When it comes to the production, supply and sale of third-party optics that will fit a slew of different manufacturers’ mounts, lens specialist Tamron says it is number one for global sales – claiming as recently as last month that it holds as much as 60% market share.
No wonder, then, that Sony is eyeing up Tamron for a possible takeover bid – the intention and the approach, if not yet the actuality, currently being confirmed by both parties. As it is already in possession of a 15% stake in the company, the electronics giant’s plan is that it will make the lens specialist a wholly owned subsidiary.
Yes, Tamron currently lists 23 lenses directly compatible with the Sony mount at the time of writing. But it also produces plenty of other directly compatible lenses for Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon users.
If Sony were to acquire Tamron – which has currently set up its own committee to consider the bid – I can imagine Sony taking a similar approach to when it exclusively snapped up Konica Minolta’s imaging expertise in 2006.
Konica Minolta immediately exited the camera business, while Sony was able to quickly introduce its first ever Alpha-branded DSLR, based on existing Minolta tech.
So, my worry for the wider photographic community is that Tamron itself may cease to exist – with its lenses hereon marketed as Sony lenses, with the same mix of decent build quality, performance yet affordability that the optical specialist offers now.
If that scenario plays out, I can’t imagine Sony continuing to do what Tamron currently does in offering lenses to other, non-Sony users. Plus I also wonder how it will impact its current relationship with Nikon, for whom it makes several Nikkor-branded OEM lenses.
Factor in a camera market that is experiencing a slowdown this year anyway, according to official figures from CIPA Japan, and the prospect gets even more intriguing.
Cutting out other camera owners might lessen the value of Tamron as a standalone brand. But if it’s subsumed by Sony, then that becomes academic anyway.
At present it’s not a done deal, just one under serious consideration that Sony certainly has the industry clout to pull off. It all comes down to whether Tamron, which independently has its own ambitious growth targets despite the uncertain economic climate, gives the green light.
If the market for interchangeable lens cameras really is in decline, and the current slowdown persists, I feel Tamron may well be tempted to take Sony’s money and run. However bad that is for competitive pricing going forward – and potentially the wider photographic community.
Ultimately, there will be winners as well as losers if a deal is done.
But to end on a positive note, among the winners will not just be Sony’s existing user base, who may theoretically get a boosted and continuing supply of affordable optics, but also rival third-party lens manufacturers such as Sigma, Laowa, Viltrox and more, who will have one less competitor out there.
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