in the past year or so and wanted to see how the Tamron stacked up. When I began to give fuller attention to the 35mm I found that in some ways it is the more competent/versatile of the two, and the lens reminded me of just how much I enjoy using the 35mm focal length as a general purpose/walk-around lens. For those of you trying to decide which focal length you prefer, here’s a visual comparison of what the difference between the 35mm and the 45mm Tamrons looks like.
Here are the raw numbers: the Tamron SP 35mm is 479g and 3.2″/81mm long. The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS is 335g and 2.46″/63mm long. The bigger end of the “under a thousand” autofocus 35mm club is the Sigma ART series. It comes in at 665g and is 3.7″/94mm long. The Tamron has ten elements in 9 groups, including 1 LD (Low Dispersion) element and 2 Aspherical elements. In short, the Tamron is a medium sized lens that is almost perfectly slotted between its two main competitors. But is that the sweet spot? Is the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC the new lens to beat?
Tamron Technologies
If you are reading both the 35mm and the 45mm reviews, you will find some overlap as they are released simultaneously and I had them both in hand at the same time. The reviews differentiate in a variety of areas to deal with unique qualities of each lens.
One area where Tamron has been on the cutting edge is in the implementation of its image stabilization systems. Tamron’s VC (or Vibration Compensation) systems have consistently been among the industry’s best since their introduction, and they have been the first (and, so far, the only!) lens manufacturer to successfully implement one in a standard wide aperture zoom (the SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC) or wide angle/wide aperture zoom (the SP 15-30 f/2.8 VC). These new prime lenses will be the first with an aperture this wide to receive in lens stabilization. In a Canon system the EF 35mm f/2 IS (an excellent lens that I own) has been Canon’s widest aperture prime to receive image stabilization. Both these new Tamron primes will now become the title holder. The Sigma ART prime lenses have a “sexier” (and larger) f/1.4 aperture, and while Tamron’s VC will allow for lower minimum shutter speeds in some situations (with a static subject), I suspect that some photographers will at least initially view these lenses as being less “pro grade” because of not having an f/1.4 aperture. The actual design and build of these suggest that they are most certainly pro-grade lenses (more so than the ART series, at least in build), but many photographers like the look (or at least the cache) of an f/1.4 lens. Tamron will have to fight a bit of an uphill battle in the “perception war” with Sigma over this.
Tamron’s way of equaling the balance (while undercutting it’s competition in size) is through the inclusion of VC. This is a feature that many photographers will perceive as very valuable, and is a matter of priority for those that shoot video. Tamron’s experience in implementing VC pays off here, as the VC performance here is very good. It is completely unobtrusive, with almost no hints of its operation beyond the steady viewfinder and the nicely stabilized images. High resolution sensors really punish camera shake, so having good stabilization makes a huge difference. The VC is almost silent and does no unseemly jumping when activated. Handholding 1/10th second images is a piece of cake, and slower shutter speeds are possible with good technique and a static subject. This image is .3 second and perfectly sharp:
I have to confess that I find IS/VC must surrender to the law of diminishing returns with wider focal lengths. Telephoto lenses realize huge gains with image stabilization, and its not unusual to be able to handhold 1/10th second shutter speeds with a telephoto. One would think that they would then be handholding 2 and 3 second exposures with a wider lens like this. But I can’t, myself. Not with my Canon, and not with this Tamron. It does make a difference, and handholding .3 or even .5 second shots isn’t a problem, but I rarely can handhold a 1 second exposure. It’s as if the shutter activation itself causes too much movement for these systems to overcome. The greater value here is that you will have a steady viewfinder and be able to handhold very low shutter speeds…and maybe you will do better than I in exploring in the limits of the what the VC on this lens can do. Nonetheless this is a well implemented stabilizer, and it does make a difference.
Sony mounts do not come with VC. I understand the reasons for this, but it does often feel that Sony users get shortchanged with third party stabilized lenses. Sony users are familiar with this pain, however, so this is nothing new.
Another area that Tamron has been developing some valuable expertise is in the development of moisture resistance/weather sealing. They have included this feature on a broader range of lenses than anyone else, and, while there are differing opinions on the value of moisture resistance, it is also a strongly desired feature by many photographers. Photographers with pro grade camera bodies (with weather sealing) want the liberty to match lenses that also have weather sealing so that they can shoot in a broader range of weather conditions. This is one area where Tamron definitely distinguishes itself, as the Sigma ART series 35mm f/1.4 lacks this option. Tamron has gone to a whole new level (for them) with the weather sealing on these lenses, with actual seals at the appropriate places (even the focus ring), a rear gasket, and expensive fluorine coating on the front element. They back up this weather sealing with an industry leading six year warranty (in North America), which suggests they are serious about the build quality of these lenses. And these lenses are beautifully built, with a premium feel that is a real joy to handle and use.
Here’s a video breakdown of the size and build quality of these new lenses:
This lens, along with its 45mm sibling, are among the nicest lenses that I’ve reviewed recently. The build quality is really high grade and is punching WAY above this lens’ price point. This is manifest in a number of ways, including a body that is primarily made of metal (including metal filter threads!!), a metal mount (obviously), and a quality feel to the switches. There is a rubber gasket around the lens mount, and Tamron has also included expensive fluorine coatings on the front elements that further help the moisture resistance and makes lenses both easier to clean and more resistant to scratching. The build here exceeded my expectations, and it is also an area where it really creates some distance between the Canon 35mm f/2 IS. It lacks weather sealing but is also has a more consumer grade build.
The new build design is really quite beautiful. It’s simple and clean, and faintly reminiscent of Sigma’s ART series, although the materials here are actually higher grade. I do find the texture variety on the Sigma ART series a little more appealing, but I do really like this new, clean design. The black is broken up by white lettering (etched rather than printed) here and there along with an “SP” (Super Performance) badge and a light metallic ring near the lens mount that Tamron euphemistically calls “Luminous Gold”. This deviation from the black on black is probably the design aspect that most distinguishes the lens from the ART series, however, and will help Tamron with branding. Several surfaces have a slightly rubberized/soft touch feel that has a tactile pleasing quality. It makes me wonder if Tamron will adopt this new design for future high end zooms, or if this “look” will be reserved for the SP primes.
The focus ring is extremely nice. It is very generously wide and almost perfectly damped. It glides smoothly either in MF mode or in full time manual override, and while the stops at minimum and infinity focus aren’t as definite as a true manual focus lens, they are definite enough that you don’t try to focus past them. There is also sufficient travel (nearly 180 degrees) to accurately focus manually. The focus rings on these lenses are some of best I’ve used outside of dedicated manual focus lenses, and are better than several of those, too. This becomes very important when one considers the amazing minimum focus ability of these lenses. At macro distances most photographers prefer manual focus anyway, and these lenses are joy to use in a pseudo-macro fashion. The lens has focus distance window but no hyperfocal markings (not surprising). Both lenses take a moderate, inexpensive, and easy to find 67mm filter for those nice metal filter threads that is shared with a number of other lenses. Manual focusing with the added bonus of vibration compensation is a treat I’ve rarely been afforded in the past. This is another area where the build really distinguishes it from the Canon 35mm f/2 IS, which certainly improved on the focus ring of its predecessor, but is both much narrower and less smooth in operation than this Tamron.
The build quality here is a new high for Tamron, and belies the moderate price point ($599 USD). The look of the Sigma ART series is still perhaps minutely better, but the build quality of these new Tamron primes exceeds any of the four Sigma ART series lenses I’ve used.
The attention to detail in the fresh design carries over to redesigned front and rear lens caps. The front cap is both chunkier and more contoured than previous Tamron lens caps. It has a more premium feel, which was (I’m sure) the point. As lens caps go it is very nice, and the center pinch portion has a notably precise action that feels better engineered than any previous lens cap I’ve used. The rear cap is also a huge step forward. The previous Tamron rear caps have been on the (ahem) bottom of my list of favorites. I tend to trade them out with Canon caps for the Tamron lenses in my kit while the Tamron caps tend to go to the more lowly vintage lenses in my collection that don’t get used often. Those caps only screw on at distinct points and lack flare. These new caps are another matter. They are contoured, for one, flaring out towards the lens in both a stylish and functional way. They mount easier as well and certainly wouldn’t get demoted in my collection.
Tamron has even redesigned the font for its name in a more serious, contemporary style. These two lenses represent an attempt to move upscale, and my perception is that it is working.
Perhaps to deflect some criticisms over moving some of its manufacturing out of Japan on some of its less premium offerings, these lenses remind us twice that they are both designed and manufactured in Japan (and then again on the hood).
There are two switches on the body with a different look and feel than any other Tamron lens I’ve used. They resemble (wait for it…) the ART series a bit more, save these are a bit wider and flatter. They are the basic switches you would expect, with an AF (Autofocus)/MF (Manual Focus) switch (full time manual override is always available), and the second switch is an ON/OFF for the VC (Vibration Compensation). The switches placement is a little different than usual, with a more side by side look than the typical stacking. There is internal sealing around them to complete the moisture resistance.
Another effective technology that Tamron has recently developed is in its coatings (eBAND and BBAR). This from Tamron’s press release, “eBAND Coating deployed to thoroughly suppress ghosting and flare eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) and BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings, both providing outstanding anti-reflection effect, are applied to critical element surfaces for maximum light transmission. Internal reflections from element surfaces which cause ghosting and flare are reduced to an absolute minimum. Flawless, crystal clear images can be obtained. eBAND Coating, a hybrid nano-structured layer with extremely low refractive index coupled with multilayered anti-reflection coating technology, efficiently minimizes reflection of extremely angulated incident light—something that cannot be achieved by conventional anti-reflection coatings alone.”
Techno-speak aside, these coatings provide an almost complete resistance to flare and ghosting. Many prime lenses are susceptible to a variety of flare defects, from veiling to ghosting to a variety of flare related artifacts., but despite thorough torture testing during my time with the lenses I found them extremely resistant to flare. The only time I saw any kind of flare artifact at all was when I had an ND8 filter mounted on the lens and shot into the sun in the middle of day. I still only got the light hazing at the top of this image, and I suspect that it was caused by the filter rather than the lens because I never saw anything similar with the bare lens.
As you read the various reviews as they start to pour in, I think you will find a general consensus that these lenses are seriously well made pieces of kit. Tamron’s six year North American warranty is another huge advantage for shoppers in that market, and the European warranty is five years, which still eclipses the competition by a wide margin.
My only indictment on the build/packaging is that while Tamron includes a lens hood, they don’t include any kind of protective case – a Sigma strength.
But AreThey Super Performance?
Watch the video here to see me break down Tamron’s various claims about the “Super Performance” of these lenses.
I’m happy to announce that yes, the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC is a super performing lens in most regards. In some ways it is a more well rounded lens that its big brother (45mm), and I was seriously impressed by the images I saw out of the camera.
I’ve long been impressed with the great sharpness from Canon 35mm f/2 IS wide open. I mostly shoot it that way, as the 35mm focal length presents a fair amount of depth of field at portrait distances even at f/2. At 10 feet the depth of field at f/2 is right over 3 feet; plenty of depth of field to even shoot a small group if they are positioned roughly on the same focal plane. I only stop it down when I want more DOF for landscapes. Sigma’s 35mm f/1.4 ART is even a bit sharper, so the standard is set high. I don’t think that anyone is going to be disappointed with the wide open resolution from the 35mm lens, however. I looked at image after image at a pixel level and was consistently impressed.
