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Lens review

Tamron SP 85 mm f/1.8 Di VC USD

12 April 2016
Arkadiusz Olech

6. Distortion

In the chart below you see distortion results of fast full frame 85 mm lenses we’ve tested so far.


Tamron
1.8/85 VC
Zeiss
Otus 1.4/85
Sigma
1.4/85
Nikkor
1.8/85G
Samyang
1.4/85
Canon
1.8/85
APS-C/DX
+0.17%
+0.06%
−0.08%
+0.11%
−0.11%
+0.08%
FF
+0.65%
−0.04%
−0.36%
+0.33%
−0.43%
+0.61%


As you see the performance differs – one part of lenses showed slight barrel distortion and the other part featured slight pincushion. There was one exception worth following: the Otus. Within the margin of error it didn’t have any distortion at all. The Tamron shows pincushion distortion; despite being a new construction with a complex design it doesn’t defeat its older rivals, on the contrary, it loses out to them. Actually its result is the worst in the whole group, presented here. Still you should keep in mind all the time what values are shown here - even those +0.65% of the Tamron will be difficult to spot on full frame. It seems you shouldn’t criticize the tested lens very strongly.


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Canon 50D, 85 mm
Tamron SP 85 mm f/1.8 Di VC USD - Distortion
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Tamron SP 85 mm f/1.8 Di VC USD - Distortion