Tamron SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 DI IF VC USD

As gramps said, it aint no large Nikon prime, but In good light I haven't found any issues at all. It seems better stopped down to F8 when fully extended, but more than acceptable wide open.
VC (VR) works great & the ultrasonic drive fairly fast & responsive.

Got to say I do think I slightly preferred the new Nikon 80-400mm up to 400mm for sharpness/clarity SOOC & wide open, but having 600mm when needed & being around 50% of the cost is a no-brainer.
The new Sigma 160-600mm looks interesting too.

These have been cropped, sharpened & tweaked in PS E10 to varying degrees.

ƒ/6.3 @ 420 mm. 1/1600th sec. ISO 250
Waiting patiently for my dinner. by Carl B.1, on Flickr

ƒ/6.3 @ 200 mm. 1/800th sec. ISO 180
Just pop it in here, mum! by Carl B.1, on Flickr

ƒ/6.3 @ 500mm, 1/400th sec. ISO 1250
Severe crop (less than 1 Mp)
All seeing. by Carl B.1, on Flickr

Another crop. ƒ/9.0 @ 600mm. 1/800th sec. ISO 720
G-SLAC Scottish Life, balloon by Carl B.1, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
Finally managed to have a play with my Tammy lens over the weekend, they were taken on a Canon 40D. Here are a couple of shots taken of the Grey Phalarope that is in North Wales currently.

IMG_8411 by tim37401, on Flickr

grey phalarope by tim37401, on Flickr

Tim.
 
The shot was taken yesterday at Morfa Madryn, the Phalarope has been there for just over a week now. Its a great little spot and worth an explore, we didn't stay to long as we intended visiting another location before heading home.
Tim.
 
Had one of these on loan for a review - pretty good lens all things considered, better than siggy 150-500. Would be good to see how new big sigma zooms compare
 
Yeah, Amazon seem to like taking the mick out of Nikon users. Canon versions are almost always cheaper [The canon version is 949 on there]

Just thought it was hilarious how far they take their trolling of us! Was £1150, now only £1149.99 :D
 
Last edited:
Supply & demand I guess. I bet the price on amaz0n falls once it's been sold! :rolleyes:
 
Now that this lens has been out a while and the initial furore has died down, how are all you owners getting on with it?

Genuinely interested,all views and opinions welcome.
 
Loving in it :p, just about to buy it a nice rain coat.
 
Last edited:
Got to say i love mine,its not been of the D7100 since i got it.
 
The IQ is a massive improvement on my previous combo (Canon 100-400 + 1.4xTC). However I'm sometimes frustrated that it sometimes won't auto-focus, or is slow, possibly in challenging conditions for any lens.

I'm planning to have "the fix" done for mine as it was one of the first batch, so maybe that will improve things.
 
I have had it fail to lock on or take too long to grab focus with BIF but have to say it was always in difficult situations,its good points make up for this though.
 
Had mine since July and find it great ... it can give me excellent image quality and is very flexible to use due to low weight and 'VR'.
I use it at 600mm most of the time for bird/wildlife shots but it is great having the flexibility to zoom out if necessary to 'find' or deal with a larger subject.
It will work well at f6.3 but at f8 it is much better ... as my hands are less steady than they were I tend to use a higher shutter speed than many would at around 1/1250 for things like flighty birds, BIF may go higher.
Mine needed a +5 micro-adjust to bring out the best but that's pretty easily done.
Previously I used a 200-400 f4 and 400 f2.8 and these were both heavy to use, for me tripod & gimbal only ... I would put the Tamron IQ on a par with the 200-400 f4 that I had but below the fantastic IQ of the 400 f2.8 ... add a 1.4TC and quality would be little affected on the 400 f2.8.
It's a compromise but a 600mm, that you can carry around easily and sit on a beanbag, for well under a grand is brilliant IMO.
I haven't used it with a TC and I don't think I would, if I need more reach I use my Sigma 300-800 f5.6 but that's back to tripod & gimbal again.
Hope that helps.

