Is 2020 when we go mirrorless?
We’ve been needing an upgrade of our camera systems for a while. We used to shoot professionally and I sort of lost the taste for it after many years. Our 50mm f1.4 has some focus issues, and we have a fixed-aperture 24-70mm f1.8 that’s pretty long in the tooth now.
My wife has wanted a solid portrait lens for a while, and now our kids are turning into amazing shooters in their own right. I have always made it a family value to empower anything creative or productive my kids get into. So that made investing in a decent portrait kit an easy decision!
I have long wanted to go mirrorless, for multiple reasons which include better video and webcam capabilities. I felt like the solid Sony a7 series is what I might go with (or Panasonic Lumix G series), but investing in that is just so expensive — new body, all new lens formats, accessories, etc. Our Canon T5i is a bit old, but the sensor is decent and still works great. We’d lost the battery and charger over time and it was sort of gathering dust.
I wanted to see what we could do for under $1,000, and was pleased to find this excellent Tamron 85mm f1.8 which is close to some of the lenses we used to rent for wedding shoots.
Tamron 85mm f1.8 Tests
Here’s a few quick shots taken with it. Very pleased with the sharpness. It has an optical stabilizer that permits up to 4 stops of additional light with hand-held shots. This is key for our kind of photography, as we like to stay mobile (“run ‘n gun” as we say).
![Japanese Maple](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713124-tamron-85mm-tests-2020-9170.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![Blueberry Bush](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713107-tamron-85mm-tests-2020-9178.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![Kira, our kelpie](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713065-tamron-85mm-tests-2020-9167.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![Ferns growing on our maple](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713099-tamron-85mm-tests-2020-9171.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
Great detail and sharpness, without too much vignette or softness at the edges when shooting wide open (which is acceptable — even desirable — in portrait work). Stabilization works well.
![Kira, our kelpie](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713082-tamron-85mm-tests-2020-9175.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
New Kit!
Very pleased with the size, weight, and quality of the Tamron 85mm (US$750 as of this writing) and the PowerExtra dual charger (US$30). We’re back in business!
![Tamron 85mm lens on old canon body](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713589-tamron-85mm-lens-0004.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713602-tamron-85mm-lens-0005.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713607-tamron-85mm-lens-0006.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)
![](https://www.datocms-assets.com/10166/1604713611-tamron-85mm-lens-0007.jpeg?w=1400&auto=compress)