The 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC for Sony´s series of mirrorless cameras
Announcing Tamron’s first high-power zoom for Sony´s series of mirrorless cameras.
December 8, 2011, Saitama, Japan – Tamron Co., Ltd., leading manufacturer of optical equipment, announced the introduction of an exciting new lens, the 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III[1] VC (Model B011). The new high-power zoom lens is designed for the Sony E-mount lightweight and compact digital cameras series.
Product Features
1. High-power 18-200mm) lightweight and compact zoom lens weighing 460g with a 62mm filter diameter is designed for the E-mount system of Sony’s series of mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. Equipped with Tamron’s acclaimed VC ( Vibration Compensation), the lens allows for easy handheld shooting from 18mm wide angle to 200mm telephoto.
2. Striking appearance worthy of Sony´s series of mirrorless cameras design. The metallic lens barrel exterior is available in two colors: black and silver.
3. Newly constructed stepping motor which ideally harmonizes with the contrast-detection AF mode and enables steady autofocus video shooting.
The 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC (Model B011) is a high-power zoom lens, developed by the megazoom pioneer Tamron, for use with the E-mount system of Sony’s series of compact interchangeable-lens cameras. Tamron has integrated 19 years of megazoom development technologies into this product.
The result of this development is a lens that is compact and lightweight, featuring a 62mm filter diameter and weighing only 460g.
Its compact specifications and the superlative image quality that it delivers allows users to easily enjoy shooting across the whole range - from wide-angle to full telephoto - with just one lens.
The attractive metallic design of the lens is ideally suited to Sony´s mirrorless camera line-up. The lens is available in silver and in black. The AF drive has a stepping motor that is optimal for the Contrast-detection AF system employed by Sony´s mirrorless series of cameras. The system also enables improved AF performance when shooting video. In addition, ease of operation is enhanced with the Direct Manual Focus (DMF) function, which allows the user to make fine manual adjustments in the AF focus. The lens covers an impressive focal length range of 18-200mm. The corresponding full frame angle of view equivalent is 27mm wide-angle up to 300mm full telephoto. This range coverage allows the user to capture wide-angle shots of expansive landscapes and powerful telephoto images that enlarge the details of distant subjects—all with one lens. In addition, by setting the lens at the telephoto end (200mm) and moving in to the minimum focus distance of 0.5m, flower petals, jewelry and other small objects can be shot as expanded close-ups. Equipped with Tamron’s acclaimed VC ( Vibration Compensation), and thanks to its lightweight and compact size, this lens allows easy handheld shooting of sharp images with no camera shake over a wide range of settings, from everyday snapshots to memorable travel scenes.
About the stepping motor
The B011’s autofocus mechanism uses a stepping motor that is an ideal match for the Contrast-detection AF system used in Sony’s mirrorless series of cameras. The stepping motor’s actuator allows finely tuned control of angular rotation, and since it drives the focusing mechanism directly without an intermediate reduction gear, it also provides superbly quiet performance.
VC ( Vibration Compensation)
Tamron’s VC mechanism employs a three-coil system, whereby three driving coils activate the shake-compensating VC lens group electromagnetically via three steel balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the steel balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance that eliminates the blur from handheld shots for cleaner, crisper shots.
About the new VC mechanism (moving coil system)
Tamron’s conventional VC ( Vibration Compensation) unit has a moving magnet system with heavy magnets in the vibration-compensating lens. However, the new VC mechanism adopts a lightweight moving coil system that reduces the load on the drive system. This allows the drive to be operated with smaller coils and magnets, reducing the weight and size for the entire VC unit. In addition, improvements to software and other elements of the VC mechanism used in the 18-200mm Di III VC have made the mechanism even quieter.
As Sony´s current mirrorless camera series as of December 8, 2011 have an image sensor equivalent in size to APS-C sensors, the angle of view is 27-300mm when converted to 35mm format.
Di III (Digitally integrated design): A designation Tamron gives to lenses engineered specifically for mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras with no internal mirror box or pentaprism, adopting an optical design that matches the characteristics of the digital camera. (Note: These lenses cannot be used with digital SLR cameras with built-in mirror box or conventional 35mm film SLR cameras).
