Tamron Reveals 2026 Strategy and Product Plans at CP+ Show

Kei Nagai walked into the CP+ interview with a position Tamron hasn't held before: confident enough to abandon the Sony-first release model that defined the brand's mirrorless era. For a while, E-mount got all of Tamron's new lenses first. That might be changing. Nagai, Section Manager of Tamron's Overseas Sales Department, told the room at CP+ 2026, the camera industry's trade show that ran from February 26th to March 1st in Yokohama, Japan, that the company is "moving toward simultaneous multi-mount launches" and believes "it is essential to take a holistic view of the entire market and existing lineups to carefully determine which spec and mounts to prioritize."

That shift in cadence is backed up by a concrete product target. Tamron plans to launch ten new lenses in 2026, a plan that would nearly double the optics brand's typical annual launches, across four mounts including Canon RF, as well as Nikon Z, Sony E, and Fujifilm X. The caveat worth knowing: Tamron typically counts launching an existing lens in a new mount as a new launch, so it's unclear how many of those ten lenses will be completely new and how many will be migrating to a new mount.

The most pointed product already on shelves is the 35-100mm f/2.8 Di III VXD, which landed on March 26 for both Sony E and Nikon Z simultaneously. It is priced at $899 for the Sony E-mount version and $929 for the Nikon Z-mount version. The lens is a direct descendant of the 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD, which launched in 2021 and became a popular choice among portrait photographers, but was a large, heavy lens. The 35-100mm trims the zoom range and settles on a constant f/2.8 aperture to achieve a significantly smaller and lighter package.

On the bigger question of where the market itself is heading, Nagai didn't shy away from naming the elephant in the room. When asked about the most important trend in imaging of the past year, Nagai pointed to "the mainstream adoption of AI-generated imagery." That might sound alarming for a lens manufacturer, but Tamron's read is more nuanced. Nagai argued that "while it has become much easier to create an image that matches one's specific intent, we believe this will change what people demand from photography," adding that "the intrinsic value of the experience of taking a photograph – the act of capturing a moment yourself – will become even more significant than before."

Asked to describe the overall health of the camera industry, Nagai said the mirrorless camera and lens ecosystem has matured significantly, making it easier for people to find gear that matches their goals. Despite that maturation, Tamron still thinks it has room to grow.

The financial backdrop, however, is mixed. Tamron's 2026 plans come amid mixed results for 2025. Both net sales and gross profit declined in the 2025 fiscal year, with sales dropping by 3.5 percent and gross profit by 5 percent. Looking at only Tamron's photography division, sales dropped by 6.5 percent compared to 2024. Bright spots exist regionally: lens sales grew by 10 percent in the Americas and by 12 percent in Japan, while sales declined in both Europe and China.

The company notes that DSLR lens sales continued to decline while mirrorless remain strong. With ten launches planned across four mounts and a stated commitment to multi-mount simultaneity, Tamron is betting that serving Nikon Z, Canon RF, and Fujifilm X shooters as equals, rather than Sony afterthoughts, is how it grows its slice of a maturing market.