Tamron 150-600 in for Repairs - Grey Market Scare

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Like almost everyone I know who has the Tamron 150-600 G1, I have had autofocus issues with the lens since I bought it in 2014. Lately they have been very frequent, the autofocus motor makes some horrid noises, and occasionally the lens simply doesn't communicate with the camera, so the camera body treats it like a manual focus lens.

Then came the scare. I went to the Tamron website and entered my info on a warranty repair request. When I entered the serial number, a message saying there was a problem with the serial number came up. I had bought the lens from a place in NY that I had never heard of and knew nothing about because it was the only place that had the lens in stock at the time. I figured that the serial number problem probably meant it was a grey market lens and that Tamron wouldn't service it.

I called Tamron, got through right away, and within 30 seconds the rep assured me that the lens was USA market and from a certified retailer. She emailed me the form I needed to include with shipping and I was set to go. Total time on the phone was all of 3 minutes. I am impressed with Tamron's customer service at this point. I just hope the lens will come back working. :)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I have some experience with Tamron customer service and it's always been top notch. Lenses that are still under warranty are repaired and shipped back to the customer within three business days. Out of warranty lenses are repaired and shipped back within three business days of the customer's approval of the repair estimate. That's right... Three day turnaround on repairs. And that's not some premium service you have to request or pay extra for, that's just how they do business.

And while I don't mean to take cheap shots, it's things like that have whittled away at how much Nikon glass in my bag these days.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
...

And while I don't mean to take cheap shots, it's things like that have whittled away at how much Nikon glass in my bag these days.

Agreed, Paul. Although I do admit that the Nikon 200-500 looks very nice right now. :)

My 17-50 Tamron put to rest any consideration of another "normal" range zoom. It is really sharp and a well made lens.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
Agreed, Paul. Although I do admit that the Nikon 200-500 looks very nice right now. :)

My 17-50 Tamron put to rest any consideration of another "normal" range zoom. It is really sharp and a well made lens.
I quite agree with you about the 17-50. I had the Nikkor 17-55 and I sold it after I tried the Tamron. It's way lighter and sharper. But there is a 200-500 coming to my local store that's got my name on it. I'll see what I decide when they call me to say the lens has arrived (it was back ordered). The owner tells me that as soon as one gets in, it goes out. But he's agreed to call me when the next one comes in.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I quite agree with you about the 17-50. I had the Nikkor 17-55 and I sold it after I tried the Tamron. It's way lighter and sharper. But there is a 200-500 coming to my local store that's got my name on it. I'll see what I decide when they call me to say the lens has arrived (it was back ordered). The owner tells me that as soon as one gets in, it goes out. But he's agreed to call me when the next one comes in.

Just buy it! Then I can live vicariously through you! :)
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
I hope you have luck with the repairs Woody. I sent mine back to Tamron just before the warranty ran out, they replaced the AF switch, updated firmware, and made a few adjustments. It worked great for a while, but now it is worse than ever.
Taking the battery out of the camera doesn't fix it anymore, now I have to demount the lens to get the AF to work again, sometimes l am doing it every 5 minutes. It's getting very annoying. I will have to send it back to Tamron or a 3rd party repairer and hope they can fix it and not cost me too much.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I hope you have luck with the repairs Woody. I sent mine back to Tamron just before the warranty ran out, they replaced the AF switch, updated firmware, and made a few adjustments. It worked great for a while, but now it is worse than ever.
Taking the battery out of the camera doesn't fix it anymore, now I have to demount the lens to get the AF to work again, sometimes l am doing it every 5 minutes. It's getting very annoying. I will have to send it back to Tamron or a 3rd party repairer and hope they can fix it and not cost me too much.

It's a shame, because when it works it is really a nice lens. I sure missed it today getting some owl shots. That 600mm reach with VC sure comes in handy.

Tamron emailed me as soon as they received the lens and sent a document stating that all repairs were to be covered under warranty.
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Yes, mine gives me good images as long as there is enough light. It really is a shame they have been plagued by the AF problems, certainly would be good if they had a proper fix for it.
It will be interesting to see what they find with yours.
 

captain birdseye

Senior Member
In my opinion the Tamron 150-600 g1 has been so problematic it should have been subject to a recall and replacement with the g2 version long ago........free of charge of course!
It is probably the most unreliable lens in living memory.
I know eight owners and seven have had to return it ( one owner returned his twice ), most still have AF freeze even after repairs.
 
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Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Well, we'll see what happens. The lens came back exactly one week from the day I sent it out. I've used it on one shoot, and it focused perfectly all day. Tamron customer service rocks, that's for sure. I have a friend who sent his 70-200 f/2.8 Nikkor in to Nikon. They've had it a month and the only thing he's heard (10 days after Nikon got the lens) is that it is on "parts hold." Dorks.
 

hark

Administrator
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Super Mod
Contributor
Well, we'll see what happens. The lens came back exactly one week from the day I sent it out. I've used it on one shoot, and it focused perfectly all day. Tamron customer service rocks, that's for sure. I have a friend who sent his 70-200 f/2.8 Nikkor in to Nikon. They've had it a month and the only thing he's heard (10 days after Nikon got the lens) is that it is on "parts hold." Dorks.

That's definitely good news on the Tamron repair. :)

When my SB-910 was serviced, it was on parts hold. They had to send to Japan for the parts. I think (and I'm not kidding when I say this) they send the parts to the USA by ship rather than by air. Well...or maybe rowboat. ;) It took at least one month.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Good stuff Woody. Did they say what they did to it?

The statement read something like complete overhaul, clean and check, repair and check autofocus. It didn't say anything about updating firmware, but maybe that is part of "complete overhaul." There was certainly not a spec of dust when I got it back.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
So I've taken the Tammy on 4-5 shoots and already the autofocus problem has returned. No response until the camera is turned off and back on. I guess I need to call Tamron and see what they want to do next.
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
Sorry to hear that Woody. I am still deciding what to do with mine, I don't want to spend much money on it, as they aren't going for much secondhand, but I don't want to just let it sit in the cupboard either.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
So I've taken the Tammy on 4-5 shoots and already the autofocus problem has returned. No response until the camera is turned off and back on. I guess I need to call Tamron and see what they want to do next.
Call them back and ask to speak with Brian Marley. Brian is the customer service supervisor for Tamron and a genuinely good egg. Explain your situation calmly and politely to Brian and he should take care of you.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I finally sent the old Tammy back for warranty repair today. If it comes back working, I'm going to sell it. If it still has problems, it becomes a paper weight.

In the mean time, I got the new G2 version of the lens yesterday. With just a few test shots I can already see better sharpness and AF than I have had with the G1 in many, many months.
 

Marilynne

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Got mine back on Monday, focus point was jumping all over the place without my help. So far it's working great. They even cleaned all the glass. Looks new.
 
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