The following chart presents a comparison between basic parameters of the Tamron 16-30 mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2, its predecessor, and other fixed-focal f/2.8 lenses of this segment. It's obvious that both Tamrons stick out in a positive way with their minimum focusing distance. They are also the smallest and the lightest instruments of all, offering you a possibility of using classic filters with the smallest diameter, that of 67 mm.
In the photo below the Tamron 16-30 mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 is positioned between the Voigtlander Apo-Lanthar 2/50 and the Sony FE 50 mm f/1.4 GM.
The tested lens starts with a metal mount with embedded contacts and a frame as big as 29x21 mm. Inside that frame you see a movable rear element of the lens, 21 mm in diameter. At 16 mm focal length its convex part is situated about 0.5 cm under the plane of the frame; when you pass to 30 mm it hides almost 1.5 cm deep inside the inner tube. This tube is properly blackened and ribbed but its upper part features fragments of a green electronics plate. It means the lens cannot be called perfectly sealed from that side.
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The proper barrel of the lens is covered by black plastics. It starts with an immoblie, smooth ring on which you can find a silver strip and a mark, making an alignment with a camera easier along with its serial number and information that the lens was produced in Vietnam. The ring becomes wider very quickly and on its enlarged part you see an inscription with the name and parameters of the lens, its model number, A064, the filter diameter, amounting to 67 mm, and information that it was designed in Japan. In this place you can also find the USB C-type connector port that allows you to callibrate the lens with the help of the Tamron Lens Utility software. By the way you might wonder how long such a solution will actually work, taking into account the fact that the lens might be used in different conditions with nothing less than an unprotected hole on its barrel.
A zoom ring, as wide as 22 mm, is the next part of the lens. It is equipped with a comfortable rubber ribbing and also with focal length markings at 16, 20, 24, and 30 mm. It moves quite smoothly and is properly damped.
Further on you see a smooth, immobile part of the lens, as wide as 17 mm, on which you can find a round, programmable FOCUS LOCK button.
Then there is a manual focus ring, as wide as 20 mm, almost completely covered by rubber ribs but devoid of any distance scale or depth of field scale. The ring is a focus-by-wire construction, it moves smoothly and is properly damped. Its focus throw, amounting to about 180 deg., depends very weakly on the focal length and the speed of your turning. With such parameters of the lens it's a value that allows you precise settings.
The lens ends with an immobile part of the barrel with a hood mount and the hood itself is a part of the accessory kit. The front element is 44 mm in diameter, convex, and mobile. At 30 mm it is hidden almost 1.5 cm inside the black, well-ribbed tube. At 16 mm it almost reaches the mount but still is low enough to make the whole construction additionally sealed by screwing an additional filter into a non-rotating thread 67 mm in diameter. It is a very moderate value for the aperture of the lens and its angle of views.
The construction of the lens is supposed to be moisture-proof and the front optical element is covered by fluorite that protects to from dirt, water, oil, and other damage.
When it comes to the optical construction you deal here with 16 elements positioned in 12 groups. The producers weren't skimpy with special kinds of glass - inside you can find two low dispersion LD glass elements, one made of ultra low dispersion (XLD) glass, and three aspherical ones. There is also a round aperture with nine blades that can be closed down to a value of f/16.
Buyers get both caps and a petal-type hood in the box with the lens.
