Tamron’s lenses come with so many suffixes that the names sound almost royal. So when Tamron told me about the new 12-20mm f/2.8, I had my fingers poised, waiting for the second half of the name. Except… that’s it.
Tamron’s new lens is named simply the “Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8” – it’s not followed by the usual jumble of “Di III VXD G2” at the end.
Photographers will be undoubtably excited over the Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8 lens’ lightweight design, which is nearly half the weight and half the cost of the farther-reaching Sony 12-24mm f/2.8.
The full-frame lens also comes in the Nikon Z mount, where it still comes in under the price, under the weight and slightly wider than the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 S.
Tamron tells me that lens abbreviations will still be used for VC (Vibration Compensation or stabilization) and the Di designation for APS-C lenses – but the Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8 is neither of those things.
Tamron’s new lens doesn’t just have a new naming convention, but launches a new look for the popular third-party lens maker as well.
The lens leans towards a more mechanical, robust design and focuses on more "tactile joy", leaning into the feel of the materials and plenty of physical controls in the era of smartphone photography.
Ultra-wide zooms tend to sit on the heavy side, but the Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8 slides in at a 20.2oz / 570g in E-Mount and just 5g more in the Z-Mount. I had no problems carrying the lens around, spending a week shooting landscapes and astrophotography with the new optic.
The 12mm focal length is an encompassing view that captures striking scenes, and the f/2.8 aperture lets in a lot of light – for the zoom category, anyway. I snapped shots with sharp centers and only a minor tendency to smudge towards the edges.
The ultra-wide can also create some fun perspective distortion, helped by the fact that the lens can focus as close as 7.1 inches / 0.18m. That focus system uses Tamron’s modern VDX (Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive), even though there’s no VXD listed in the name itself.
Shooting with the Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8 for a week, I think this is a lens that a lot of photographers will be excited about.
The lens is rather lightweight and affordable for the category. My biggest complaint was the difficulty of manually focusing such a wide perspective – and a very slight softening in the stars towards the corners.
Photographers won’t have to wait long for Tamron’s new ultra-wide. The Sony E-Mount variant is set to ship on July 30, with the Z-Mount to follow on August 27. The lens retails for $1,699 / CA$2,299 for the E-Mount and $1,799 / CA$2,399 for the Z-Mount (international pricing to follow).
For more insight, read my Tamron 12-20mm f/2.8 review.
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