Tamron is a third-party lens manufacturer that provides lenses for Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm cameras. On these lenses, you’ll find letters and numbers. What do they mean?
These are abbreviations that tell you the features you’ll get from your lenses. Some have special coatings, and others reduce camera shake, for example.
Read on to learn more about Tamron lens abbreviations.
What are Tamron Lens Abbreviations?
Lens abbreviations are necessary. As so many recent lenses have multiple features, it would be impossible to write them all down.
Also, having the abbreviations means you don’t need to go through an entire lens manual to find out what the lens can offer you.
Let’s look at an example.
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD
We can see a few abbreviations here—SP, Di, VC, and USD. These abbreviations mean that it is a superior lens, it works with full frame or crop sensor cameras, and has stabilization. On top of that, it has an ultrasonic silent drive, making it fast and quiet for auto-focusing.
With a little practice and this article, you’ll be able to know all about a lens just by looking at the abbreviations.
Tamron Lens Abbreviations
AD—Anomalous dispersion. This lens element provides color correction, which reduces chromatic aberrations.
ADH—This is a combination of anomalous dispersion and aspherical lens. The hybrid nature of this special lens shape and element helps reduce and remove chromatic and spherical aberrations.
AF—The lens can auto-focus.
A/M—This lens is able to auto-focus/manual-focus.
AF/MF—This lens has a manual override, allowing you to focus without physically switching modes.
ASL—Aspherical lens element that removes spherical aberrations.
BIM—Built-in motor. This lens has a motor within it, allowing auto-focus to work, even if your camera doesn’t have the capacity.
Di—Digitally integrated. These lenses are specifically designed for full frame cameras. They will also work with APS-C sensor cameras.
Di-II—Digitally integrated II. These lenses are specifically designed for use with APS-C/crop sensor cameras.
Di-III—Digitally integrated III. These lenses are specifically designed for mirrorless cameras, from full frame Sony E-mount to micro-four-thirds cameras. Lenses marked Di III-A are designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras.
eBAND—Extended bandwidth & angular-dependency coating. This special lens coating reduces ghosting and flaring, improving image quality.
FEC—Filter effect control. A filter rotate ring allows the user to rotate a filter while the lens hood is attached. These are best used with CPL filters.
FTM—Full-time manual focus. This lens has both manual and auto-focus, allowing you to switch between them quickly by using the focus ring.
G2—Generation 2. This is Tamron’s second-generation version of an earlier lens.
HID—High index/high dispersion glass. This is Tamron’s way of saying ‘better lenses’.
HLD—High/Low torque-modulated Drive. This auto-focus motor adjusts its torque for smooth focusing at both high and low speeds.
IF—Internal focusing system. The lens focuses by moving elements inside the barrel, so its length does not change and the front filter ring does not rotate.
LAH—Low dispersion + aspherical lens. This hybrid lens element reduces spherical and chromatic aberrations.
LD—Low dispersion. This lens is built to remove chromatic aberrations.
Moisture Resistant—These lenses are weather sealed.
OSD—Optimized Silent Drive. This is a quiet DC motor for auto-focusing.
PZD—PieZo drive. This is a very efficient AF motor.
RD—Rounded diaphragm. A rounded diaphragm gives bokeh a circular shape rather than hexagonal.
RXD—Rapid eXtra-silent stepping Drive. This is a quiet stepping motor for fast, accurate auto-focus, which suits video.
SP—Superior Performance. This is Tamron’s high-performance lens series.
USD—Ultrasonic silent drive. This is a silent motor for auto-focusing.
VC—Vibration compensation. This is the stabilization, allowing you to handhold the camera while reducing camera shake. It also allows you to use slower shutter speeds.
VXD—Voice-coil eXtreme-torque Drive. This linear motor gives Tamron’s fastest and most precise auto-focus.
XLD—Extra-low dispersion. This is the improved version of low dispersion.
XR—Extra refractive index glass. This creates smaller and lighter lenses.
ZL—Zoom lock. This lens has a lock on the zoom, to stop it from creeping, or accidentally moving.
1:1 Macro—This lens allows for 1:1 magnification, a true macro ratio.
Conclusion: Tamron Lens Abbreviations
Looking at a lens can be confusing without knowing all of the abbreviations they have. But if you know what the abbreviations mean, it will help you learn about the features of that lens without having to read the lens manual.
Remember to bookmark this page of Tamron lens abbreviations for the next time you’re looking at Tamron lenses.
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