Sharpness is strong across the image frame from wide open. I don’t see the biting resolution/contrast of the Otus series (not surprising), but even wide open landscape shots show high resolution across the frame without any hint of that haziness/indistinct edges that softer lenses will show. This is great news for the times when you are shooting in lowering lighting conditions and want to keep the ISO setting down. The lens also exhibits a nicely flat focal plane. I haven’t found a situation where I would hesitate to use the lens wide open. I’ll leave the chart testing to those that excel at it, but I suspect that one would be hard pressed to realistically tell a difference from the Sigma 35mm ART even if there is one. Stopping down to more typical landscape apertures produces biting sharpness across the frame. I’m always happy when I zoom in to images at a pixel level and discover that images look even better then. Here is a series of images and crops that have certainly been impressive.
I’ve previously mentioned the excellent flare resistance. This is important in a wider prime lens, as the circumstances when the sun will be in the frame are more frequent. With a telephoto you typically have to purposefully put the sun there, but that’s not always the case with a 35mm focal length. The lens passes this test with flying colors, with no apparent hazing, ghosting, or flare artifacts that I’ve seen. These lenses perform more strongly in this aspect than any ART series lens that I’ve used, though the Sigmas are far from poor in this regard. This is also an area of strength for my Canon 35mm f/2 IS, and as a portrait photographer I’ve frequently used backlighting in shots because I don’t fear the image being affected by flare/haze. One could definitely do the same with this Tamron.
Bokeh quality is very nice from the rounded nine bladed aperture iris. I’ve not seen anything jittery or objectionable, and the lens actually does a better job of retaining circular highlights towards the edges of the frame than the 45mm. Where the 45mm (and the Canon 35mm) surpasses it is in “busyness” of bright circular highlights. In the 35mm they exhibit a fair bit of what is often called “onion bokeh”, although I only saw this with my Christmas light test. This shows the bokeh quality at f/1.8, f/2, f/2.8, and f/4. Bokeh highlights stay rounded even beyond, but I only shot this series through f/4.
The Canon series below shows that it has less “activity” with the bokeh highlights (and it is the top performer in this regard among 35mm lenses). The Canon shows a similar series without the f/1.8 shot (for obvious reasons).
Finally, just to give you a quick visual comparison, here are the two lenses side by side at f/2:
In field use I didn’t notice any of that busyness, and actually felt the lens handled the transition zone (medium distance bokeh) quite well. That is the area where some lenses really fall apart, and produce hard edged bokeh that is eye catching in a bad kind of way. Still, if you have bright bokeh highlights in the image you may see some concentric circles (onion effect) in the bokeh. I’ve found that using a brush in Lightroom that reduces clarity does wonders if this is an issue for you. One advantage for the Tamron shows up in this test, however, and that is in the overall roundness of the bokeh circles, which are rounder than the Canon’s throughout the frame. Where the Tamron excels is in its ability to produce bokeh/defocus. It can get so close to subjects that it can really, really throw backgrounds out of focus, and there are myriad ways to utilize such an ability.
The combination of nice optics and strong bokeh performance means that this is a lens capable of producing a lot of beautiful images! The ability to focus down so much closer than other 35mm lenses by a wide margin (more on that in a moment) opens up all kinds of new possibilities. On the other end of the aperture spectrum, stopping down the nine bladed aperture produces some delightful sunstars/sunbursts that add a lot to an image.
Vignette control is also a strength. There is a negligible amount of vignette visible in the corners at wide open apertures, but far less than competing primes. This is an area of weakness for the Canon 35mm f/2 IS (nearly three stops of vignette in the corners), but the Tamron also improves on the Sigma’s performance in this area as well. Take a look at the comparison between the Tamron and Canon here:
The use of a slim circular polarizer did not add any obvious vignette. In most situations there isn’t enough vignetting to even be noticeable. In field use I haven’t noticed enough vignette from the lens that I would feel the need to correct anything. This, combined with low native distortion (a tiny amount of barrel distortion), means that those of you concerned about not having a lens profile in camera to correct for these things shouldn’t have much to worry about.
Color rendition seems very good overall. Colors are natural and rich. You can judge for yourself by checking out the Lens Image Gallery.
The 45mm VC struggles a bit with chromatic aberration control, but the 35mm does a better job overall. They do exist, but you will only see them in extreme situations. Here is an example from a very high contrast target – the white lettering on the Tamron cap. They aren’t noticeable on the full size image, but a 100% crop will show that there is purple fringing beyond the plane of focus and light green fringing beyond. I’ve thrown in a second crop where I brightened the subject to bring out the purple fringing, but it really isn’t bad.
There isn’t enough to be objectionable, however, and I think the situations where this will be an issue for you are few and far between. They are much more pronounced on the 45mm, unfortunately.
Overall the optical strengths of the lens far outweigh the very minor negatives. I’m always happy when Roger Cicala from LensRentals weighs in on any lens. He has the unique opportunity to test large batches of lenses (unlike most of we reviewers) and can thus spot trends like sample variation. He tested the two new Tamron primes on the optical bench and found that A) they resolved very highly and B) the sample variation result was excellent on the 35mm and exceptional on the 45. That’s an encouraging report, and you can check it out here if you would like.
Close Encounters of the Magnification Kind
I’ve saved one of the best features of the lens until last. When I first saw the press release for the 35mm, I have to confess I completely missed just how good the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC’s maximum magnification figure was. I saw 1:2.5 and read .25x, which seemed to make sense, as the Canon 35mm f/2 IS had the peak figure I was previously aware of at .24x. Tamron claimed a class leading performance, and so a .25x figure was class leading, if only by a small margin (but isn’t that the nature of marketing?). But a kind viewer on my YouTube channel set me straight. I was misreading the figure; the value was 1:2.5, equaling a .40x magnification. This blew me away, as it is (I believe) the highest figure I’ve personally seen from a non-macro lens. It isn’t far behind the .50x figure offered up by the Zeiss Makro Planar T* 2/50mm that I reviewed late last year. I can’t even begin to tell you how useful such magnification is. Tamron accomplishes this through the use of a floating element (Tamron calls it their “Floating System”). They’ve done a fabulous job of its implementation, and it enables the 35mm to focus down to a miserly 20cm (under 8 inches). Remember that this figure is from the sensor, so once you remove the 3.2″ of the lens (and another 2″ of hood if you have it mounted), it means you can pretty much get on top of your subject and still focus. To get this picture, for example:
I was set up this close to the subject. (Forgive the distinctly not glamorous iPhone picture).
The challenge then is to not shade your subject with the lens itself. It will probably help to remove the lens hood when you want to shoot at such close focus. Here is the difference between the previous record holder (the Canon) and the new record holder (Tamron) when it comes to close focus for a 35mm lens:
This is enough magnification to treat the lens essentially like a macro lens in a lot of situations, and the use of an extension tube would add even more magnification (though getting you ever closer to your subject). I like the working distance of the 45mm a bit more, but its magnification (.29x+), though also class leading, is behind this lens by a fair margin. If you don’t have a dedicated macro lens this will probably be a reasonable replacement until you get one. The resolution at minimum focus is still very high, and the fairly flat plane of focus from the lens makes it useful. Here are a few close focus examples (the one with the red lights is actually the tip of an iOS Lightning cable!)
This is one of the features that I’m most excited by because it fits my own shooting style so well.
AF Performance
This is an area where these lenses really need to distinguish themselves. I own the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS, and it is a focusing standout. It’s fast, but more importantly, it is exceptionally accurate. My images from it are always well focused, so its a lens I will frequently use for professional work – from portraits to reportage. I can trust it. I won’t own a lens that I cannot trust to consistently and accurately autofocus.
The Achille’s heel for the Sigma ART series in my experience (and that of many other photographers – particularly other Canon shooters) has been sometimes inconsistent autofocus accuracy. Both Tamron and Sigma are forced to reverse engineer Canon, Nikon, and Sony’s autofocus algorithms because these companies will not license their technology to them. My experience says that Tamron has been able to more effectively accomplish this, and I get very consistent results from some of the professional grade zooms from Tamron. I use them almost exclusively for my event and wedding work and typically don’t have to discard one image out of a thousand for missed focus. Large aperture primes are very demanding for autofocus, so this is a key point for Tamron if it wants to convince photographers to choose its lenses over first party choices.
Things got off to a good start when I performed calibration. The Tamron 35mm needed a -2 adjustment; a value that was highly repeatable. I prefer small adjustments as a matter of principle; it means that those without the ability to perform microadjustment in their camera bodies can still expect reliable performance out of the box. Autofocus performance would have been good without any adjustment, but that bit of microadjustment produces slightly more repeatable autofocus accuracy. The one advantage that Sigma has to offset its autofocus issues is the ability to tune focus through the Sigma USB dock. Some report that this makes a huge difference; others report that autofocus inconsistencies remain for them even after tuning via the dock. This Tamron lens doesn’t have the dock, but fortunately what it does have is highly accurate autofocus.
The autofocus motor in the lenses is Tamron’s USD (Ultrasonic Drive). This is a true ring type AF motor similar to Canon’s USM. The AF feels a bit more snappy in the 35mm than the 45mm. The 35mm is roughly similar in speed to my Canon 35mm f/2 IS in most situations (which is to say very good!), although I would still give the Canon the slight nod. This slight advantage doesn’t manifest itself in normal use, but will show up in low contrast/dim situations. The Tamron is more prone to hunt for a second before locking focus while the Canon is more likely to grab focus rather than hunting. I never had a situation where the Tamron didn’t focus, but I did feel that the Canon remained the more confident focusing lens. It has, in fact, been one of the best focusing lenses in my kit, both equaling and surpassing some of its more expensive L series brethren. The fact that I didn’t see a major difference between it and the Tamron is a high endorsement of the focus quality of the Tamron.
I was consistently delighted when I zoomed in 100% on images and saw amazingly good focus and fantastic sharpness. I hate seeing images fall apart at a pixel level due to missed focus, so I guess I must confess to being a pixel peeper. The accuracy and sharpness here more than passed my expectations.
Portrait notes: Some of you that have read my reviews in the past know that I like to try wide aperture lenses out in a portrait environment. Environmental portraiture is typically very demanding on an AF system because you are shooting at wide apertures and looking for pin point focus on eyes. This is where the focus inconsistencies of many lenses are exposed. I went out today to shoot a portrait session. The weather was not particularly cooperative; it was a very, very bright and my open window for shooting was not the best. But, I was on a deadline with these lenses, and I thought, “Why not a torture test?” I shot almost every portrait shot wide open (f/1.8), except for three frames I dialed down to f/2.2.
I took a few tools to help combat the light. I used the Lite Genius Lite-Scoop II flash modifier I reviewed a few months back for my Metz 64 AF-1 flash unit. I prefer to shoot with my flashes off camera, but did not have time nor the inclination for a complicated light setup. The flash was on the camera with the modifier in place. I also took along an ND8 filter that I happened to have in the appropriate 67mm size so that I could bring the shutter speed down in certain situations. I also went with Manual HSS mode and shot with really high shutter speeds in other situations to just overpower the ambient light. The Metz has a lot of power and enables me to do this in most circumstances. I went through the roughly 100 shots from the session at a pixel level and found that my focus consistency was very good despite the challenging conditions. I slightly prefer the 35mm’s focus speed and accuracy, but the 45mm was rock solid as well (the 35mm may be a bit sharper).
There are a number of portrait shots in the gallery above. These were all shot at f/1.8. They will also give you a chance to evaluate bokeh and color in an environmental portrait environment. These are not conditions that I would normally like to shoot portraits in, but the lenses themselves worked very well. The Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC will be a solid tool in a portrait or wedding photographer’s arsenal.
Manual focus is exceptional for an autofocus lens due to the combination of the nice focus ring I mentioned previously along with the rock solid VC. I don’t usually have the luxury of an image stabilizer when I manually focus, so it makes manual focus a kinder experience than on most AF lenses. Videographers will appreciate this along with a full 180 degrees of focus throw.
