The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD and the Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses. Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD is the longer of the two lenses at 92mm. The Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM with a length of 45mm, is 47mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD also has a larger diameter of 80mm compared to the Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM's 70mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM weighs 170g, 67% (350g) lighter than the Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD's weight of 520g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Standard Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for size comparison purposes.
Standard Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD and the Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM 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.
Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD is also available in Canon EF and Nikon F (FX) mounts.
Focal Range
Tamron 45mm F1.8 Di VC USD is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 45mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 67.5mm.
Sony DT 50mm F1.8 SAM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 50mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 75mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.