Maxwell Australia had retailers crowded around its Tamron display at The Digital Show in Melbourne on Friday morning as it unveiled its first wave of fixed focal length SP lenses: the SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012) and SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F013). On hand to answer questions about the lenses was Asia Pacific regional sales manager, Kazuhiro Watanabe (pictured right) who had flown in from Japan for the event.
The lenses have an RRP of $1,099 and will be available locally in-store from October. Maxwell marketing manager, Brendan Lee (pictured left) explained that the roll out announcement is set to be the first of several, with these first two lenses in the series being entirely compatible with full-frame DSLR cameras.
“We are very confident that these lenses will increase sales for retailers,” Lee said, adding that mature photographers are keen to get their hands on these high end lenses.
In addition to a clean appearance, Lee said that the lenses set a new benchmark in functionality and operation: they are the only standard fixed focal range lenses to offer VC. This first of its kind feature make the lenses far simpler to use than those with larger apertures, is crucial in low-light environments and provides noticeable advantages for handheld shooting by minimizing the adverse effects of camera shake.
Offering fast apertures and versatile, fixed focal lengths, both can also be used with APS-C format cameras as well.
After Japan, US and Germany, Australia was the third market to launch the lenses.