Tamron just announced an 8X lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras that starts at 50mm and zooms to 400mm, widening the range of creative applications compared to telephoto zooms that begin at the 100mm focal length. In addition to beginning at 50mm (the established “normal” or “standard” focal length for full-frame cameras) the new ultra-telephoto zoom focuses as close as 9.8 inches, rendering a magnification ratio of 1:2 (one-half life size).

We’ve talked a lot in the past about the difficulty of properly exposing landscape photos, because of ever-changing light and the wide range of brightness that often occurs within the frame. It’s often just as challenging, for different reasons, to attain proper focus—an equally critical consideration.