Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD review

The Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD for Sony E and Nikon Z cameras is a catch-all zoom that’s well suited to wedding and event photography

Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD
(Image: © Matthew Richards)

Digital Camera World Verdict

With its big zoom range and fast aperture, Tamron touts this lens as being very suitable for travel photography in its marketing. At nearly 1.2kg, however, it’s arguably a bit on the weighty side for travel, and it’s pretty chunky as well. We reckon it works much better for wedding and event photography, enabling everything from fairly wide group portraits to tight head shots, without the risk of missing important moments due to swapping between different lenses on a camera. Autofocus is snappy and sharpness is mostly very good, along with lovely bokeh.

Pros

  • +

    Powerful zoom range

  • +

    Fast aperture rating

  • +

    Impressive overall performance

Cons

  • -

    Fairly big and heavy

  • -

    Mediocre edge-sharpness

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We’ve almost been here before. The full-frame compatible Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD for Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras is billed as the world’s fastest lens with this sort of zoom range. The Tamron 35-150 mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OS launched back in 2019 offered exactly the same zoom range but was an f/stop slower at any given focal length. That lens was designed for Canon and Nikon DSLRs but only had a short lifespan, as it’s since been discontinued.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.