Tamron-Link review: this tiny Bluetooth adapter brings smart features to most current Tamron lenses, for shooting both stills and video

A lot of recent lenses for mirrorless cameras are pretty clever but they’re not exactly ‘smart’ by the current popular definition of the word. That all changes if you plug in the Tamron-Link to the USB-C port featured in most recent Tamron lenses. I say ‘most’ because Fujifilm X-mount versions of Tamron lenses don’t feature a USB port, making them incompatible with the adapter, and it doesn’t really work with Canon RF versions of Tamron lenses, at least not as yet. However, you can still update the firmware of Canon RF mount Tamron lenses that feature a USB port, using the Desktop version of the free Tamron Lens Utility program for Apple and Windows computers.

It’s much better news for most (but not all) recent Tamron lenses for Nikon Z and Sony E mount cameras, although some might need a firmware update to be applied via the desktop app before you can use the Bluetooth adapter. The end result is that you can add a whole bunch of smart features for customization and remote control of compatible Tamron lenses, via the Tamron Lens Utility app, offered as a free download for Apple and Android smartphones. Understandably, you have to buy the actual Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter itself, but I think it’s well worth the outlay as it brings a whole new, enriched experience to using compatible Tamron lenses.

Tamron-Link: Specifications

Tamron-Link: Price

The Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter costs around $50 / £59 / AU$80. I think that’s very good value for money, considering the electronics that it features and the comprehensive, companion smartphone app that’s available as a free download. Ultimately, you get the adapter plus the app for less than the price of some plastic lens hoods that Canon & Co sell as ‘optional extras’ for all but its exotic L-series lenses, and they’re just bits of dumb molded plastic. Bring on the smartness.

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Tamron-Link: Design & Handling

It’s tiny and weighs next to nothing. Taking miniaturized, minimalistic design to a new level, the Tamron-Link is only an inch long and about a quarter of an inch high and wide, excluding the USB plug that hides itself away within the lens. And it tips the scales at an almost imperceptible 2g or 0.07oz. The upshot is that when you plug it into a lens, you won’t notice any difference in size or weight.

Considering its lack of size and heft, there’s a lot packed into this tiny gadget. Actually, to be fair, the physical part of the Tamron-Link is only a Bluetooth adapter, so I’d expect it to be small and light. All the clever stuff is built into the software that runs in the lens that it’s plugged into, and the companion mobile app for iOS and Android.

The Tamron Lens Utility mobile app is free to download and to use, so there’s nothing to pay for apart from the Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter itself, and of course the Tamron lenses with which you wish to use it. After downloading it, the first step in setting it up is to pair it with your smartphone, which follows typical Bluetooth protocols.

The app itself is based on four main sections. Apart from the Info section that I’ve already mentioned above, there’s Lens, Remote and DFF (Digital Follow Focus). Let’s take them in order. The ‘Lens’ section is sub-divided into separate menus for Custom Switch and Focus Ring, correlating with the physical switch and control ring on the lens itself.

There’s a long list of custom settings that you can assign to the Custom switch of compatible lenses. The options range from helpful tools for shooting extreme close-ups, to infinity and beyond (almost). To put that into perspective, Focus Time Lapse is great for focus stacking in macro shooting, whereas Astro Focus & Fine Adjustment takes in a panoply of stars when shooting the heavens in the dead of night. There’s even a Night Mode that adapts the screen for more comfortably taking a shot in the dark. For the screengrab above, I’ve selected three options for the Custom switch, including Focus Time Lapse, Focus Preset and Linear/Non-Linear Switching.

For the second position on the Custom switch, I selected the option of Focus Preset. This assigns a specific focus distance, which you can switch to by pressing the Function button on the lens. Better still, the option comes complete with the option to set up a delay timer, so that you can define whether the focus transition starts immediately when pressing the button, or activates after a set time. On top of that, you can also set the duration of the transition between the starting point of the focus position and its assigned end point.

Can’t decide between Linear and Non-linear manual focusing? I’ve assigned both options to the third position of the Custom switch. This time around the supplementary options include whether the change in the action of the lens’s manual focus ring is immediate when pressing the Function button, or that you have to press and hold the button for a second for the change to be applied. The latter helps to avoid accidental mode swaps.

