The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Lensbaby Velvet 56 and the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Lensbaby Velvet 56 is the longer of the two lenses at 86mm. The Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro with a length of 80mm, is 6mm shorter. On the other hand, the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro has a larger diameter of 73mm compared to the Lensbaby Velvet 56's 72mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods.
Filter Threads
The Lensbaby Velvet 56 has a filter size of 62mm whereas the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro has a 55mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 62mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Lensbaby Velvet 56:
And these are the 55mm filters that we recommend for the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro:
Lens Mounts
Both the Lensbaby Velvet 56 and the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A99 II, Sony A68 and Sony A77 II.
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is also available in Canon EF , Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon F (FX), Pentax KAF3, Samsung NX and Sony E mounts.
Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro is also available in Canon EF and Nikon F (DX) mounts.
Focal Range
Lensbaby Velvet 56 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 56mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
84mm.
On the other hand, the Tamron 60mm f2 II LD IF Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 60mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 90mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.