If you ever wish your standard zoom lens was just a little wider, then you’re in luck! Well, you are you are a full frame Sony user anyway.
Most standard zooms offer a 24-70mm or 24-105mm focal range, which is pretty adaptable and versatile, but if you like to shoot architecture, travel and interiors in particular, that 24mm widest focal length might not be quite wide enough.
This is also a factor for solo vloggers who want to film themselves and their backgrounds from a grip or a gimbal. With a 24mm lens you might struggle to get everything in even with the camera at a full arm’s length, and that can get pretty tiring pretty fast, too.
We’ve seen a couple of these ultra-wide standard zooms from other makers already, and we’ve been impressed by the Olympus 8-25mm f/4 Pro lens (16-50mm equivalent) and Panasonic’s full frame 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6.
Tamron 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD (Model A062) key features
Tamron calls this a “category-disrupting” lens, and not without reason, as it could replace both a standard zoom and a wide zoom. It does have only a 2x zoom range, but that still covers a semi-wide to very wide angle of view. What’s more, it comes with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture.
This lens will include Tamron’s VXD (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive) AF drive system for quietness and speed. It will also have a minimum focus distance of just 6.7 inches (0.17m) for a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3.8 at the wide and of the zoom range.
Tamron quotes a weight of 12.9oz (366g) and a length of 3.4 inches (86mm) and a rapid zoom action with an arc of just 65º. Tamron’s Lens Utility software will allow you to choose the focus ring function setting and install any future firmware updates. The filter size is 67mm, iin line with most of Tamron’s other mirrorless lenses.
The Tamron 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD is scheduled to launch in Autumn/Fall 2022, though Tamron warns that “due to the current global health crisis, the release date or product supply schedule could change”. We do not have any pricing information yet.
