Last evening, Tamron announced the 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD lens for APS-C Sony E-mount cameras. The lens has a 35mm-equivalent zoom range of 27-450mm, covering everything from wide angle to long-telephoto, and the “VC” in the lens’s name indicated “Vibration Compensation”, Tamron’s designation for mechanical image-stabilization, and “VXD” indicates that the lens uses their fastest linear-motor focusing system. This is the first all-in-one zoom of this range for Sony E-mount.
Tamron is well known for their all-in-one zoom lenses, and their image quality has been steadily improving over the past decade or so. This version’s optical formula contains three hybrid aspherical elements and four low dispersion (LD) elements, which Tamron claims will give it “high resolving power from the center to the corners”.
Despite its massive zoom range, the lens is relatively compact at just 4.9 inches long and 1.37 pounds in weight, though the length will increase when zooming. The body has basic weather sealing and the front element has a fluorine coating to resist water and oils, and if you want to shoot close-ups, the lens can close-focus down to 5.9 inches at the wide end of the zoom and 39″ at the tele end, providing magnification ratios of 1:2 and 1:4, respectively.
Price & Availability
The new Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 VC VXD will hit store shelves on September 24th, in just under a month, and the lens will cost about $699 in the United States. The lens is already available for pre-order from B&H Photo and Adorama.