You can find some sample from this lens in my wildlife album, (scroll down), but be aware I'm probably not getting the best the lens can give in the right hands :)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53444368@N05/sets/72157630818708828/
 
Last edited:
gramps said:
Had mine since July and find it great ... it can give me excellent image quality and is very flexible to use due to low weight and 'VR'.
I use it at 600mm most of the time for bird/wildlife shots but it is great having the flexibility to zoom out if necessary to 'find' or deal with a larger subject.
It will work well at f6.3 but at f8 it is much better ... as my hands are less steady than they were I tend to use a higher shutter speed than many would at around 1/1250 for things like flighty birds, BIF may go higher.
Mine needed a +5 micro-adjust to bring out the best but that's pretty easily done.
Previously I used a 200-400 f4 and 400 f2.8 and these were both heavy to use, for me tripod & gimbal only ... I would put the Tamron IQ on a par with the 200-400 f4 that I had but below the fantastic IQ of the 400 f2.8 ... add a 1.4TC and quality would be little affected on the 400 f2.8.
It's a compromise but a 600mm, that you can carry around easily and sit on a beanbag, for well under a grand is brilliant IMO.
I haven't used it with a TC and I don't think I would, if I need more reach I use my Sigma 300-800 f5.6 but that's back to tripod & gimbal again.
Hope that helps.

You can find some sample from this lens in my wildlife album, (scroll down), but be aware I'm probably not getting the best the lens can give in the right hands :)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/53444368@N05/sets/72157630818708828/
Click to expand...
After years, I finally found out your name lol.

Very nice captures. If I had a spare grand, they'd easily pursued me.
 
Starting to get GAS with this lens but having spent a fortune over xmas on a macro setup and a Canon M, I'm on a tight budget.

Has anyone ordered from DigitalRev? They seem to have the best grey import price from a "reputable" UK dealer/importer. Are there any other grey import options?

Also, does anyone have any aircraft/airshow shots that they'd be willing to share? That's what I'm mainly planning to use this lens for.
 
Last edited:
c22w1 said:
I have a half a dozen or so on my flickr in the Tamron 150-600mm album if it helps?
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be great. Can you post a link, or can I access it via your TP profile online?

What's your opinion of the lens for airshows?
 
Keen on seeing aircraft pics too, how did u get on with it. Would be coming from a 300 f4.
 
I didn't take many of aircraft with this lens. I bought it mainly for birds and wildlife.
I have used my Nikon 70-300mm VR at airshows in the past and the Tamron seems pretty close to that- albeit having more reach, obviously. It is just as quick to focus at the same focal length eg 300mm but is slower as the reach gets longer but its still no slouch (can't compare it to a 600mm prime, I've never had one).
I love the lens and since buying it has been my main go to lens, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.
I did originally buy the Sigma 150-500mm OS which seems to get good reviews but returned it straight back to Amazon for a refund due to it being very soft, the Tamron which I then bought is head and shoulders above that.
My Flickr is the same username as on here but the link to the Tamron album is:-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/63538275@N02/sets/72157646663613277/
 
c22w1 said:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/63538275@N02/sets/72157646663613277/
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to post Chris - you have some truly wonderful shots in that album. Stunning. The airshow shots look really good. I like the tight framing you were able to get on the Lanc and the Hurricane.

I'm going to have to start saving for this lens. It's interesting what you say about the Sigma 150-500. I'd selected that as a possible contender so I'm glad I came across this thread.
 
Went out with Tamron attached to my 7D2. This is 600mm f/6.3 ISO800

jYeH8zI.jpg


I've noticed dramatic change comparing to 1D4. Now AF is much faster and more accurate. Photos look much better too.
 
Just thought I would mention that I sent mine back for a repair and clean on Wednesday. It was an earlier canon model and wasn't focussing too well in servo mode; also there was a fair bit of dust inside.

I've been checking the Royal mail Track and Trace site to see if it had been delivered but was told that it not yet been picked up from the depot.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the front door just now to find the lens. Complete clean, inside and out, and new firmware installed! Took less than 48 hours! Brilliant service from Intro 2020!
 
Are any owners of the later version experiencing dust inside the lens?

I was going to buy a grey import (from DigitalRev) but if it needs to be periodically sent back under warranty to be cleaned then this might be an issue?
 
edster said:
Are any owners of the later version experiencing dust inside the lens?

I was going to buy a grey import (from DigitalRev) but if it needs to be periodically sent back under warranty to be cleaned then this might be an issue?
Click to expand...

Had mine since July 2014 and use it regularly outside in reserves etc, I cannot see any dust inside the lens ... I can't swear that there isn't some dust but I am certainly not aware of any when looking down the lens.
FAIK there would need to be quite a bit of contamination in order to affect image quality and most lenses have some dust at some stage in their life anyway:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top