Tamron 150-600mm G2 Problems

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Here we go again. After constant problems with intermittent refusal to AF on my 150-600mm a011 (the first generation of this lens) I bought the new G2 version and sold the old after a complete overhaul by Tamron. Now the new one is giving me more problems than the old on ever did.

1. Complete refusal to autofocus, I have to turn the camera off, wait a couple of seconds, and restart.


2. Autofocus goes to infinity and sticks there until restart, or goes to minimum distance and sticks until restart.


3. Autofocus goes back and forth from infinity to minimum over and over and will not stop until camera restart.


4. "Clanking" sound and aperture stays at max for a shot rather than the selected f/stop.


All autofocus problems occur in good light with a subject with sufficient contrast. I have not seen any pattern as to when these problems might occur.


I have used the lens on my D500 and D7200. My Tamron 100-400 and 17-50 work very well on both cameras.

I went to the store where I bought the camera and they were initially willing to exchange the lens, but then the manager saw a small scuff on the lens barrel and said he could not take it back.

I have sent an email to the local rep for Tamron. I asked for a refund or a lens that works, since this has kind of been an ongoing thing for a while now. I'm betting he'll say to send to Tamron for warranty repair. I'm just afraid that I will get it back with the same problems as happened with my old lens.
 

hark

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Wow! What a royal pain, Woody. I remember all the problems you had with the first version. I wonder if @wev has encountered any problems. Didn't he also get the newer version of the lens?
 

Ironwood

Senior Member
That really sucks Woody. I am still struggling with my V1, your problems with V2 means I won't get one of those to replace mine.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I exchanged email with the Rocky Mountain area rep. He was VERY helpful and long story short, I sent the lens and my D500 to Tamron for evaluation so we can see where the problem is and get everything corrected. I have thought for a long time that working on the lens independent of the main camera that it is used on is less than ideal. Do I feel nervous about sending off my D500? Yep. Was it expensive to ship with full insurance? Yep. But by sending the lens AND camera to Tamron, I feel like I am much more likely to get a resolution to this.

Tamron turns around all repairs in 3 days, so I won't be waiting too long. The local rep has a tag on this repair, and will be notified of everything from the repair tech. The company really is trying to get this right.

The G2 version of this lens has a very good reputation, and I know several other photographers who have used this lens with no issues at all.

My 100-400 is a fantastic lens, as is my 17-50. I want to be clear that I am not slamming Tamron in any way. Most of my best wildlife shots were made with Tamron lenses. :)

Now I will compulsively check the package tracking until it gets to Tamron. :)
 

Andy W

Senior Member
Dang! I hate to hear that you're having this problem. Robin's G2 hasn't given us any problems so far with about 11 months of use.
 

hark

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Woody, did the lens give you the same problems when paired with your D7200? At least you have that body to use for now! I hope it all gets sorted out quickly and to your satisfaction. :encouragement:
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Dang! I hate to hear that you're having this problem. Robin's G2 hasn't given us any problems so far with about 11 months of use.

Thanks, Andy. Yeah, I really think I just had bad luck. Everyone seems to love this lens, and I certainly have gotten great pictures when it was working properly.

Woody, did the lens give you the same problems when paired with your D7200? At least you have that body to use for now! I hope it all gets sorted out quickly and to your satisfaction. :encouragement:

Thanks, Cindy. It refused to AF a couple of times on my D7200, but I didn't use it very much on that camera.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
Hope you get a swift and complete resolution to this situation, if you remember I was the first one to shout about the first version and its focus problems, a lot of folks thought it was me.
 

Blade Canyon

Senior Member
If I had seen these types of complaints before, I never would have bought a used copy of the first version. I consider myself lucky it works so well, though I don't put it through the paces trying BIF and other stuff you hardcore shooters are doing.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
The local rep got the Product VP involved, so they seem intent on making sure I have a fully functioning lens.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
UPDATE: Got the lens back and so far so good. I have had it out on three outings so far. They packed the lens and camera well enough that it would have survived just about anything UPS could throw at them.
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Update:

The lens occasionally started to refuse to autofocus again after couple of weeks. I lived with it, but then is started to get much worse, and would stick at infinity, stick at minimum, or fail to close down the aperture to the correct f-stop. To make really sure it was the lens and not my D500, I used it for the last couple of weeks exclusively with my D7200. The same problems came up, and it was to the point that something would happen every ten shots or so at the end of my outing yesterday.

So, today I wrote the Tamron rep with this information to see what the next step should be. I'll keep you informed, since I know some people with an interest in this lens have been following this thread.
 

wev

Senior Member
Contributor
Update:

The lens occasionally started to refuse to autofocus again after couple of weeks. I lived with it, but then is started to get much worse, and would stick at infinity, stick at minimum, or fail to close down the aperture to the correct f-stop. To make really sure it was the lens and not my D500, I used it for the last couple of weeks exclusively with my D7200. The same problems came up, and it was to the point that something would happen every ten shots or so at the end of my outing yesterday.

So, today I wrote the Tamron rep with this information to see what the next step should be. I'll keep you informed, since I know some people with an interest in this lens have been following this thread.

I am also having the same issue all of a sudden. On the last two outings, I had to dismount and remount the lens to get AF to return. On the last, I also got a very loud metallic click a few times, when pressing the shutter. I was using burst mode and when it happens, everything freezes until I release the shutter button. This is the same sequence had with my G1, which was finally replaced after 3 attempted fixes. I haven't had time to do much shooting lately so am muddling through, but when I finally get home it is going back to Tamron.
 
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