EOS M3 notes. While these lenses are on the larger side of what I would deem natural for my smaller EOS M3 mirrorless body, the focal lengths are appealing crossover ones. The improved grip on the M3 means that slightly heavier lenses (for mirrorless) like this one still work fairly well. This lens provides a 56mm equivalent on a crop sensor, which makes this lens perhaps the nicest 50mm equivalent lens currently available (though I’m looking forward to using the manual focus only 50mm f/1.2 coming from Rokinon). I was happy to find that the lenses focused nearly as quickly and accurately as native M mount lenses in one shot mode, although video AF Servo shooting can be a bit slow when making major transitions. Images produced with the combination are very appealing. It’s ironic that many recent Tamron lenses behave more mannerly via the EF adapter than most of the Canon lenses. Something about the way they achieve focus seems to agree with the M3. Here are a few M3/35mm combo samples.
How about Canon’s DPAF? A few readers were interested in how these lenses would work with Canon’s DPAF. I have a Canon 70D body, the first to use DPAF, and one of the few DSLRs to have quality servo AF during video recording. The lenses that work best with DPAF for video are those with stepping motors like Canon’s STM, but I’m happy to report that while these lens don’t focus quite as quickly as STM motors (and are bit louder in doing it), they focus smoothly and accurately. If you are using something else to record your audio I don’t see an issue. Here’s a little sampling of videos using DPAF.
DPAF works well for stills, too, though not as fast as typical contrast AF. The 35mm is also a very, very nice lens mounted on a crop body like my 70D (and gives a nice weather sealed combo for general shooting or portraiture). By the way, using the lens on a crop sensor body gives you a little more working distance when shooting near minimum focus, and this lens is definitely better optically than the crop sensor specific Sigma 30mm (not 35mm) f/1.4 ART. This is definitely a lens you should consider if you shoot a crop sensor body and even remotely think you might move to a full frame body in the future (or even if you don’t plan to make that move). Here are a couple of samples taken with the 70D + 35mm VC.
I’ve already been asked the question I knew was coming several times. Many people know I use the Canon 35mm f/2 IS or have watched/read my review of it. So, “Which one would you choose?” was inevitable. It’s a tough question, as there is some give or take. I already own the Canon and am happy with it, so for now I am keeping it. But what if I were starting fresh and trying to choose between them? I honestly don’t know. I like the compact size of the Canon, I like its image quality, and I’ve found it to be superbly focusing instrument. But the Tamron is built better, has a wider aperture, also has an image stabilizer, has a much higher magnification figure, and much lower vignette. You see why it is a hard choice! I probably would choose the Tamron for the pro-grade build and wider aperture, and I love the magnification figure, but having owned the Canon I would also want to test them side by side for an extended period before making a final decision. So yes, I am a waffler…
It was the 45mm lens (read my review here) that most excited me and initially captured my attention, but when I turned my attention to this Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 VC I found one fantastic lens. Using this lens reminded me of how much I enjoy the 35mm focal length, and the extreme flexibility of this instrument was a real joy to use in unleashing my creativity. In the US market it is priced equally with the Canon 35mm f/2 IS (still a very valid option!) at $599. This undercuts the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART by a fairly wide margin of $300 (the Sigma is currently $899). In the US market this makes the Tamron an extremely compelling option on price, but some other markets are currently showing a much less definitive price advantage for the Tamron. Price aside, however, this is certainly a lens that can compete on merit. Tamron came out swinging for the fences with these lenses, and the Tamron has a lot of strengths to offset its slightly slower aperture when compared to the Sigma. Its amazing close focus capability, exceptional build, image stabilizer, and great optics overshadow the occasionally busy bokeh highlights and slight bit of chromatic aberrations. The good news for consumers is that we now have three compelling options in the “affordable” 35mm category, and frankly there isn’t a bad choice in the bunch. I look forward to seeing more of the SP primes from Tamron in the future.
Pros:
Exceptional build quality
High grade weather sealing
Fluorine coating
Bar raising .40x maximum magnification
Excellent manual focus ring with good focus throw
Excellent resolution from wide open on
Extremely low vignetting
Quality bokeh from nine blade aperture
Well performing VC system
Fast and accurate autofocus
Excellent price to build/performance
Cons:
Somewhat busy bokeh highlights (onion bokeh)
Chromatic aberrations not perfectly controlled
Autofocus isn’t quite as confident as the Canon
No case included
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A few years ago Sigma began to carve out a very nice niche for itself with the introduction of its ART series primes. These quickly became legitimate alternatives to some of the top first party primes and it was no longer “second rate” to have one in your lens kit. Meanwhile third party rival Tamron was accomplishing something similar with its pro quality stabilized zooms like the 24-70mm f/2.8 VC, 70-200mm f/2.8 VC, and, most recently, the superlative 15-30mm f/2.8 VC (which has rapidly become one of my favorite lenses, particularly since I got the Fotodiox WonderPana filter system for it). But it’s clear that Tamron was keeping an eye on Sigma’ success with the ART series and has been quietly working behind the scenes to create its own pro-grade prime lenses. This new line of primes has now been unveiled, and I’ve been spending some quality time with the Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 and Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 VC lenses over the past few weeks.
It’s been a long time since Tamron has been associated with prime lenses (with the exception of some fine macro lenses like the recent 90mm f/2.8 VC). At one point, however, Tamron was making a number of quality prime lenses and had an innovative “Adaptall” mount system that allowed a user to swap mounts according to their camera’s mount system. I’m glad to see Tamron returning to the production of prime lenses, and fully anticipate that the newly released 35mm f/1.8 VC and the 45mm f/1.8 VC are only the first in a line of SP (Super Performance) prime lenses.
I will refer to Sigma’s ART series primes some during this review because I do believe that these are the most logical competitors for these new lenses. Sigma has produced some excellent prime lenses (and even a few innovative zoom lenses) in its ART series with exceptional optical performance and beautiful designs. I’ve reviewed the majority of them (see my reviews here). But Tamron has a few tricks up its sleeves as well. They have pioneered a number of their own innovations over the past several years, and most of those are being implementedcheck out my reviews here into their new primes. And fortunately for Tamron, several of these play to some of the weaknesses of the Sigma ART primes.
45mm? Yeah, I scratched my head, too. I posed the question to Tamron, and got the reasonable response that these two lenses were the opening salvo of more Tamron SP primes, and there was a certain amount of shared R&D costs between these two first lenses. They share the same front element sizes, and perhaps the move towards 50mm might have exceeded the shared design for the two lenses. I would have preferred 55mm to 45mm, myself, but that’s not what we got. Some readers have already expressed additional interest because of the 45mm focal length – so it all comes down to your own preferences. Tamron (probably wisely) elected to develop an excellent 45mm lens rather than a less excellent 50mm lens. The reality is that it doesn’t behave much differently in practice to any 50mm lens. Here’s what the difference between a 45mm and a 50mm looks like in real life:
Step back a few more feet (this is from about four feet/1.25m away) and that difference will become near imperceptible. By the way, this is also what the difference between f/1.4 and f/1.8 looks like. The 50mm f/1.4 shot is from my SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4, which, despite its age, still has some of the nicest drawing I’ve seen from a 50mm lens. Those of you debating between a 35mm and 50mm prime may find this focal length (45mm) an acceptable compromise. And, just for fun, here’s what the difference between the 35mm and the 45mm Tamrons looks like.
Here are the raw numbers: the lens is 544g and 3.6″/91mm long. This is 270g less than the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART (815), but 254g heavier than the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 (a lens not in the class of these lenses in any way). the Sigma is also 9mm longer. The Tamron has ten elements in 8 groups, including 1 LD (Low Dispersion) element and 2 Aspherical elements. In short, the Tamron is a medium sized lens that is visibly smaller than its Sigma competition.
Tamron Technologies
If you are reading both the 35mm and the 45mm reviews, you will find some overlap as they are released simultaneously and I had them both in hand at the same time. The reviews differentiate in a variety of areas to deal with unique qualities of each lens.
One area where Tamron has been on the cutting edge is in the implementation of its image stabilization systems. Tamron’s VC (or Vibration Compensation) systems have consistently been amongst the industry’s best since their introduction, and they have been the first (and, so far, the only!) lens manufacturer to successfully implement one in a standard wide aperture zoom (the SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC) or wide angle/wide aperture zoom (the SP 15-30 f/2.8 VC). These new prime lenses will be the first with an aperture this wide to receive in lens stabilization. In a Canon system the EF 35mm f/2 IS (an excellent lens that I own) has been Canon’s widest aperture prime to receive image stabilization. Both these new Tamron primes will now become the title holder. The Sigma ART prime lenses have a “sexier” (and larger) f/1.4 aperture, and while Tamron’s VC will allow for lower minimum shutter speeds in some situations (with a static subject), I suspect that some photographers will at least initially view these lenses as being less “pro grade” because of not having an f/1.4 aperture. The actual design and build of these suggest that they are most certainly pro-grade lenses (more so than the ART series, at least in build), but many consumer grade prime lenses also have an f/1.8 aperture (including Canon’s own “nifty fifty” that costs only $125), so Tamron will have a “perception gap” to overcome.
The inclusion of VC is a feature that many photographers will perceive as very valuable, and is a matter of priority for those that shoot video. The VC performance here is very good. It is completely unobtrusive, with almost no hints of its operation beyond the steady viewfinder and the nicely stabilized images. High resolution sensors really punish camera shake, so having good stabilization makes a huge difference. The VC is almost silent and does no unseemly jumping when activated. Handholding 1/10th second images is a piece of cake, and slower shutter speeds are possible with good technique and a static subject. This image is 1/8th second and essentially perfectly sharp:
Sony mounts do not come with VC. I’m always a bit disappointed by this, for, while I know that there is the possibility of interference with the in body image stabilization (and users would have to choose between the two systems), my feeling is that the best stabilization is in the lens where the system can be tuned to the individual needs of the lens. Sony users are familiar with this pain, however, so this is nothing new.
Another area that Tamron has been developing some valuable expertise is in the development of moisture resistance/weather sealing. They have included this feature on a broader range of lenses than anyone else, and, while there are differing opinions on the value of moisture resistance, it is also a strongly desired feature by many photographers. Photographers with pro grade camera bodies (with weather sealing) want the liberty to match lenses that also have weather sealing so that they can shoot in a broader range of weather conditions. The options for a weather sealed 50mm lens have been very slim. Tamron has gone to a whole new level (for them) with the weather sealing on these lenses, with actual seals at the appropriate places (even the focus ring), a rear gasket, and expensive fluorine coating on the front element. They back up this weather sealing with an industry leading six year warranty (in North America), which suggests they are serious about the build quality of these lenses. And these lenses are beautifully built, with a premium feel that is a real joy to handle and use.
Here’s a video breakdown of the size and build quality of these new lenses:
Moisture resistance is an area where the ART series has lagged, with no lens in the series claiming moisture resistance, so this is one more area where Tamron can distinguish its new primes. The 45mm VC appears to be a seriously pro-grade lens, with one of the higher levels of build quality that I’ve seen in a while. I’ve reviewed a LOT of lenses this year (I’m somewhere near 25 for the year), but this lens is near the top of the heap when it comes to build quality. Only the Canon 100-400L II and the Zeiss lenses that I’ve reviewed this lens match the build level here (and this includes several Canon L series lenses that I’ve reviewed this year).. This is manifest in a number of ways, including a body that is primarily made of metal (including metal filter threads!!), a metal mount (obviously), and a quality feel to the switches. There is a rubber gasket around the lens mount, and Tamron has also included expensive fluorine coatings on the front elements that further help the moisture resistance and makes lenses both easier to clean and more resistant to scratching. This lens quickly becomes one of the top options for a 50(ish)mm lens for photographers that need to shoot in sometimes adverse weather conditions.
