Tamron 18-300mm APS-C autofocus lens for Sony & Fuji announcement expected September 24th

John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Tamron’s upcoming 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD autofocus lens for Fuji X and Sony E mount, for which a development announcement was made last month, looks like it might be set for a release announcement next month. September 24th, to be precise, according to a tweet from Nokishita. The tweet says that Tamron has now “released the catalog” of the lens, attached to the tweet as a PDF, which offers up the complete specs.

According to the PDF, the new lens will indeed be for both Sony and Fujifilm, as previously announced, with no other mounts as yet mentioned – of course, it’s an APS-C lens, so the only other potential option right now would be Nikon Z given the ongoing uncertainty around Canon’s EOS M system. It will be comprised of 19 elements in 15 groups with a minimum focus distance of 15cm at the wide end or 99cm at the long end and take a 67mm filter thread.

Focal Length 18-300mm
Lens MountSony E / Fuji X
Format CompatibilityAPS-C
Focus TypeAutofocus
Optics19 elements in 15 groups
Minimum focus distance15cm (wide) / 99cm (Tele)
Maximum Aperturef/2.5-6.3
Minimum Aperturef/22-40
Angle of view77° 24′ to 5° 30′
Aperture blades7, rounded
StabilisationYes, VC
Filter Size67 mm (front)
Dimensions75.5 x 125.6mm (Sony) / 75.5 x 125.8mm (Fuji)
Weight620g

The PDF does mention a release date, and it sounds like it’s the Sony E one that’s going to be announced on September 24th, with the Fuji X mount version to follow at some point. So, it sounds like perhaps the lens has been ready for a while for Sony E mount, but they’re still figuring some things out with the Fuji communications protocol. Otherwise, I’d have expected them both to be announced at the same time.

If this is the case, there’s obviously no news on exactly when the Fuji X mount version will be announced. There’s also no word on a price yet, although I expect the rumour mill to churn that one out at some point before September 24th. I expect Fuji shooters will be keen to find out answers to both of those things, as this represents the first autofocus zoom for Fuji X made by a third party manufacturer. So, it will be interesting to see how the pricing stacks up against Fuji AF zooms (even if they don’t do one with quite this range).

We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

Update 25th August: It looks like the price will be $699.

[via Nokishita]


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John Aldred

John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

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2 responses to “Tamron 18-300mm APS-C autofocus lens for Sony & Fuji announcement expected September 24th”

  1. Peter Withe Avatar
    Peter Withe

    If Tamron get this right (quality of lens and price), they will be onto a good thing with Fuji users.

    1. Kaouthia Avatar
      Kaouthia

      It looks like the price will be $699, which isn’t far off the $650 Nikon APS-C equivalent.