Tamron plans to launch six lenses this year – but it’s the brand’s 2026 plans that have me excited

Tamron has been steadily increasing the number of lenses launched each year – and this year, the company plans to launch six new lenses. But by 2026, it expects to launch ten new lenses a year. The insight comes from Tamron’s quarterly financial report to investors. While the report doesn’t indicate which lenses are coming next, I hope Tamron’s expanded product launches indicate mirrorless mounts are finally becoming more third-party friendly.

Before 2023, Tamron launched around five new lenses a year. But by 2026, the company plans to have 10 new models yearly. The insight stems from the company’s medium-term management plan, which originally planned to increase new launches from five to 6-7 between 2024 and 2026. But, the company reached that goal in the first year of the plan, and now projects reaching ten new lens launches a year from 2026 onward.

While Tamron first shared the ten-lens-per-year goal during its 2024 year-end fiscal report, the latest report indicates that the company plans for six new lenses for 2025. The 2025 launches include the already teased Z-Mount and RF-Mount variants of the all-in-one 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 VC VXD, which should mean there are four more lenses slated for this year.

That Canon RF mount is notable, as it’s only Tamron’s second RF mount lens in the catalog. Canon has been hesitant to open up the mirrorless RF mount to third-party autofocus optics, but last year Tamron launched the 11-20mm f/2.8 RXD for the Canon RF mount, and the 18-300mm zoom is slated for a summer arrival for both the RF and Nikon Z mount. Both of those Canon RF optics are for crop sensor bodies.

While a move from launching around five models a year in 2023 to twice that in 2026 is notable, Tamron counts the different mounts of the same lens as two models. For example, the brand’s count of seven new models for 2024 included the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 VXD twice, one for the E-Mount and one for the Nikon Z-mount.

The plans to introduce more new lenses could be influenced by more mirrorless mounts opening up to third-party autofocus optics. Tamron currently lists 20 different lenses in its Sony E-Mount catalog, while Z Mount includes six, Fujifilm X-Mount four, and Canon RF one. (Those numbers exclude the 18-300mm that won't arrive for the RF and Z Mounts until this summer.)

While I’d love to see more unusual lenses from Tamron, I’d also be excited to see the mirrorless brands loosen restrictions on third-party autofocus optics. Tamron has some excellent budget options, as well as optics with unusual zoom ranges, but only for photographers shooting certain bodies. Either way, I’m excited to see what Tamron is planning for next year.

The quarterly financial report also indicated how the changing US tariffs are impacting Tamron’s plans. The company plans to increase production in Vietnam from 25 percent to 45 percent by 2028, reducing the production in China from 65 to 45 percent over the same period. Tamron also produces some lenses in Japan, which is expected to remain unchanged at about ten percent. Imports from Vietnam are currently facing a 10 percent tariff in the US, while China’s rates sit at a much higher 145 percent.

For the first quarter of 2025, the Americas have been responsible for around 14 percent of the company’s lens sales, while China is 27 percent, Japan 20 percent, and other Asian countries another 20 percent.

While the company said that the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs has affected sales, the company hasn’t modified its 2025 projections because the impact is being absorbed by cost reductions.

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