The new build design is really quite beautiful. It’s simple and clean, and faintly reminiscent of Sigma’s ART series, although the materials here are actually higher grade. I do find the texture variety on the Sigma ART series a little more appealing, but I do really like this new, clean design. The black is broken up by white lettering (etched rather than printed) here and there along with an “SP” (Super Performance) badge and a light metallic ring near the lens mount that Tamron euphemistically calls “Luminous Gold”. This deviation from the black on black is probably the design aspect that most distinguishes the lens from the ART series, however, and will help Tamron with branding. Several surfaces have a slightly rubberized/soft touch feel that has a tactile pleasing quality.
The focus ring is extremely nice. It is very generously wide and almost perfectly damped. It glides smoothly either in MF mode or in full time manual override, and while the stops at minimum and infinity focus aren’t as definite as a true manual focus lens, they are definite enough that you don’t try to focus past them. There is also sufficient travel (nearly 180 degrees) to accurately focus manually. The focus rings on these lenses are some of best I’ve used outside of dedicated manual focus lenses, and are better than several of those, too. This becomes very important when one considers the amazing minimum focus ability of these lenses. At macro distances most photographers prefer manual focus anyway, and these lenses are joy to use in a pseudo-macro fashion. The lens has focus distance window but no hyperfocal markings (not surprising). Both lenses take a moderate, inexpensive, and easy to find 67mm filter for those nice metal filter threads that is shared with a number of other lenses.
The build quality here is a new high for Tamron, and belies the moderate price point ($599 USD). The look of the Sigma ART series is still perhaps minutely better, but the build quality of these new Tamron primes exceeds any of the four Sigma ART series lenses I’ve used.
The attention to detail in the fresh design carries over to redesigned front and rear lens caps. The front cap is both chunkier and more contoured than previous Tamron lens caps. It has a more premium feel, which was (I’m sure) the point. As lens caps go it is very nice, and the center pinch portion has a notably precise action that feels better engineered than any previous lens cap I’ve used. The rear cap is also a huge step forward. The previous Tamron rear caps have been on the (ahem) bottom of my list of favorites. I tend to trade them out with Canon caps for the Tamron lenses in my kit while the Tamron caps tend to go to the more lowly vintage lenses in my collection that don’t get used often. Those caps only screw on at distinct points and lack flare. These new caps are another matter. They are contoured, for one, flaring out towards the lens in both a stylish and functional way. They mount easier as well and certainly wouldn’t get demoted in my collection.
Tamron has even redesigned the font for its name in a more serious, contemporary style. These two lenses represent an attempt to move upscale, and my perception is that it is working.
Perhaps to deflect some criticisms over moving some of its manufacturing out of Japan on some of its less premium offerings, these lenses remind us twice that they are both designed and manufactured in Japan (and then again on the hood).
There are two switches on the body with a different look and feel than any other Tamron lens I’ve used. They resemble (wait for it…) the ART series a bit more, save these are a bit wider and flatter. They are the basic switches you would expect, with an AF (Autofocus)/MF (Manual Focus) switch (full time manual override is always available), and the second switch is an ON/OFF for the VC (Vibration Compensation). The switches placement is a little different than usual, with a more side by side look than the typical stacking. There is internal sealing around them to complete the moisture resistance.
Another effective technology that Tamron has recently developed is in its coatings. This from Tamron’s press release, “eBAND Coating deployed to thoroughly suppress ghosting and flare eBAND (Extended Bandwidth & Angular-Dependency) and BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) coatings, both providing outstanding anti-reflection effect, are applied to critical element surfaces for maximum light transmission. Internal reflections from element surfaces which cause ghosting and flare are reduced to an absolute minimum. Flawless, crystal clear images can be obtained. eBAND Coating, a hybrid nano-structured layer with extremely low refractive index coupled with multilayered anti-reflection coating technology, efficiently minimizes reflection of extremely angulated incident light—something that cannot be achieved by conventional anti-reflection coatings alone.”
Techno-speak aside, these coatings provide an almost complete resistance to flare and ghosting. Many prime lenses are susceptible to a variety of flare defects, from veiling to ghosting to a variety of flare related artifacts., but despite thorough torture testing during my time with the lenses I found them extremely resistant to flare.
As you read the various reviews as they start to pour in, I think you will find a general consensus that these lenses are seriously well made pieces of kit.
But AreThey Super Performance?
Watch the video here to see me break down Tamron’s various claims about the “Super Performance” of these lenses.
I’m happy to announce that yes, they are definitely super performing prime lenses. Both lenses have been able to perform extremely well in my tests. They aren’t Zeiss Otus level (nothing is), but they will stand against anything else on the mere mortal level.
Here’s an image quality breakdown from the Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 VC in bullet form:
Sharpness is strong across the image frame from wide open. I don’t see the biting resolution/contrast of the Otus series, but even wide open landscape shots show high resolution across the frame without any hint of that haziness/indistinct edges that softer lenses will show. The lens also exhibits a nicely flat focal plane. I haven’t found a situation where I would hesitate to use the lens wide open. I’ll leave the chart testing to those that excel at it, but I suspect that these lenses are resolving just about as high as the ART series lenses at equivalent apertures. Stopping down to more typical landscape apertures produces biting sharpness across the frame. I’m always happy when I zoom in to images at a pixel level and discover that images look even better then. Here is a series of images and crops that have been a bit mind blowing:
Flare resistance is exceptional. No hazing, ghosting, or flare artifacts that I’ve seen. These lenses perform more strongly in this aspect than any ART series lens that I’ve used, though they are good performers as well. I simply could not introduce any kind of flare artifacts when putting the sun into the frame. Very nice!
Bokeh quality is very nice from the rounded nine bladed aperture iris. Bokeh quality is creamy and soft, with a nice transition to defocus. This is true of the bokeh before the plane of focus and beyond it. The nine rounded blade aperture is doing its job, too, with bokeh highlights remaining round when you stop the lens down. My own objection is a common one – towards the edge of the frame the bokeh highlights take on a somewhat “cat-eyed” quality and are less round. When putting bright defocused lights into the scene (like with the Christmas lights below) the bokeh shows a minimum of busyness.
At a pixel level there are some very, very light concentric circles (commonly referred to as “onion bokeh”) that become a little more pronounced as the lens is stopped down. This “activity” is less pronounced than it was with the Zeiss Otus 1.4/55mm, however, and none of us are complaining about it’s bokeh. Inside many bokeh circles there is an inner line, and typically the less pronounced that is, the better. Bokeh highlights will be softer. The Tamron does a better job with this than many of the 50mm lenses I have similarly tested. The overall roundness of highlights across the frame is better than that of, say, the Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM that I recently reviewed. At close focus distances the lens creates extremely strong blur that looks a lot like a macro lens.
The combination of nice optics and strong bokeh performance means that this is a lens capable of producing a lot of beautiful images! The ability to focus down so much closer than other 50mm lenses (more on that in a moment) opens up all kinds of new possibilities. On the other end of the aperture spectrum, stopping down the nine bladed aperture produces some delightful sunstars/sunbursts that add a lot to an image.
Vignette control is also a strength. There is a slight bit of vignette visible in the corners at wide open apertures, but far less than competing primes. The use of a slim circular polarizer did not add any obvious vignette. In most situations there isn’t enough vignetting to even be noticeable, and when you compare it side by side with other lenses you quickly get a sense of how good this performance is. The frame below (which should be white from corner to corner) shows a small amount of vignetting (roughly one stop) wide open on a full frame body. In field use I haven’t noticed enough vignette from the lens that I would feel the need to correct anything. This, combined with low native distortion (a tiny amount of barrel distortion), means that those of you concerned about not having a lens profile in camera to correct for these things shouldn’t have much to worry about.
This landscape shot was taken wide open and the primary corner (upper left) that should be light shows relatively little vignette.
Color rendition seems very good overall. Colors are natural and rich. You can judge for yourself by checking out the Lens Image Gallery.
The parade of optical goodness comes to a crashing (and surprising) halt when it comes to the chromatic aberration control. This is definitely the optical weak point. I was surprised by the amount of both purple and green fringing I saw in high contrast areas. This is one area where the Sigma ART 50mm definitely exceeds the optical performance of the lens. It seems like so many modern lenses seem to have this monster defeated, so I’m frankly disappointed by this performance. In most cases chromatic aberrations can be easily corrected in post, but it’s a stage that I personally prefer to avoid. Here is the worst example I saw during my review period.
This sample also shows off the very impressive sharpness, though. If you want to see many more image samples, including some full size images you can download, please visit the Lens Image Gallery here. I’m always happy when Roger Cicala from LensRentals weighs in on any lens. He has the unique opportunity to test large batches of lenses (unlike most of we reviewers) and can thus spot trends like sample variation. He tested the two new Tamron primes on the optical bench and found that A) they resolved very highly and B) the sample variation result was excellent on the 35mm and exceptional on the 45. That’s an encouraging report, and you can check it out here if you would like.
Close Encounters of the Magnification Kind
I’ve saved one of the best features of the lens until last. When I first saw the press release for the 45mm, I did a double take. High maximum magnification figures are not the norm for 50mm lenses. I’ve got an older Zeiss Planar T* 1.7/50mm that I really love, but I don’t use it as often as what I’d like because its minimum focus distance is two feet/60cm. Here’s what minimum focus distance looks like for my Zeiss – this is a not very impressive amount of magnification of my little SMC Takumar 55mm f/1.8.
I will often reach for the SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4 when I’m shooting with my vintage glass primarily because it’s minimum focus distance is much better. It will focus down to 45cm (around 18 inches), resulting in a somewhat standard for 50mm .15x magnification. Here’s what that standard looks like:
Some of the new releases better that mark by a bit (the Sigma ART allows for .17x magnification). The fresh design of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM is much better and allows for focus down to 14″ or 35.5cm, giving a .21x magnification figure. But the new Tamron SP 45mm is in a league of its own, allowing for a minimum focus distance of 11.4’/29cm, and maximum magnification of .29x. Here’s what minimum focus distance looks like with it.
Umm, wow! I doubt that I need to tell you how impressive this performance is. Here’s a side by side visual comparison:
You can get close enough to give a very macro look to the image, with the background completely diffused. This opens up any number of creative shooting options, and just look at how high the resolution is here even at f/1.8.
I find that it can focus close enough and resolve highly enough that I can treat it much like a macro lens, right down to needing to consider closing down the aperture because the depth of field is so narrow (depth of field at minimum focus is only .18 inches or just 4.47mm – that’s tiny!). The performance is good enough that if you don’t need true 1:1 life size reproduction and mostly want to shoot flowers or similarly small objects you would probably be very satisfied with using this lens as your macro lens. The working distance isn’t terrible and that is already a lot of magnification. A bit of cropping and suddenly you have life size. Adding an extension tube would get you even closer! The fact that the focus ring works so well (most macro photographers like to use manual focus) makes this a treat to use at close focus range. This is a very, very key selling point for me. By the way, the Tamron 35mm f/1.8 is even more impressive, offering up a .40x magnification that is just incredible!
Tamron accomplishes this through the use of a floating element (Tamron calls it their “Floating System”). They’ve done a fabulous job of its implementation, and if they manage to do something similar with an 85mm lens (magnification figures are even worse there!) it could be a pretty revolutionary lens.
This is one of the features that I’m most excited by because it fits my own shooting style so well.
AF Performance
This is an area where these lenses really need to distinguish themselves. I own the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS, and it is a focusing standout. It’s fast, but more importantly, it is exceptionally accurate. My images from it are always well focused, so its a lens I will frequently use for professional work – from portraits to reportage. I can trust it. I won’t own a lens that I cannot trust to consistently and accurately autofocus.
