Full disclosure:<\/strong><\/span> For a few years, around 2014\/17, I was a Tamron Image Master and they would occasionally send me new lenses to test out. I would provide my opinions through blog posts, or interviews that appeared in their online newsletter. Tamron was great to work with. I’d used Tamron early on in my film days, but had drifted away over time. It was fun getting reacquainted with Tamron’s lenses — they have really come out with some great products lately — and they never put any pressure on me regarding the opinions I voiced. If I didn’t like a lens, I was free to say so. That never really happened, though. Especially in the case of their SP series prime lenses. I think they’re great.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”2\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]\n It was during this time — I think late 2015? — that Tamron came out with two new lenses in their SP series: a 35mm f\/1.8 Di VC<\/a> and a 45mm f\/1.8 Di VC<\/a>. I was given the choice of trying out one or the other and, after some thought, I chose the 45mm.<\/p>\n My reasoning was this: while I tend to prefer smaller primes — and the 35mm is physically smaller than the 45 — I have a 17-35 Nikkor zoom that is nearly always on one of my camera bodies. I just didn’t know how often I would actually swap that lens for another prime in the same focal length range, when I’m already so happy with the 17-35.\u00a0I also liked the idea of having something a little out of the norm. There are a lot of 35mm and 50mm primes (I have a 50mm f\/1.8) but there aren’t a lot of prime options in between those two (I do covet the tiny Voigtlander 40mm pancake lens — but that’s another story).<\/p>\n The 45 sits in an interesting spot. \u00a0On the 35mm (full-frame) system, lenses in the 50-55mm range are usually considered “normal” lenses — not wide-angle, not telephoto (although there is a LOT of discussion about what focal length is actually “normal” — just go with me here). A 35mm is the beginning of what is typically considered wide-angle. So, the 45mm is a little wider than normal (or on the wider end of normal), but not so wide as to have a lot of distortion issues for things like portrait photography (wide-angles are not typically used for portraiture due to distortion issues on the face, but 35mm and even wider can be useful for more environmental portraits that show a smaller subject in their surroundings).[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/3″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][image_with_animation image_url=”4546″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][vc_column_text]^ Tamron 45mm f\/1.8 Di VC<\/a><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”15″][image_with_animation image_url=”4501″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]The 45mm<\/h4>\n