Photowyzard
Senior Member
My Tamron f5-6.4, 150mm-600mm Zoom lens finally came in, I preordered it in March. My initial reaction to the lens is as follows:
Out of the box, the lens is very nice quality, appears to be well made, not too heavy, not to big. Of course, this is relative. I haul around a Nikon 400mm most of the time and by comparison, it is a lightweight. I have read some reviews where the reviewer labelled the lens bulky! Compared to the Nikon 200-400mm at 5x the price, this lens is NOT bulky! In fact, I am wondering what these reviewers are talking about when most higher focal length lenses are very difficult to hand hold and shoot. This lens is a breeze, by comparison.
The barrel action on the lens is a tad stiff, but very smooth, the AF motor is amazingly smooth and quiet. I think with use, the action on the barrel will become less stiff, this isn't a nit, just an observation.
Focus seems quick to lock on, however, I have yet to capture a half decent Bird in Flight shot. All my attempts were misses and out of focus. Practise may improve this.
Optics seem very good for what this lens is, for the reach and the price tag. It is not, and please don't expect it to be, the same quality as a Prime. It is noticeably less sharp but not enough for you to say it is a deal breaker. You can judge for yourself from the images I have posted below.
The lens adapted to my Nikon well, no issues with it in any way. I popped it on and started shooting and the results got better the more I got used to it. I shot everything in RAW and sharpened in Capture NX2. I did nothing out of the ordinary that I wouldn't have done on a prime lens. I have read a lot of reviews that sound as if every image you take with this lens are going to be blurred, nothing could be farther from the truth. In capable hands, this is an excellent product and I'm my opinion, phenomenal value for the money.
In regards to the effects of DX mode or FX mode, I could really tell no difference between the two, both looked excellent to me. Images at the 600mm end are a tad soft, but judge for yourself if they are acceptable or not.
Remember, for $1400 (CDN), taxes in, you are really hard pressed to find anything on the market of this quality or value, it is a very small price to pay. Again, the proof is in the pudding below.
All in FX MODE
All taken at 600mm
All taken at 550mm
Taken at 500mm
Taken at 450mm
All taken at 150mm
All in DX MODE
Various Focal Lengths.
I have read the reviews online and many do not accurately reflect the capabilities of this lens. They also get heavily into technical terms many of us don't understand or don't care to ever know. I have also noticed many reviewers seem to want to focus on showing you the worst examples, especially when it comes to Bokeh. Look closely at the Bokeh in some of the images above. It is as good as anything I have shot with a Nikon Prime. Be aware, you can control your Bokeh in many ways and every lens will perform poorly under certain circumstances.
Look at these images, then read a review and tell me if the two are in SYNC with the results above!
I tried to test Chromatic Abberation but could not find a situation that gave me the desired effect. I will post examples if I can generate them. An issue? Hardly, from how I take pictures.
The proof is in the pudding, I guess, and in my opinion, for a lens that has a range of 150mm to 600mm for only $1400 is a Bargain when you consider what you have to pay for Nikon lenses and I really doubt the quality of the Nikon glass is so much better you can justify the massive price difference between the two. Something to consider... a Nikon 600mm is almost 10x the price!
Some of these images taken above were with the aid of a tripod, many were hand held. That in itself is amazing. Also, the majority of the crops above are under 20%!
I look forward to reading any comments and I am more than happy to answer questions on the Tamron and my experience with it.
Out of the box, the lens is very nice quality, appears to be well made, not too heavy, not to big. Of course, this is relative. I haul around a Nikon 400mm most of the time and by comparison, it is a lightweight. I have read some reviews where the reviewer labelled the lens bulky! Compared to the Nikon 200-400mm at 5x the price, this lens is NOT bulky! In fact, I am wondering what these reviewers are talking about when most higher focal length lenses are very difficult to hand hold and shoot. This lens is a breeze, by comparison.
The barrel action on the lens is a tad stiff, but very smooth, the AF motor is amazingly smooth and quiet. I think with use, the action on the barrel will become less stiff, this isn't a nit, just an observation.
Focus seems quick to lock on, however, I have yet to capture a half decent Bird in Flight shot. All my attempts were misses and out of focus. Practise may improve this.
Optics seem very good for what this lens is, for the reach and the price tag. It is not, and please don't expect it to be, the same quality as a Prime. It is noticeably less sharp but not enough for you to say it is a deal breaker. You can judge for yourself from the images I have posted below.
The lens adapted to my Nikon well, no issues with it in any way. I popped it on and started shooting and the results got better the more I got used to it. I shot everything in RAW and sharpened in Capture NX2. I did nothing out of the ordinary that I wouldn't have done on a prime lens. I have read a lot of reviews that sound as if every image you take with this lens are going to be blurred, nothing could be farther from the truth. In capable hands, this is an excellent product and I'm my opinion, phenomenal value for the money.
In regards to the effects of DX mode or FX mode, I could really tell no difference between the two, both looked excellent to me. Images at the 600mm end are a tad soft, but judge for yourself if they are acceptable or not.
Remember, for $1400 (CDN), taxes in, you are really hard pressed to find anything on the market of this quality or value, it is a very small price to pay. Again, the proof is in the pudding below.
All in FX MODE
All taken at 600mm
All taken at 550mm
Taken at 500mm
Taken at 450mm
All taken at 150mm
All in DX MODE
Various Focal Lengths.
I have read the reviews online and many do not accurately reflect the capabilities of this lens. They also get heavily into technical terms many of us don't understand or don't care to ever know. I have also noticed many reviewers seem to want to focus on showing you the worst examples, especially when it comes to Bokeh. Look closely at the Bokeh in some of the images above. It is as good as anything I have shot with a Nikon Prime. Be aware, you can control your Bokeh in many ways and every lens will perform poorly under certain circumstances.
Look at these images, then read a review and tell me if the two are in SYNC with the results above!
I tried to test Chromatic Abberation but could not find a situation that gave me the desired effect. I will post examples if I can generate them. An issue? Hardly, from how I take pictures.
The proof is in the pudding, I guess, and in my opinion, for a lens that has a range of 150mm to 600mm for only $1400 is a Bargain when you consider what you have to pay for Nikon lenses and I really doubt the quality of the Nikon glass is so much better you can justify the massive price difference between the two. Something to consider... a Nikon 600mm is almost 10x the price!
Some of these images taken above were with the aid of a tripod, many were hand held. That in itself is amazing. Also, the majority of the crops above are under 20%!
I look forward to reading any comments and I am more than happy to answer questions on the Tamron and my experience with it.
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