The Achille’s heel for the Sigma ART series in my experience (and that of many other photographers – particularly other Canon shooters) has been sometimes inconsistent autofocus accuracy. Both Tamron and Sigma are forced to reverse engineer Canon, Nikon, and Sony’s autofocus algorithms because these companies will not license their technology to them. My experience says that Tamron has been able to more effectively accomplish this, and I get very consistent results from some of the professional grade zooms from Tamron. I use them almost exclusively for my event and wedding work and typically don’t have to discard one image out of a thousand for missed focus. Large aperture primes are very demanding for autofocus, so this is a key point for Tamron if it wants to convince photographers to choose its lenses over first party choices.
Things got off to a good start when I performed calibration. The 45mm required only a +1 AFMA adjustment while the 35mm needed a -2. I prefer small adjustments as a matter of principle; it means that those without the ability to perform microadjustment in their camera bodies can still expect reliable performance out of the box. I did notice a difference even in that +1 adjustment, however, as autofocus accuracy was improved.
The autofocus motor in the lenses is Tamron’s USD (Ultrasonic Drive). This is a true ring type AF motor similar to Canon’s USM. The AF feels a bit more snappy in the 35mm. The 35mm is roughly similar in speed to my Canon 35mm f/2 IS in most situations, although I would still give the Canon the slight nod. The 45mm is a bit slower, however, though it is marginal. I rarely find Tamron’s AF speed with its wide aperture lenses to be top of the class (the 70-200 f/2.8 VC is the best of the bunch). They are more like middle of the pack. The best USM motors from Canon focus faster, and I would also give a slight edge in speed to Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 ART. One thing to consider is that these lenses focus closer than their competitors, so if the lens is completely defocused it will take a split second longer to achieve focus as it has a larger focus range. Less extreme focus changes come quickly, and the lens has proven able to focus confidently even in challenging situations like backlit or dimly lit environments. There is a split second feeling of momentum gathering before the elements fly into motion which is accompanied by a faint sliding sound like the elements moving along. It isn’t as quiet as Sigma’s HSM motors, nor is it as fast as the better USM motors from Canon. If you are familiar with the focus speed of Tamron’s 24-70mm f/2.8 VC lens then you have a pretty good idea of the focus speed of this lens. The 45mm lens is probably a hair quicker. I’ve used the 24-70 VC on several different continents and in many professional applications and its always gotten the job done for me, so I suspect this lens will as well. The reality is that I haven’t really seen a 50mm lens that focuses with the speed of, say, the Canon 135mm f/2L. I would say that the Tamron 45mm is a bit behind Canon 50mm f/1.2L or the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART, but these lenses advantage is marginal.
It seems like every 50mm lens has some kind of focusing quirk. The 50mm f/1.8 even in STM guise focuses at a similar speed. The EF 50mm f/1.4 has inconsistent focus and tends to break. The 50mm f/1.2L tends to backfocus, and the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART simply focuses inconsistently at times. The Tamron? I’d just love to see a bit more speed here, particularly considering that it is moving a bit less glass than its top competitors (f/1.2 and f/1.4 respectively).
Focus speed is adequate…but what about focus accuracy? This is where the rubber meets the road!
I’m happy to report that I’m getting excellent focus accuracy results. As per usual, lenses on the 6D prefer AF points closer to center (it has a super focus point in the middle and unexceptional focus points beyond). While focus takes longer on the outer points (and will hunt in poor conditions), once focus locks it does so accurately. My 70D body has more robust cross-type AF points across the frame, and the lens focuses more quickly with them. Par for the course for the 6D, but I’m very accustomed to that by now. Fortunately the 6D makes up for it in a lot of other ways!!
I’m very happy with focus accuracy; if the 45mm focused just a little more quickly I’d be ecstatic. Here’s a few other focus samples (all wide open):
Interestingly, however, in a Japanese language interview (it doesn’t translate perfectly) Tamron engineers intimated that they prioritized accuracy over speed. It was probably the right choice. The 45mm is fast enough…and accuracy is paramount for me.
Portrait notes: Some of you that have read my reviews in the past know that I like to try wide aperture lenses out in a portrait environment. Environmental portraiture is typically very demanding on an AF system because you are shooting at wide apertures and looking for pin point focus on eyes. This is where the focus inconsistencies of many lenses are exposed. I went out today to shoot a portrait session. The weather was not particularly cooperative; it was a very, very bright and my open window for shooting was not the best. But, I was on a deadline with these lenses, and I thought, “Why not a torture test?” I shot almost every portrait shot wide open (f/1.8), except for three frames I dialed down to f/2.2.
I took a few tools to help combat the light. I used the Lite Genius Lite-Scoop II flash modifier I reviewed a few months back for my Metz 64 AF-1 flash unit. I prefer to shoot with my flashes off camera, but did not have time nor the inclination for a complicated light setup. The flash was on the camera with the modifier in place. I also took along an ND8 filter that I happened to have in the appropriate 67mm size so that I could bring the shutter speed down in certain situations. I also went with Manual HSS mode and shot with really high shutter speeds in other situations to just overpower the ambient light. The Metz has a lot of power and enables me to do this in most circumstances. I went through the roughly 100 shots from the session at a pixel level and found that my focus consistency was very good despite the challenging conditions. I slightly prefer the 35mm’s focus speed and accuracy, but the 45mm was rock solid as well (the 35mm may be a bit sharper).
Here is a gallery of portrait shots from the sessions and crops. These were all shot at f/1.8. They will also give you a chance to evaluate bokeh and color in an environmental portrait environment. These are not conditions that I would normally like to shoot portraits in, but the lenses themselves worked very well.
Manual focus is actually quite nice due to the combination of the nice focus ring I mentioned previously along with the rock solid VC. I don’t usually have the luxury of an image stabilizer when I manually focus, so it makes manual focus a kinder experience than on most AF lenses. Videographers will appreciate this along with a full 180 degrees of focus throw. These are perhaps the nicest manual focusing autofocus lenses that I’ve come across.
EOS M3 notes. While these lenses are on the larger side of what I would deem natural for my smaller EOS M3 mirrorless body, the focal lengths are appealing crossover ones. I was happy to find that the lenses focused nearly as quickly and accurately as native M mount lenses, although video AF Servo shooting can be a bit slow when making major transitions. Images produced with the combination are very appealing. It’s ironic that many recent Tamron lenses behave more mannerly via the EF adapter than most of the Canon lenses. Something about the way they achieve focus seems to agree with the M3. I recognize this affects only a few of you, but just in case…
How about Canon’s DPAF? A few readers were interested in how these lenses would work with Canon’s DPAF. I have a Canon 70D body, the first to use DPAF, and one of the few DSLRs to have quality servo AF during video recording. The lenses that work best with DPAF for video are those with stepping motors like Canon’s STM, but I’m happy to report that while these lens don’t focus quite as quickly as STM motors (and are bit louder in doing it), they focus smoothly and accurately. If you are using something else to record your audio I don’t see an issue. Here’s a little sampling of videos using DPAF.
DPAF works well for stills, too, though not as fast as typical contrast AF. All in all, the autofocus doesn’t wow you with speed, but makes up for it with accuracy. My guess is that the primary reason is that the lens has a longer focus throw than many competitors, a detail that will bring a sparkle to videographer’s eyes.
Conclusions
I’ve reviewed a LOT of 50mm lenses in the past year or so. I’ve reviewed the Canon 50mm f/1.2L along with the nifty fifties (50mm f/1.8II and STM), Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 DG and 50mm f/1.4 ART, the Rokinon 50mm f/1.4, Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50mm, Makro-Planar 2/50mm, and the Otus 1.4/55mm. On top of that I’ve done mini-reviews of some vintage 50mm glass, including the SMC Takumar 50mm f/1.4, 55mm f/1.8, Helios 44-2, and Zeiss Planar T* 1.7/50mm. That’s thirteen, by my count, not including the lens at hand. I’ve been on a bit of a “holy grail” quest for the perfect 50mm lens. This Tamron isn’t it, but it comes closer to finding the balance that I want than most. It’s currently on my personal Christmas list.
The fact that this lens is only f/1.8 and a Tamron might cause you to think that this is not a serious, pro-grade lens. This could not be further from the truth, though. My time with these lenses (not enough!) lets me know that Tamron means business. These are lenses designed for working professionals despite the reasonable price. They are built more like Zeiss lenses than Tamrons of old, save these are weather sealed. The optical performance is stunningly good, and there are some killer apps like VC and a crazy minimum focus distance that really set this lens apart from the pack. If it was a 50mm f/1.4 VC lens the line-up to purchase would already be forming.
It’s a reasonably sized lens that wouldn’t be onerous to pack along or carry. The image quality and bokeh is as good as anything not called Otus. My only nitpicks are that I’d like a bit faster focus and a lot less CA. But these principle shortcomings (along with a smaller than f/1.4 aperture) seem positively offset by so many strengths. Unless you absolutely feel like you need f/1.4 this lens is a stunning pick and highlights just how desperately Canon’s own EF 50mm f/1.4 needs an update. Tamron has undercut the price of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART by $350 in this lens, and it is a LOT of lens for $599. Remember too that these lenses come with Tamron’s 6 year North American warranty. That in itself is a great value. I’m strongly considering adding this particular lens to my own kit as it seems to be filling the void I hoped Canon would fill with an equivalent to the 35mm f/2 IS in the 50mm focal length. Canon hasn’t (yet) built that lens, but it seems like Tamron has in the Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD. My understanding is that these lenses are only the first in a new line of Tamron prime lenses. All I can say is, “Bring them on!”
Pros:
Exceptional build quality
Better weather sealing than any other 50mm lens
Fluorine coating
Amazing .29x maximum magnification
Excellent manual focus ring with good focus throw
Excellent resolution from wide open on
Low vignetting
Quality bokeh from nine blade aperture
Well performing VC system
Accurate autofocus
Cons:
Larger than other 50mm f/1.8 lenses
More chromatic aberrations than expected
Autofocus speed could be faster
Doesn’t include a case/pouch
Smaller maximum aperture than main competitors
A big “thank you!” to Canada’s Amplis Foto for providing these retail samples for review. I’ve bought many lenses and accessories from Amplis myself, and they are great to deal with! You can use the Coupon Code AMPLIS52014 to get 5% anything in their store, including these new lenses!
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85mm is a focal length that I really enjoy. It is long enough that creating shallow depth of field at wide apertures is very easy. It is a beautiful portrait length that avoids distortion of the features but is still short enough that shooting full body portraits is easily within reason. There are a few cheaper 85mm prime lenses for most camera systems, but those options generally have a smaller f/1.8 aperture. The top 85mm lenses, like the Zeiss Otus 1.4/85mm or the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II go from really expensive ($1700 for the Nikon/$2000 for the Canon) and insanely expensive ($4500 for the Zeiss Otus). But high end portrait photographers love the 85mm f/1.2L despite its fairly slow autofocus, and the Zeiss Otus 85mm still stands as my favorite lens I’ve ever reviewed despite being huge (in size and price!) and manual focus only. Somewhere in the middle lies a sweet spot in price for many amateurs and professionals alike…and that is exactly where Sigma’s 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM lies. It comes in at right under $1000, and offers up comparable image quality for much less money. Does it have any major shortcomings that make it unworthy of your hard earned money? That is the question we will set out to answer in this review. If you prefer to watch your reviews simply click on the video below:
Why now? (Speculation Alert!)
