Full Frame Lenses on a Crop Camera: When It's Smart and When It's Just Expensive

Full Frame Lenses on a Crop Camera: When It's Smart and When It's Just Expensive

Every few weeks someone emails me asking some version of the same question: “I’m still on a crop sensor but should I just start buying full frame lenses now so I’m ready when I upgrade?” I’ve been dodging a complete answer because the honest truth is more complicated than a yes or no. Turns out Daniel Norton, a working photographer out of New York, laid out the clearest framework I’ve seen for thinking through this decision.

Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC First Look: Is This Budget-Friendly Prime Worth Your Attention?

Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC First Look: Is This Budget-Friendly Prime Worth Your Attention?

I’ll be honest with you. When Tamron started pushing into the prime lens market, I was skeptical. Zoom lenses had always been their bread and butter, and primes are where manufacturers live or die on optical quality alone. There’s nowhere to hide. So when a KelbyOne tutorial featuring Tamron representatives doing a first look at the SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC landed in my feed, I watched it less as a fan and more as someone running quality control.