Tamron has released new firmware for its Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 lens for Sony E-mount cameras. Following the update, the lens now supports shooting photos at 120 frames per second on the Alpha 9 III.
Sony Alpha 9 III
When Sony announced the Alpha 9 III last year, the headline feature for video users was its global shutter. This type of shutter avoids the image distortions that can occur with fast movements on a camera with a rolling shutter. However, for still photographers, another exciting feature on the Alpha 9 III was the ability to shoot full-frame images at up to 120 frames per second. Even better, the camera’s autofocus supported this, making up to 120 AF/AE tracking calculations per second.
Third-party lenses
Although the Alpha 9 III’s autofocus could work at 120 frames per second, many third-party lenses simply couldn’t keep up. As a result, lens manufacturers have been working hard to release firmware upgrades for their products. Tamron’s 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 (Model A065) lens was released just over a year ago. However, now Tamron has updated the firmware to take advantage of the power of the Sony Alpha 9 III.
Firmware upgrade
Firmware version 3.0 for the 70-180mm G2 lens was released earlier this week by Tamron. Now, when the lens is used with the Alpha 9 III, it supports continuous shooting at up to 120 frames per second. Unfortunately, the focus mode must be set to AF-S (AF-single), DMF (direct manual focus) or MF (manual focus). It won’t work with continuous autofocus. However, the upgrade does improve AF performance during zooming when shooting videos and still images in AF-C mode.
What we think
Video shooters will be pleased to see that the firmware upgrade improves autofocus during zooming. However, the main improvement is the support for the Alpha 9 III’s 120 fps still image capture. Although the camera’s buffer is limited to around 200 RAW frames, you could use this feature for some neat Matrix-style special effects shots. Being able to capture 24.6 MP full-frame images gives lots of scope for zooming and other manipulation in post-production. It’s therefore welcome news that Tamron’s 70-180mm G2 lens now supports this shooting mode. If you use the lens on an Alpha 9 III you should update your lens’s firmware as soon as you can.
Pricing and availability
Firmware version 3.0 for the Tamron 70-180mm F/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 (Model A065) lens is available now from the Tamron website. It’s free to download and install.