This lens was not just released – in fact, it was released four years ago. The main reason I wanted to spend time with this lens as it has been oft rumored (wishful thinking?) that Sigma was planning a new version of this lens for the ART series. Such a lens would be highly prized because of the stellar reputation that Sigma has built for image quality in the ART series. If and when such a lens came, here are a few of the things that I would expect based upon having reviewed three of the previous ART series lenses:
New build and design
Ability to customize AF functionality through Sigma’s USB dock
Reduced chromatic aberrations
Excellent sharpness
Potentially better AF performance/accuracy
Higher contrast
But this 85mm lens is a different story than some of the other lenses Sigma has released…and here’s why I don’t know that an ART version of this lens is guaranteed despite the clamor for such a lens. Most of the ART lenses have filled a niche that Sigma did not already have filled, and the one that overlapped (the 50mm f/1.4), brought a significant optical improvement along with a significantly higher price. The 85mm f/1.4 EX already has excellent optics and shares that 50mm f/1.4 ART’s higher price. It makes me question how much room Sigma has to operate to build a new lens that wouldn’t be much more expensive. Sigma has built a threshold of pricing for the (full frame) lenses that follows a pretty specific pattern between about $800-$1000 USD; they have never breached the $1000 threshold with one of these lenses. An ART series rebuild of the 85mm f/1.4 would almost certainly have to break that pattern. On the flipside, Sigma’s ART lenses have quickly garnered more credibility with professionals and amateurs alike than any of the Sigma’s lenses previously had, so it is entirely possible that Sigma could move a lot more units based on the growing strength of the ART series brand. I’ll leave the speculation behind and let Sigma’s engineers and bean counters make that call. In the meantime we have quite an excellent prime lens in hand that just may be the lens you have been looking for.
Build and Design
This lens is interesting because it came during a transitional period when Sigma was trying to “find itself” in its lens design philosophy. This lens falls between the familiar older design philosophy (“crinkle finish”) and the new Global Vision design. Sigma abandoned the “crinkle finish” that was once a hallmark of their design for a smoother, semi-gloss black finish. The black is broken up by a thin gold ring towards the front of the lens along with a gold-toned “EX Sigma” badge on the side. The design is clean and nice if not as modern looking as the new ART series design. There is a bit of lettering in white and gold at a few points. The body is essentially engineered plastics over a metal frame/mount just like the majority of other newer camera lenses. There is a ribbed section near the lens mount that mirrors a similar section on the lens hood.
The focus ring is about an inch wide with a ribbed, rubberized texture. It falls easily to hand and is damped fairly well but the action isn’t the smoothest that I have encountered. Unlike many autofocus lenses, however, there is a nice bit of rotation (roughly 45 degrees) between 4 feet and infinity, which gives you enough room to nail manual focus in the key portrait zone if necessary. The lens has a distance window as well as almost useless depth of field markings (only for f/16).
There is one switch on the left side of the lens that enables switching between AF (autofocus) and MF (manual focus). The HSM motor (Hypersonic Motor) in the lens does allow for full time manual override – just grab the focus ring at any time. The lens is fully internally focusing, so the length remains consistent at all times. There is no issue with using a circular polarizer.
The lens design itself is quite squat, but in a handsome kind of way. It has that chunky “prime” look with a ton of glass showing at the front that looks rather great on a camera. I actually prefer the look of the lens sans the hood, although in operation I almost always keep the hood on both for the protection it provides along with the shading of the front element to help prevent stray light from hitting the rather large (77mm) front element. This is a common filter size and chances are you already have a few in this size. If not, they are readily available and the size will be shared with a number of other lenses (including Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 lenses).
The lens hood design is somewhat unique in that included in the box is an extension to add when using a (APS-C) crop sensor body (see photo above). The effective focal length will depend on your camera body and its crop factor, but the lens comes out to an approximate 135mm focal length equivalent. This is true of any lens mounted on a crop sensor body, but Sigma apparently felt that the lens design relied enough on the lens hood to warrant the extension being included. It is essentially a two inch piece of circular plastic that attaches between the lens hood and the lens body to deepen the hood. I’m actually curious as to how often this extension actually gets used by end users. (If you use this lens with a crop, let me know in the comments below!)
One admirable philosophy that Sigma espouses is that they always include a nice, padded case for storing and transporting their lenses. These cases are genuinely useful, and a great place to store the lens when not using it or transporting it. I wish that all other lens manufacturers would include cases that were this useful.
Autofocus Observations
My calibration process was a little interesting. I had a bit of challenge using Reikan FoCal (my typical program I use in lens calibration) as the lens would focus and defocus fine for a little while, but then it would emit a faint high pitched whine, and the program would hang. This was a new phenomenon for me even after using 100 lenses or so. I finally switched to a semi-automatic process and gave it plenty of space in between focus sessions. I still had a few hiccups, but I [eventually] got the job done. That behavior during calibration was probably copy specific, and if I had purchased the lens I would have had it checked out by Sigma to assure that everything was within spec. I didn’t see any similar behavior in normal use during my month-long review period.
Focus accuracy on a lens like this is very demanding. 85mm and f/1.4 means that depth of field is often razor thin, and, while not perfect, I have been satisfied with my focus consistency even at wide apertures. I’ve had relatively few misses, and the lens has met my expectations in this regard.
I would not consider this a top tier lens when it comes to autofocus, however. I have some lenses in my kit that have exceptionally good autofocus and their consistency surpasses the Sigma 85. This is highlighted when using the lens in a portrait setting, when even a narrow miss means softer eyes or facial features. To give you anecdotal evidence, I used this lens interchangeably with Canon EF 100mm f/2.L IS Macro lens to do headshots for my staff at the church. I used the same lighting setup (fixed daylight temp high powered CFLs through softboxes) and the same aperture (for single headshots, at least) of f/3.5. The Canon returned better focus consistency (and thus sharpness) and was my preferred tool when I reviewed the results. I will say, however, that I had a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens that I used for several years and eventually sold because I didn’t feel the autofocus was as consistent as the rest of my kit. I am dealing with memory, mind you, but I do feel that this Sigma is at least as accurate as my Canon 85 was…and probably better. The high end Canon 85mm f/1.2L II receives good marks for accuracy from most users but is well known to focus extremely slowly. The Sigma certainly focuses more quickly in most situations, and this portrait (one of the aforementioned headshots) shows that the lens is an excellent studio option.
Focus speed isn’t blazingly fast with the Sigma, but is adequate for most applications. It only feels “leisurely” when a large adjustment is necessary (from minimum focus to longer range). The reason for this is pretty obvious when you look into the front element – there is a LOT of glass in there. Moving large, heavy glass elements takes a lot of power from the autofocus motor. I wouldn’t consider the Sigma a great lens for sports or fast action, but it should do the trick for most events (weddings, for example) or portrait work.
The Sigma isn’t crazy about Live View focus on my Canon 6D body, however, and it tends to really hunt and take its time. It also doesn’t perform well in situations when the sun is brightly in the frame, either; it spends valuable seconds hunting back and forth. In those situations, the lens will make almost a pulsing noise as the AF motor reverses back and forth as it tries to move the elements into the proper position. I noticed the same “pulse” behavior when using the lens in AF Servo mode. It definitely prefers traditional one shot focus.
One aspect that could be improved here (beyond focus speed and consistency) by an ART series redesign would be adding compatibility with the Sigma USB dock. The key advantage here is that while many camera bodies will allow for a single calibration point (AFMA), the Sigma USB dock will allow you to tweak focus for four different focus points, allowing greater accuracy at a variety of distances. That would be extremely useful in a lens like this.
But this last bit is a hypothetical musing; at the moment there is no official word for Sigma about such a redesign. In the meantime, however, I wasn’t particularly disappointed with the overall focus speed and accuracy of this lens. It isn’t top shelf, but neither was it unreliable. Most of my images came back nicely focused.
Image Quality
Here is the nitty gritty, for this is the main reason that people buy an 85mm f/1.4 lens. The beautiful image quality and great subject isolation that such a lens provides (even one famous for slow focus like the Canon 85L) is worthwhile for many photographers. It is one of my favorite focal lengths to work with, as 135mm (or more) provides even greater subject isolation but can be too long for many applications (even more true if you are using a crop sensor body), and 50mm, while more flexible for general use, just doesn’t provide the same subject isolation (look). The 85mm falls right into a sweet spot for portrait work, as it provides a very flattering perspective of features. It doesn’t distort things like noses and ears like wider focal lengths do, and it doesn’t overly compress the features like longer focal lengths (200mm+) can. It also allows for full body portraits with nice subject isolation.
Take a look at some the top environmental portrait shooters and you will probably find an 85mm prime in their regular rotation. But even your “ordinary” images (family, event, etc…) gain a very special look when using a lens like this.
The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 delivers image quality in spades (as I hope the images shared in this review will attest to). I’ve used a number of 85mm lenses, and each has its strengths. The Sigma finds a nice balance between sharpness, bokeh, and drawing. It isn’t optically perfect (we’ll touch on those shortcomings in a moment), but those imperfections are part of what creates the nice drawing from the lens. If you were to examine images from the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II at a pixel level you would discover a number of optical imperfections. Chromatic aberrations, a lack of localized contrast in some places, and other defects are present – but if you step back and look at the images the lens produces (as a whole) they are unmistakably special. That make be slightly less true of this Sigma, but the analogy is appropriate here. The “look” of the images from this Sigma is special.
It offers nice sharpness while retaining a smooth transition to defocus. Some lenses can emphasize sharpness to the detriment of the overall look of the images. I’m very partial to the overall drawing of this lens. The images have a rich, warm look with great delineation of the subject. The bokeh is nice and soft, giving out of focus regions a nicely “creamy” look. There were a few situations, however, where I was surprised by how busy the background looked. This was at a very specific ratio of distance from camera to subject to background. Some highlights can have harder edges than what I might like. Here are a variety of “bokeh” shots for you to check out:
A careful examination of image quality shows that chromatic aberrations are almost always present, if not extreme. Most of this is in the form of bokeh CA, however, making it often less noticeable. The test for me is whether or not CA is evident even at standard viewing sizes (as opposed to zooming in to a pixel level.) Most lenses being released in the last two years have improved their ability to control CA to the place that it is rarely evident except at a pixel level. The Sigma 85mm doesn’t have that degree of control over CA, but chromatic aberrations are reasonably well controlled for a large aperture prime like this. The problem for the lens is that the bar has moved quite a bit higher in this area in the last couple of years (and that is the standard that I’m using).
The lens seems quite resistant to flare. I’ve not had any issues that I can recall when putting the sun into the frame. I’ve primarily shot during the golden hour on either end of the day, but one day I shot into the rising sun that was getting pretty intense and didn’t have an issue with ghosting or veiling at at all. This is a nice plus for a portrait lens, because often you are going to want to put either a natural or artificial light source into the frame to backlight your subject.
The lens has decent but not exceptional contrast at wide apertures (the Otus 85 is not threatened!). That being said, the image quality wide open overall is very useful. I shot the majority of the time between f/1,4 and f/2 and only stopped down when I needed additional depth of field. Look at the nice resolution from this medium-focus distance scene at f/2:
I find that even landscape images do work at f/1.4-f/2, and the ability to radically change your focus point and create shallow DOF even in a landscape image can be a very appealing technique. Here are a few landscape oriented samples, including a few that use shallow DOF to tell the story:
When stopped down resolution is very high, and I feel like 85mm is actually a great focal length for shooting larger scale landscape images where a wide angle lens is just too wide. I wrote an article on the subject that helps explain the benefits of a using a telephoto’s compression to your advantage when shooting landscapes here. Distortion is quite low, and I would suggest bringing the lens along for an alternate view at some scenes when shooting landscapes.
I mentioned the Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 (a lens that costs 4 ½ times as much as the Sigma). Part of what blew me away about that lens was the fact that it was able to have incredible (record setting) resolution and stunningly high contrast at wide apertures while retaining a very artful drawing/look to the images. Such an accomplishment is incredibly rare, however, and is the main reason the lens is massive in size along with being massive in price. I don’t think that this Sigma is as magical a lens as the Zeiss, but I also recognize that the Zeiss isn’t within reach (or practical) for many photographers. The Canon 85L is the standard in the field, but the Sigma is very close at less than half the price. The Sigma is offering up noticeably better image quality and more dramatic subject isolation than the cheaper f/1.8 variants and probably will hit a sweet spot in the image quality to price ratio that many photographers must consider. It is sharper at f/1.4 across the image circle than the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 is at f/1.8.
