Dpreview posted a first hands-on of this very exciting niche lens:
The a7R IV may not be the ideal Sony camera for shooting all types of video, but it does include an APS-C/Super 35 crop mode, which is where it produces its best quality 4K video. This cropping might be a bug bear for some videographers, but it makes the camera a good match for this lens. It’s possible to use crop mode with FHD resolution as well, but since the camera produces better FHD footage in full sensor mode, we’d recommend sticking with 4K.
However, to see the footage de-squeezed live it’s necessary to use an external monitor with that capability since the feature isn’t built into the camera.
Manny Ortiz is right when he says the Tamron zooms make the whole Sony E system much more attractive than other FF mirrorless systems from Canon/Nikon/L-mount.
The Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN is not a cheap lens at $1,399 US, but it manages to justify that cost and then some, producing some of the highest image quality I’ve ever seen at these focal lengths. Truly exceptional image sharpness, even at 14mm, with outstanding color and contrast, great flare control, virtually non-existent chromatic aberration and an outstanding build quality make this lens not only outstanding for an ultra-wide zoom lens, but outstanding for an ultra-wide prime lens.
The Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VXD (1499 euros) is an excellent lens proposed at a very reasonable price. It completes perfectly the 2 other Tamron zooms but the quality of this zoom is clearly higher than previous Tamron Zooms. Indeed it supports perfectly the 61Mpix of the A7RIV whereas the 2 other zooms where showing their limits on the A7RIV
To achieve this performance at this price and this reduced size and weight Tamron had to make some choices: 180mm instead of 200mm No optical stabilization Lens extends when zooming No “fancy” buttons on the barrel No tripod foot (but you don’t need it considering the weight) Not compatible with Sony TC
All the above compromises do not influence at all the image quality that is excellent (sharpness and bokeh) and allow for a weight and price divided by 2 compared to the Sony GM
Pros Excellent sharpness on the entire field and entire range at all apertures Very small and light Very reasonable price Very good bokeh and soft background blur Extremely fast , silent and accurate AF Very low level of chromatic aberrations Moderate vignetting Very good resistance to flare Fully weather sealed
Average Color rendition little bit yellowish Not compatible with Sony TC1.4 & TC2.0 No button to switch to MF, to set a custom function, to limit focusing range No optical stabilization
Cons Huge distortion between 135mm and 180mm (no lens profile yet available as of April 2020) Lens does extend when zooming and the zoom ring is quite dampened , so no smooth zooming possible in video Does not look “Pro” if your are pro wedding photographer
The Tamron delivers similar performances to the Sony FE70-200 F2.8 GM in most cases and even surpass it sometimes (corner sharpness and sharpness at 180mm, portability) at half of its price. A superb Performance !
We expected the new Tamron lens to be optically very good performer. But the big question was f the new autofocus system can match the superb performance of the Sony GM zoom. Well it seem it does! Check out the review:
UPDATE: Here is also a new video from Marc Alhadeff:
