Tamron claims “world’s first” f/2 max aperture mirrorless zoom with the new 35-150mm f/2-2.8

It looks like Tamron is taking a leaf out of Sony’s book, claiming records with hidden caveats. First, we had Sony claiming that the A7c was the world’s “smallest and lightest full-frame camera” – which it objectively wasn’t – and then Sony started adding caveats to the claim. Now, Tamron’s doing it with, perhaps not surprisingly, their new Sony E mount 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD.

They’re claiming that it’s the “World’s first mirrorless zoom lens with a maximum wide-open aperture of f/2”. And on the surface, the claim is obviously nonsense, because Canon’s got the RF 28-70mm f/2L USM lens, and Panasonic has the 10-25mm f/1.7 and a new 25-50mm f/1.7 zoom on the way. So, yeah, even the manufacturers are clickbaiting these days.

Obviously, the claim comes with a caveat, hidden down at the bottom of the press release stating…

¹ Among the zoom lenses for Sony E-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras (As of July 2021: TAMRON)

I suppose claiming the “Fastest Sony E mount zoom” isn’t good enough. Which is odd, considering the lens is only available for Sony E mount and the only people who’ll be able to utilise it are Sony shooters. So, why not just say “Fastest Sony E mount zoom”?. And it’s only a development announcement. It’s not even a release announcement. So, there aren’t really many specs available for it yet.

All we know right now is that it’ll have a 35-150mm focal length with a variable maximum aperture going from f/2 at the short end to f/2.8 at the long end. It’s compatible with the new Tamron Lens Utility software to tweak the functions and update firmware directly from your computer and that’s pretty much it so far.

Well, that and it won’t actually be the world’s first mirrorless zoom lens with a maximum wide-open aperture of f/2.

According to Tamron, the software will provide some neat customisation features for the lens, though, including…

• Focus Set Button settings
  – A-B Focus: Set 2 focus positions (A and B) and make the focus automatically shift between A and B
  – Focus Preset: Set your desired focus position and move the focus to the recorded point by a click
  – Switch Focus Ring Function (Focus/Aperture): Switch Focus Ring Function from focus adjustment to aperture adjustment
  – Assign function from the camera: Assign custom functions from the camera body to the Focus Set Button
  *The function of Focus Set Button can be cleared
• Focus Ring settings
  – MF Ring Rotation: Change the rotation direction of the focus ring
  – MF Method: Choose the method of focus operation when using the focus ring

I’m sure that when it’s announced for release (and there’s no word on when that may happen) it’ll be at least as good as any other lens Tamron makes, and I’m also sure that within a few days of actually announcing its release, they’ll send out a press release stating that they “underestimated demand” and that there will be shipping delays.

By that time, there might be other f/2 zooms out there for E mount, too. Surely, Sigma’s 24-35mm f/2 is due for a mirrorless refresh soon to bring it to the L mount – which also means it’d be coming to E mount?

Companies really need to quit going for clickbait caveated press releases. They really don’t impress anybody. You know what impresses people? A company announcing a good product and it actually being available to buy at retailers without a six-month wait.