There are few better lenses for low light work than a good 85mm f/1.4 lens. It really sucks in the light, and makes producing great looking photos even in less than ideal light an easy accomplishment. While today’s DSLR bodies offer great high ISO performance, I think all of us prefer to keep ISO’s lower to allow for greater dynamic range (and smaller file sizes, too!)
One final image quality observation is the lens has a rather poor minimum focus distance of 2.79”/85cm, yielding an unimpressive .11x maximum magnification figure. This is, well, low, which means that the lens isn’t as useful as it might be for flowers or other smaller objects. While the figure is unimpressive, it is also right in line with other 85mm lenses. This just isn’t a strength for the focal length. If having better maximum magnification is more important to you, I might suggest either a macro lens between 90-100mm (I love my Canon 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro and found the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VC Macro a very impressive lens) or even a 135mm lens instead. All the 135mm lenses that I have reviewed (Canon, Zeiss, and Samyang) have much higher maximum magnification specs (particularly the latter two). Their maximum magnification is more like .25x, making them very useful for minimum focus shots. The Sigma has nice wide open resolution for these type shots, though, so this does help. Here’s an f/2 shot plus crop to show off the nice resolution near minimum focus.
All in all the lens is offering up a lot of image quality for the money, making it an easy lens to recommend if IQ is a priority for you.
Conclusions
The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX continues to occupy a unique position since its release. There are cheaper alternatives, yes, but those are mostly f/1.8 variants with image quality several steps behind this Sigma. There is a Rokinon/Samyang 85mm with good image quality (and a very low price), but it is manual everything, and many photographers simply aren’t interested in messing with such a lens. The Sigma’s true competitors are the first party 85mm lenses from Canon and Nikon, and the Nikon (85mm f/1.4G) comes in at an $800 premium at right under $1700. Canon’s own 85mm f/1.2L II has a slight aperture advantage and beautiful optics, but it comes in at a whopping $2000. That leaves the Sigma sitting at an excellent bargain position with almost as good optics, a nice design and build, and enough of a savings to add something like a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART with the price difference. And yet this lens has never been a huge hit, and the main issue may be the perceptions due to the autofocus capabilities of the lens. The lens did show a few quirks for me, and the overall focus accuracy is not top tier, but overall I feel the lens performed well during my test period and gave me some gorgeous images that I’m happy to add to my portfolio. If you are looking for a good portrait prime that will produce beautiful images with sharp details, nice, creamy bokeh, and beautiful color rendition and don’t want to break the bank, then look no further. Despite its shortcomings the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX will give you a lot of bang for the buck!
Pros:
Excellent image quality
Excellent price compared to first party alternatives
Nice, clean design ethos
Good flare resistance
Autofocus is reasonably fast for large aperture prime
Nice drawing/look to the images
Includes lens hood and nice, padded case
Cons:
Some autofocus quirks
Other options deliver more reliable focus accuracy
More chromatic aberrations than newer releases
Long(ish) minimum focus and low maximum magnification
No weather sealing/moisture resistance
Big thanks to B&H Photo for providing me a retail copy of the lens for review purposes. They are fantastic to work with both as a partner and as a retailer. I’d appreciate if you give them your business through the links below, which also helps keep me in business. Thanks!
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Sigma continues to think outside the box with many of its newly released lenses, and the one I have in hand is one of the most notable examples of that creative thinking. A few years ago Sigma awoke from their third party slumber and realized that they were capable of making better products than what they were currently building. They began to target a more premium place in the market, and their new “Global Vision” was introduced. New optical and cosmetic designs, new branding (Art, Sport, and Contemporary lenses), and a bit of attitude in going after the big players, particularly with their ART series lenses. They released the 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM ART lens a few years ago (read my review here), and after their success with a completely different kind of zoom lens, they have now addressed the full frame market with the new Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM ART. The 18-35mm f/1.8 ART lens broke the unspoken rule that zoom lenses generally have a maximum aperture of f/2.8 with a constant f/1.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range. The 18-35ART isn’t small or light, but neither is it exceptionally large or unwieldy.
(Prefer to watch your reviews? You’ll like this one!)
But that lens was a crop sensor specific lens, and the smaller sensor gives lens’ manufacturers more leeway to take chances. Sigma stuck to a small (less than 2x) zoom range on that lens so that they could maintain consistently excellent optical performance. Despite that limited range, however, the lens covered a number of important focal lengths like 18mm (28mm FF), 24mm (right around 35mm FF), and 35mm (50mmish FF). It’s f/1.8 aperture is 1 1/3 stops faster than any other zoom lens, and because its sharpness was excellent wide open, there was very little aperture penalty compared to primes. The more demanding nature of the full frame sensor that the 24-35 ART is designed for (even more true with so many high MP bodies being introduced) means that Sigma had to adopt more compromises, including smaller zoom range (only 12mm instead of 19mm), smaller maximum aperture (f/2 instead of f/1.8), a lens design that is both heavier (130 additional grams for a total of 941 grams…ouch!), longer (only by 1mm, though), and more expensive ($999 vs. $799). One definite plus, however, is that Sigma elected for this lens to go wider (24mm vs. 28mm equivalent), which makes it a more logical choice for landscape work…and it turns out that this is an area where the lens shines.
My concern going into this review is that the advantages of such a lens, while tangible, may be viewed as being of only marginal value compared with either options…and there are more of them when you enter the full frame lens arena. This little series from a portrait session (black and white conversion along with tone curve adjustment applied) shows that there isn’t a huge difference between 24mm and 35mm out in the real world:
Is there enough of an advantage in the limited zoom range to choose this lens over a smaller, lighter, cheaper, and potentially sharper prime like the Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS (which has the advantage of an image stabilizer)? Is there enough of an aperture advantage to choose it over a not much more expensive Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 VC which is lighter, shorter, has a more useful focal range and a very effective stabilizer to help offset the aperture advantage? I use both of these lenses in my own kit, so part of what I will attempt to do in this review is to answer these questions. I have seen photographers asking for a 24-70mm f/2 lens from Sigma; will they be as excited by this lens? Can Sigma strike gold once again by thinking outside the box? We’ll find out!
More Build Info
The 24-35mm ART has Sigma’s now familiar (but still excellent) current design ethos. I’m very partial to the look of these lenses with their black on black look with a variety of texture and gloss finishes. I love the rubberized surface of the transition to the lens hood and both the focus and zoom rings are nice and wide along with being nicely damped. The zoom ring, while not light, has a very definite, precise feel. The focus ring moves more easily, and my only (minor) criticism is that I miss the more definite feel of the stops at minimum and infinity focus like a true manual focus lens (like a Zeiss).
This is a large(ish) lens. It weighs in at a hefty 941grams (33.2 oz), which means that it outweighs all the 24-70mm f/2.8 variants save the very hefty Nikkor. I use the Tamron 24-70 VC, and despite that lens having an image stabilizer and a much greater focal range it weighs 136 grams less than the Sigma 24-35mm. The Sigma is also an additional 5mm longer (about 4.8″/122mm), but this is fairly negligible. Sigma’s own ART series 35mm f/1.4 weighs 665g (a good third less) and the Canon 35mm f/2 IS weighs a paltry 335g (only a little over a third of the weight).
The lens features a fairly complex 18 elements in 13 groups. It has a nine rounded blade aperture iris that retains nicely circular highlights even when stopped down a bit. It has a minimum focus distance of only 11’’/27.9cm, giving a maximum magnification figure of right under .23x, which is certainly useful. The Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS has a slightly better .24x, but Sigma’s own 35mm f/1.4 and the Tamron 24-70 trail this figure at .20x. My shots near minimum focus suggest the Sigma performs very well at minimum focus distances.
The 24-35 ART has a largish but not uncommon 82mm front filter thread. There has been a trend towards this larger filter size in the past several years, and the fact that it is now shared by a number of recent lenses means that the price of 82mm filters has drifted down. I used both a circular polarizer along with an ND1000 (ten stop ND filter) that allowed me to do some long exposure landscape work with the lens. I didn’t detect any unusual vignetting caused by my filters (it helps to be stopped down – eliminating the already heavy natural vignette at wide apertures).
I continue to be somewhat surprised by the fact that Sigma is not making any weather sealing claims with the ART series. I recently reviewed a $249 Tamron zoom (18-200 VC) that made a “moisture resistance” claim (which usually the only real visual evidence of is the rubber gasket around the lens mount). You can debate how much of a difference “weather sealing” makes, but I know there are a number of working professionals and amateurs alike who prefer the peace of mind of weather sealing. Sigma definitely makes such claims about weather sealing in their telephotos, and it seems like these ART series lenses should have some attempt at some moisture resistance.
I say it in every Sigma review, but it bears repeating. Sigma always includes a nice, useful padded case for the lens. If you travel with your gear, this can be very valuable, and it saves purchasing something similar on the aftermarket. Sigma cases are the best OEM padded cases (other than high end Canon telephoto cases), and are infinitely more useful than the “suede” sock that Canon L lenses ship with.
AFMA and Autofocus Observations
Going into Sigma reviews I expect two things: some impressive optics and some kind of quirk with the autofocus. I was happy and relieved after my challenging session trying to calibrate the 18-35mm f/1.8 that while the 24-35 ART did require a significant amount of AFMA adjustment (for me the numbers were -14 on the wide end and -12 on the ‘telephoto’ end – but these numbers probably won’t work for you) the lens consistently and repeatedly showed those same numbers. I have taken to running both an automatic AFMA through Reikan FoCal and then a semi-automatic test where I spend some time both eyeballing the results (the chart as well as numbers) and making sure they are highly repeatable. By the time I finish I usually feel very confident that I have dialed in the right result. As a matter of preference I prefer numbers that are closer to zero in an AFMA (people without an AFMA function on their camera bodies need lenses that ship well calibrated), but I am encouraged by the fact these numbers were repeatable. Early focus accuracy seems pretty good.
The advantage of purchasing one of Sigma’s modern releases is the ability to use Sigma’s USB dock to fine tune focus for several specific distances. There will be a learning curve as you learn how to properly utilize the dock (an additional $60 charge), but my feeling is that it is worth the effort to get the best results from your lens. This is doubly true if you have a body that does not support AFMA – you can still calibrate the lens for the body with the USB dock. The USB dock will also enable you to load firmware updates to your lenses (helping to prevent incompatibility issues with future bodies) and will also work with most other newer lenses from Sigma. Spending some time with the dock and fine-tuning this lens will help you get the best results from it. I personally spend a fair bit of time calibrating each of my lenses; if I have invested in them, I want the confidence that I am going to get the best performance possible out of them. I don’t spend quite as much time with review lenses because I typically have them for only a month, but I am willing to invest some serious time in the equipment I personally add to my kit. Calibrating a lens properly doesn’t make the lens sharper (those optics aren’t going to change!), but it will make more of your pictures sharp as the lens AF will more reliably achieve optimum focus.
All of this being said, I noticed a big difference in the focus accuracy of this lens vs. the older 18-35 ART lens. The 24-35 still isn’t as good as my best lenses, but misses were far fewer and never completely off. The biggest challenge is in doing portrait work at wide open apertures, and particularly in that region from about 10-30 feet. Many lenses have fairly little “throw” or travel in that region. Look at it this way: this lens has a manual focus ring with a distance window and roughly 100 degrees of rotation. Of that 100 degrees, about 90 degrees of that rotation are from minimum focus to four feet. That means that there are only about ten degrees of rotation from 4 feet to infinity. Adjustments within that range are VERY finite. It is unsurprising that this is where most of the lens’ misses happen. The misses that I got during a brief portrait session were small enough to only really be apparent at pixel level examination and would still be usable for most applications. Because of this, I feel that some time spent with the USB dock would help to improve that accuracy to reliable levels. The shot and crop below shows that for the most part I was getting “nailed” focus results, and when properly focused, the lens is very sharp!
