Joe Farace

We all know nature and wildlife photographers need long focal length lenses but they’re not the only ones who need a longer-than-normal lens. While the only wildlife I have photographed are the mule deer who treat my backyard like it’s their backyard, I’ve photographed a racing car from time to time and that’s when a telephoto or long zoom lens comes to the rescue.

If you read my article “Sweet Glass: My 10 Favorite Lenses For Portrait, Boudoir & Wedding Photography” you know I’m fond of the 85mm focal length for portraiture. If you didn't read it, please check it out after reading this review. And Tamron’s SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD lens surely rings this bell. It’s available for Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts and as part of Tamron’s Di family is designed to work with APS-C format and full-frame SLR cameras. I tested the Canon EF version ($749.)

The EOS 80D is the latest iteration of Canon’s APS-C-chipped DSLRs that began with the introduction of the (no kidding) three-megapixel EOS D30 in 2000. I’ve owned and shot with every camera in this series through the 60D. I so dearly loved my Canon 50D, now converted to infrared-only operation, that I couldn’t imagine anything better, at least until I got the 60D. What happened to the 70D? I guess I must have missed that one. No matter, I was eager to put the new EOS 80D to work because of the specs and features it offered.

Many years ago, along with some fellow writers, I visited an Agfa—remember them?—facility in Brussels. During the tour one of the leaders asked, “What do you think of the idea of adding a phone to a digital camera?” We all laughed and thought it was the dumbest idea we’d ever heard. It turned out that he was asking the wrong question; it should have been, “What do you think of adding a camera to a phone?”