The M1:2 designation in the name refers to the fact that the lens has a magnification of 1:2 at its closest focusing distance of 4.3 inches. That means it’s good for up-close macro shots. Uncorrected you’ll definitely notice straight lines bending outward (aka barrel distortion) on this lens, which can be a fun effect. But if you enable distortion correction in your Sony camera, the distortion will be fixed for you in your JPEGs. If you shoot RAW, it’s easy to correct this in image editing software. The same is true of the darkened corners you might see at the lens’ widest apertures, though some people like this effect, too. Autofocus purists might balk at the fact that this Tamron focuses electronically by sending an electric signal to a motor when you turn the focusing ring, rather than using a mechanical helicoid to move the lens elements. We found the electric focusing pleasantly responsive, though, and didn’t find it a detriment at all. Sure, the camera needs to be powered on to focus the lens, but it’s also a camera with an electronic viewfinder. So it’s not like you can look and manually focus with the camera off anyway. While street shooters who want to prefocus to a certain distance may look askance at us, they should be keen to note that this lens also doesn’t have a distance scale for manually focusing in that manner anyhow.