This has been the Achille’s heel of the Sigma ART series (for me and many others by internet reports), but this lens feels like progress in the right direction. The personal challenge for me is that my Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS happens to be one of my most accurately focusing lenses; it just doesn’t miss, period. I personally still favor it over this lens for that reason although this lens may just be a bit sharper. But that is just a personal anecdote, and for this review I am happy to report that I have no real concerns about autofocus accuracy.
Focus speed is good (particularly for a lens full of large glass elements like this). I sometimes find with a few of my Tamron lenses that you can perceive the force needed to move those big elements (like a bit of lag), but I don’t notice anything like that here. This lens, like many other Sigma lenses, is among the quietest focusing lenses.
Image Quality
One thing is certain – if the size and limited zoom range don’t throw you off, the image quality from the lens certainly won’t either. The amount of resolution that the Sigma is producing at each stop along the journey of its minor zoom range is impressive and certainly rivals equivalent prime lenses. That resolution extends across the frame, and I found the lens performed very well at infinity along with closer focus distances. Please note that unless specified, all images that I share in this review have received no processing. They were literally imported into Lightroom and then exported. No change to contrast, color, distortion, vignette, chromatic aberrations, etc… I used the 24-35 ART in a variety of situations, and here are a few of my observations:
The primary negative that I can find is a rather pronounced vignetting (particularly at 24mm) that is noticeable in most every shot at wide apertures. At times a natural vignette can be an attractive quality, but there are other times when it will give a “heavy” feel to your images that you won’t like. Since there isn’t a standard profile in Lightroom/Adobe Camera Raw available, I did a manual adjustment and found that I needed around a +87 figure with while moving the midpoint in +27 to completely eliminate the vignetting. P.S. That’s a lot! Here’s the example that I manually fixed before and after (shot is 24mm f/2)
Chromatic aberrations are really nicely controlled. I see only the faintest bit of green fringing at wide apertures, and that only when looking at a pixel level. It wasn’t uncommon for most primes prior to just the last couple of years to have a considerable amount of chromatic aberrations, but Sigma has found a way to control those very effectively with their ART series lenses.
Flare control seems a bit better than the 18-35mm ART lens. I got a tiny bit of ghosting, but very little veiling. Contrast remained strong when I got the sun into the frame. The bit of green ghosting on the dog’s ear below is the most egregious thing I saw…and it wasn’t much.
One very positive trait shared with the 18-35 ART is the excellent sunburst/sunstar created by the lens. This may seem like a small detail, but the quality of that sunburst can really make a landscape shot.
Distortion control is very impressive. 24mm is fairly wide, but even at 24mm the amount of distortion is nicely managed. I decided to do a comparison between the Tamron 24-70 VC at 24mm. I wanted to see directly how much distortion there was by comparison, and using a brick wall also reveals distortion patterns. The Sigma showed very low barrel distortion. There was a clear difference between it and the Tamron (which actually has less barrel distortion than Canon’s own 24-70mm f/2.8L II). Across the frame the Sigma is producing nicely straight lines. Little correction is needed. The first image below shows the comparison between the Tamron (right) and Sigma (left). The last two shots show the results from the Sigma at 24mm and 35mm respectively.
Perhaps the counterpart of this is that the Tamron is noticeably wider at 24mm. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that you would have as much image left after distortion correction due to the higher distortion of the Tamron.
Color rendition is excellent from the lens as well. Colors are rich and yet realistic, and the images remind me a lot of those I got from 50mm f/1.4 ART (and that’s a good thing!). Contrast is very strong. The combination of good contrast, good color, and great sharpness give images a very nice “professional” quality that easily justifies the price of the lens.
The excellent image quality, very high resolution, low distortion, and ability to use traditional filters makes this a nice choice as a landscape lens. It isn’t as wide as many other options, but if 24mm is wide enough for you the lens will produce some very strongly detailed, beautifully colored images. It seems ready to be paired with some of the higher resolution bodies now on the market. If you aren’t comfortable composing at wider focal lengths and want excellent image quality in a moderately wide lens, this is a pretty compelling option as it can also function better as a general purpose/wide prime than some of the true wide angle lenses. The fact that it retains the use of traditional filters should not be overlooked, either. Finally, the excellent sunburst produced when the lens is stopped down is a great extra detail.
I should also note that the extra wide aperture (for a zoom) helps to create more options for storytelling. See the difference in perspective provided by my focus in these two 35mm f/2 shots. I prefer the one with the girl out of focus as it (to me) is more effective as a storytelling image (and would also make a great B-roll shot from a portrait session).
Although I’ve elected to share mostly images in this review without any post processing work, I should note that the images from the lens lend themselves to processing very well. They are sharp and have good contrast, and that opens up a lot of potential for playing with them. Here are a few images that I’ve added some post work to during my review period:
Pretty much everything that 24mm, 28mm, and 35mm prime lenses are good for. One great application is environmental portraiture. The ability to get sharp, crisp results at wide apertures (though one stop less than a 35mm f/1.4 prime) will allow you to include full body, environmental shots while retaining a bit of the 3 dimensional “cut-out” effect that is so valuable in producing professional looking portraits. Just don’t expect the kind of subject isolation that longer focal lengths provide. Pairing a lens like this with a nice telephoto will allow you to have some great variety in your portrait sessions. Here’s an example of an environmental portrait at 35mm f/2:
I enjoy getting close to flowers or other objects and being able to blur the background but still retain some storytelling context due to the wider focal length. You can get closer than a foot with the lens and get a nice bit of magnification. Here are a few examples of what you can do with nature shooting at close distances. I’ve included a shot of a bench at both 24mm and 35mm to show you the different perspectives available.
Some people enjoy this kind of focal length as a street or walk-about lens. I would suggest that a small prime might be better for this, however, as this lens is not particularly small or light. It probably isn’t the best choice for travel, either, as it is pretty large and heavy along with the fact that it isn’t weather sealed and has a confining zoom range. I still prefer a 24-70mm lens for travel; that focal length just opens up more opportunities.
The lens is also not my top choice for astraphotography. The f/2 aperture is a big advantage, as it will enable you to get a lot of light to the sensor and enable you to use lower ISO settings, and certainly the high native sharpness is another advantage. There are two disadvantages, however, and one of them is pretty big. The smaller deal is the high level of vignetting at the wide apertures you are likely to be using the lens at for this kind of work. The bigger deal is that while coma isn’t terrible (not quite flying ducks or flying saucers), light points (stars) tend to be elongated and look more like the beginning of star trails normally associated with longer exposure times. The crop here is from a 20 second exposure (too brief for actual movement of the stars), and yet when I viewed the image I had to double-check the exposure time because the star points looked like the exposure was longer (more like 40-50 seconds).
This same trait was evident in all the night shots I took that included stars, regardless of exposure length. If shooting astraphotography is a priority to you, you may want to consider Tamron’s new 15-30 f/2.8 VC lens. After extensive testing it is my new lens of choice for this kind of work. That being said, don’t be afraid to pull out the Sigma 24-35mm at night, either. It’s behavior here is far from the worse I’ve seen, and it’s lovely color rendition will make for some beautiful images. You can see one of my favorites here:
The What and the Why (Conclusions)
I seriously doubt than many people will be disappointed by the “what” of this lens. It is a beautiful optical instrument, offering superb image quality with remarkably few defects. It is beautiful made, handles well, and is generally a delight to use in the field. As these images show, it can also be pretty bokehlicious when used the right way:
Where people may not buy into the Sigma 24-35mm f/2 ART lens is in the “why” department. The limited zoom range is going to cause a lot of people to wonder “why”, particularly when Sigma themselves have both excellent 24mm f/1.4 and a 35mm f/1.4 ART series primes. The 18-35mm f/1.8 ART has proven successful in part because there are relatively few quality alternatives specific to the APS-C market. Part of the challenge for this lens is the fact that full frame owners have a much broader choice of quality options. I called the 18-35 ART the Cadillac of crop sensor zooms. The 24-35mm f/2 ART is not only more limited in scope (slightly smaller aperture, smaller zoom range) but it faces a much stronger field of opponents. I own the Canon 35mm f/2 IS, which offers similar image quality at a lower price, much smaller size, and adds an extremely effective image stabilizer and higher focus accuracy. The tradeoff vs. many other 24mm or 35mm primes is that you lose a full stop of light to gain the small amount of zoom. You also get a larger, heavier lens.
The upside is that this lens gives up nothing in image quality to any of them and gives you the flexibility to zoom back to 24mm to provide a different perspective when things get tight. That may not seem like a big deal if you are working outdoors and it’s a matter of stepping forwards or backwards a few feet, but some of you work in tight spaces in a studio or interior spaces where stepping further back simply isn’t an option. I would consider this lens a better landscape option than 35mm lenses for this reason and better than a 24-70mm zoom because of the fact that distortion at 24mm is so well controlled (better than any of the 24-70mm options). If you view this lens as three quality primes in one, the convenience and image quality will probably be an acceptable tradeoff for the larger size and weight.
At a thousand bucks ($999 at B&H Photo), the lens isn’t cheap but is appropriately priced for its performance when one considers the number of primes that cost far more. The price is very consistent with the standard Sigma has set for the ART series…and they are selling a lot of lenses at this price point.
In conclusion, the only real thing this lens has going against it is the rather narrow terms of its existence. It is a large lens with a limited zoom range and an aperture that, while larger than competing zooms, is smaller than the primes it competes with. Sigma took a step into no man’s land with this lens, and ultimately sales success will determine whether or not it was a gamble worth taking. If you want both a 24mm prime and a 35mm prime, this lens is cheaper than purchasing the 24mm ART and the 35mm ART, although you will lose a stop of light gathering. If the terms of its existence are acceptable to you, however, the Sigma 24-35mm f/2 ART lens itself will be more than acceptable. It is very sharp, has great color, low distortion, low chromatic aberrations, and focuses more accurately than any of the ART series lenses I’ve used previously. The only optical mark against it is pronounced vignetting, and this is fixed rather easily in post-production. This optical excellence is packaged in a well-designed, well-engineered body that should serve you well for years to come. The only real question is whether this lens will be more useful to you than an equivalent prime or a standard 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom…and that is a question that only you can answer.
Pros:
Excellent sharpness at all focal lengths, even wide open
f/2 aperture is a full stop wider than other full frame zoom lenses at f/2.8
Great color rendition and nice bokeh
Chromatic aberrations well controlled
Very low distortion at 24mm – much better than 24-70mm zoom lenses
Beautiful build quality and design that functions well cosmetically and mechanically
Uses traditional filters (82mm) without apparent penalty
Comes with a nice padded case
Better focus accuracy
Ability to use USB dock (sold separately) to fine tune the lens
Cons:
Very narrow zoom range (12mm)
Large and heavy
Lacks any weather sealing
Heavy vignetting at wide apertures
AF accuracy, while improved, is still not top shelf quality
A less than amazing coma result
Big thanks to B&H Photo for providing me a retail copy of the lens for review purposes. They are fantastic to work with both as a partner and as a retailer. I’d appreciate if you give them your business through the links below, which also helps keep me in business. Thanks!
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Great News! I can now offer a 5% discount on all purchases at Amplis Foto, Canada’s Leading Photographic Supplier. Please enter discount code: AMPLIS52014 in your cart. It is good for everything in your cart, and is stackable with other coupons, too! It will take 5% off your entire order! Proceeds go towards keeping this site going and providing you with new reviews!
DISCLAIMER: This article and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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