Tamron Lenses SP35mm & SP45mm Wins iF Design Award 2016 & Red Dot Award: Product Design 2016

Tamron Co., Ltd. (President & CEO: Shiro Ajisaka), a leading manufacturer of optics for diverse applications, announces that its SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012), a fast　aperture wide-angle lens, and SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F013), a fast　aperture standard lens, both of which were launched in September 2015 as lenses compatible with full-frame DSLR cameras, have now won the “iF Design Award 2016” and the “Red Dot Award: Product Design 2016.”

 Outline of the awards received
Award-winning products: SP 35mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F012),
SP 45mm F/1.8 Di VC USD (Model F013)
Award-winning designers: Kinya Tagawa (takram design engineering),
Shota Matsuda (takram design engineering)
Award-winning company: Tamron Co., Ltd.

 What is the “iF Design Award”?

The “iF Design Award” is an international design award established in 1953 and conferred by Industry Forum Design (iF) based in Hannover, Germany. The award covered the 7 categories of “Product”, “Packaging”, “Communication”, “Interior Architecture”, ”The disciplines of Architecture”, “Service design”, and “Professional Concept”, with each entry carefully reviewed according to rigorous standards for design, quality, innovativeness, functionality, and environmental-friendliness, etc.

The official website for the iF Design Award: (http://ifworlddesignguide.com/)

 What is the “Red Dot Design Award”?

The “Red Dot Design Award” is an international award established in 1955 and conferred

by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. The award is comprised of the categories “Product Design”, “Communication Design”, and “Design Concept.” Products launched in the past 2 years are reviewed according to 9 criteria including design innovativeness, functionality, ergonomics, environmental-friendliness and durability, with the Red Dot Award issued to products satisfying the criteria and the Best of the Best Award given to products judged as particularly outstanding. The Red Dot Design Award is considered as one of the world’s 3 most prestigious industrial design awards, along with the “iF Design Award” of Germany and the International Design Excellence Awards of the U.S. For 2016, there were entries of 5,214 items from 57 countries for the Red Dot Design Award.　

The official website for the Red Dot Design Award (http://en.red-dot.org/)

 Design concept of the products that won the “iF Design Award”
and the “Red Dot Design Award”

(1) Product design with maximum emphasis on the human interface in order to achieve

the ultimate in functional beauty
While the lens is constructed with the absolutely most modern technologies inside, the exterior is articulated to offer the best possible comfort and confidence under a product design philosophy of “Human Touch.” Organically composed lines and patterns on the barrel produce subtle changes in its appearance by reflecting ambient light on the surface. Metal-based barrel materials provide a pleasant feeling of comfort, high quality and durability, fitting firmly in the hands of the photographer. Design of the front face of the lens is also taken into consideration so that it is not intimidating.

(2) Brand ring and SP emblem
A brand ring that’s tinted “Luminous Gold” adorns the lens just above the lens mount. On one side of the lens barrel there is an SP emblem in the same luxurious color.

(3) Design of distance and aperture scales
The window over the distance scale has been enlarged by 20% to maximize visibility and legibility. Font style of the characters and numbers has been newly developed to enhance the legibility as a critical element of the overall product design.

(4) Switches with optimized geometric shape and tactile feedback
The geometric shape and sliding torque of the AF/MF change-over and VC On/Off switches have been configured and engineered to deliver the utmost comfort with secured operational feedback.

(5) Lens hood and caps
To complete the lens product design, accessories such as the lens hood and caps for front and rear have been totally redesigned as well. Attaching and removing the lens hood has been fine-tuned by optimizing the connection interface to render both secure seating and durability.