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Tamron’s reputation as a manufacturer of top-quality lenses for enthusiast and professional photographers is second to none. Its current line-up includes primes and zooms such as the ultra-wide 16-30mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2, the super versatile 25-200mm f/2.8-5.6 Di III VXD G2 and the powerful 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD. Whatever your photographic interest, Tamron has a lens for you. 

First featured on the 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD G2 and 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD launched in 2021 and now making a regular feature on its products is a USB-C port, which lets users customise the lenses.

Using the Tamron Lens Utility desktop app – available for Windows and Mac - with the lens connected to the computer, firmware updates are possible directly without the need of a separate dock and different tasks and focus ring behaviour can be adjusted to suit the user’s preferences. It’s a very powerful feature and available on 19 of Tamron’s current lens family.

 

The Tamron-Link TL-01 is tiny and weighs just 2g so there’s no handling impact on the lens it’s plugged into.

 

Tamron recently introduced the Tamron-Link TL-01, which exploits the feature even more. Plug this tiny unit into the USB-C port of a compatible lens, pair it with the free Tamron Lens Utility mobile app - available for Android and iOS - on your smart device using Bluetooth and you have wireless communication and control. 

There’s an impressive range of lens features you can adjust wirelessly.

 

 

 

Tamron-Link TL-01: Quick verdict

It’s a powerful, affordable device that suits stills and video shooting with plenty of creative potential. The Tamron-Link TL-01 will clearly appeal to existing Tamron owners but it’s also a serious attraction for aspiring Tamron lens owners too, offering features not available on competitor lenses.

 

+ Pros

• Great price
• Tiny, so doesn’t impair lens handling
• Stable Bluetooth
• Digital Follow Focus features
• Mobile app is good to use and has plenty of support
• Can be used with multiple lenses

- Cons

• Lens firmware updating still needs a computer

 

 

The process of pairing the Tamron Lens Utility app on your smart device to the Tamron-Link is straightforward. The key thing is to check the ID number printed on the Tamron-Link itself.

 

Tamron-Link TL-01: Setting-up

Pairing the Tamron-Link TL-01 is easy enough and takes a few minutes. The first time you use the TL-01 with a lens necessitates setting up a password and then inputting the Tamron-Link TL-01’s ID details, which are printed on the device itself. Just follow the instruction screens on the app, and you’ll be set up and ready to go in no time. There’s also no need to worry about charging the device because it draws power from the camera’s battery.

Once the lens is connected, the Tamron-Link enables a wide range of features to be called upon wirelessly, which is obviously much more convenient than having to hook it up to a computer.

 

Tamron-Link TL-01: In use

Key handling changes include the ability to change the rotating direction of the focus barrel. The default is anticlockwise direction towards infinity (as seen from behind the camera) which matches Sony lenses, but to suit Nikon users, the direction can be changed to clockwise. The focusing barrel can also be set to cover the entire focusing distance with different amounts of rotation, with the options of 90°, 180°, 270° and 360°.  Another option is the choice of linear focus, which mimics the focusing action of traditional lenses, or non-linear, which is focusing by wire, so focusing speed depends on how quickly the focus barrel is adjusted.

Several Tamron lenses have a three position Custom Switch, and each position can be assigned to a range of features that are brought into play by pushing the Focus Set button. In the Tamron Lens Utility app, there’s a scrolling menu of options, including Select AF/MF, which toggles between autofocus and manual focus operation and Assign Function from Camera, which enables a camera function to be brought into play with the Focus Set button.

 

The Custom Switch (shown here on the 35-100mm f/2.8 Di III VXD) has a positive and firm click and the Focus Set button is on the left.

 

There are several creative features too, including Focus Time Lapse, which works together with the camera’s interval timer, Astro FC-L, which sets infinity focus at a push of the Focus Set button and Ring Function (Focus/Aperture), and this allows aperture or focus ring adjustment wirelessly, so handy when you can’t get at the lens’s controls.

On the app, there is a page called DFF, which stands for Digital Follow Focus and it’s here you can set up the focus features that suit stills and video shooting. For instance, Focus Time Lapse means you can shoot video time lapse and adjust focus at the same time, while in stills, it can be used for focus bracketing. 

For video DFF lets you pull focus with three focus points, and the speed and transition can be adjusted to suit the shot.

Using the TL-01 takes a little practice, but it’s not complicated and the app’s help menu is very good.

A range of features can be assigned to the Tamron Custom Switch and brought into play by pushing or holding (depending on what you have set) the Focus Set button.

 

Tamron-Link TL-01: Specifications

• Price: £59.99
• Length: 25.3mm
• Height: 6.6mm
• Weight: 2g
• Bluetooth class: Class 2
• Bluetooth version: 5.4
• Range Max: 5m
• Operating temperature: 0-40°C
• Operating humidity: 85% or less
• Contact: www.tamron.eu
• Click here for Tamron-Link page
• Click here to check lens compatibility with Tamron-Link 
• Click here to download iOS Tamron Lens Utility
• Click here to download Android Tamron Lens Utility 

 

Tamron-Link TL-01: Verdict

An outlay of £59 is modest when you consider what it offers with compatible Tamron lenses. Indeed, the Tamron-Link TL-01 is a bargain, so whether you already own a suitable Tamron lens or are thinking about buying one, it’s well worth having in the camera bag.

 

Tamron-Link TL-01 Pros

• Great price
• Tiny, so doesn’t impair lens handling
• Stable Bluetooth
• Digital Follow Focus features
• Mobile app is good to use and has plenty of support
• Can be used with multiple lenses

 

Tamron-Link TL-01 Cons

• Lens firmware updating still needs a computer

 

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