Tamron has made some exceptional lenses over the years. From prime lenses to a telephoto, Tamron offers a great range for photographers, where performance meets a good price point. The company recently started making new lenses for the Canon RF mount, and it appears this is just the beginning. As per new reports, Tamron is currently making another lens for Canon mirrorless users, which will be an all-purpose lens.
According to Tamron (via Asobinet), the company is currently developing the Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD (Model B061) for Canon APS-C RF mount and Nikon Z mount. The lens was first released in 2021 for Sony and Fujifilm APS-C cameras, and then it became the world’s first lens to achieve a zoom ratio of 16.6x.
From its looks, the lens is likely to have the same makeup as the existing lens. It will have a minimum shooting distance of 0.15m at 18mm and a maximum magnification of 1:2. The Tamron lens will also have a VXD motor for precise focusing, and a VC mechanism for image stabilisation while using hand-held. At the moment, the company said it will launch the lens in spring 2025, but the price for this has not yet been revealed. The older lens was priced at $699, so the new one will have to be in the same ballpark, but now with the inclusion of tariffs.
Since the original lens was launched in 2021, we happened to test it. We found the lens to perform well in terms of its versatility, weight, close-up focusing, and weather sealing. It is also incredibly sharp when used with the Sony a6600, X-T4, and X Pro 3. However, some of the challenges we faced were autofocus, which we felt was not good for really fast-paced, action subjects; there was some corner bending, and minor chromatic aberration. As we said in our review, “It feels like a kit lens on steroids. Image quality is slightly better than a kit lens because the close-up abilities and 300mm can help blur a background. I’d easily recommend it for photo walks, travel, and general use; but I wouldn’t recommend it if your primary goal is sports, architecture, or portraits.”
Our hope is that the new Canon and Nikon versions will certainly improve autofocus abilities and control fringing. Nikon and Tamron make up an excellent partnership, so we assume the new focal range will further deepen that. As for the Canon version, we will have to see. We tested the Tamron 11-20mm f2.8 for Canon RF, and the autofocus was much faster than we expected. However, we realized that by giving Tamron a way to the APS-C format, Canon is just protecting its higher-end lens models, thereby hurting itself.
Our belief is that as a cost-effective lens, the upcoming 18-300mm will be good for kit users, but not those who have a specific genre in mind. However, it remains to be seem how the new lens can prove itself. Until then, keep an eye out.
