The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro and the Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro is the longer of the two lenses at 125mm. The Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC with a length of 91mm is 34mm shorter. On the other hand, the Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC has a larger diameter of 85mm compared to Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro 's 72mm diameter.
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. Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro weighs 638g, which means it is 62g (8%) lighter than the Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC which has a weight of 700g.
Lens Mounts
Both Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro and Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC has the same Nikon F (FX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Nikon F (FX) lenses are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500.
Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro is also available in Canon EF , Pentax KAF2 and Sony E mounts.
Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC is also available in Sony Alpha and Canon EF mounts.
Focal Range
Venus 100mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 100mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 150mm.
Tamron 85mm F1.8 VC is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 85mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 127.5mm.