There’s more fun and games when moving from Custom Switch to Focus Ring in the Lens section of the app. You’re rewarded by a comprehensive range of options for how the ring operates, including Default or Reverse for the direction of rotation, Linear and Non-linear manual focus modes, plus overall manual focus rotation angles of 90, 180, 270 or 360 degrees, and overall rotation angles for using the ring to adjust the lens aperture, this time with options of 45, 60, 75 or 90 degrees.

The Tamron-Link has a lot to offer videographers, with a range of helpful options on its Remote and DFF (Digital Follow Focus) menus. Starting off with remote focusing, you can set multiple focus points and arrange their sequential order, the delay between each change, and the speed with which the lens transitions between preset focus points. This enables you to configure focus pulls on a fully automated and easily repeatable basis. Simplified A-B focus transitioning is also available in the app.

For shooting video, the app really comes into its own with ‘Digital Follow Focus’. In essence, the feature turns your smartphone into a pocket controller for both focusing and aperture. The system enables you to set up precise parameters for both focusing and aperture control, complete with adjustable transitions on an individual basis. You can operate it on the fly during a take, as well as setting limits for both functions, so you don’t overstep the mark accidentally. However, aperture control via DFF including the Iris Marker and Ring Stopper functions isn’t available for Tamron’s Nikon Z-mount lenses, which is a pretty major upset.

Tamron-Link: Performance

When it comes to performance, the Tamron-Link simply works and just as importantly, it works simply. It’s quick and easy to set up, being just a matter of plugging it into a compatible Tamron lens and downloading the companion app on your mobile phone. From then on, everything is plain sailing for customizing your lens and controlling it remotely. And if anything’s not clear, there are plenty of help sections along the way.

That said, nothing is entirely perfect and there are certain limitations. First up, it doesn’t work with Tamron’s Fujifilm X-mount and Canon RF-mount lenses, the former lacking a USB socket and the latter not featuring the requisite software compatibility. Some of the features available for Sony E-mount lenses are also lacking in their Nikon Z-mount counterparts.

Furthermore, not all of Tamron’s lenses that feature USB sockets are compatible with Tamron-Link Bluetooth adapter, so it pays to check first before purchasing. Last but not least, you’re limited by the usual 5m / 16.4ft range of Bluetooth wireless connectivity and if you’re camera goes into standby mode, the Bluetooth connection between your smartphone and the lens is severed. These factors aside, the system works very well indeed and performance is excellent.

Tamron-Link: Verdict

It’s often said that the best things come in small packages, and they don’t come much smaller than this. I love the tiny yet solid build of the Tamron-Link, and that it barely weighs anything at all. Simply plug it into a compatible Tamron lens, download the smartphone app and you’re good to go.

I’m less happy that it only fires on all cylinders with compatible Sony E-mount versions of current Tamron lenses. Tamron’s Nikon Z-mount lenses lose a couple of features in translation, and the adapter is of little or no use on Canon RF and Fujifilm X versions of Tamron lenses, the latter not even having a USB port for attaching it.

Back on the upside, the interface is clear and intuitive, yet fun to use, almost turning customization and remote control of your Tamron lenses into a kind of computer game. But the mobile app definitely has a serious side as well, enabling complex focus and aperture transitions easy to achieve, both on the fly and as programmable and precisely repeatable operations. All in all, I think it’s a worthy add-on for Nikon Z-mount Tamron lenses, and a no-brainer for Sony E-mount editions.

The Yongnuo BR-L1 remote control works with a variety of Yongnuo lenses. Sold separately, it’s has RF wireless connectivity, an on/off switch, Fn button, A and B buttons, a rotary dial and a little mono LCD screen. It enables wireless remote control for adjusting the lens’s aperture and for manual focusing, as well as for A-B focusing.

The Nikon ML-L7 is a handy little remote controller that works with Z-series cameras as well as some of the Coolpix range. Communicating via wireless Bluetooth, the remote enables you to control shutter release, video start/stop and some customizable functions including zooming for cameras and lenses that feature motorized zoom.