Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD for Canon DSLR Cameras (Tamron 6 Year Limited USA Warranty)

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This is a good lens for the money, but ultimately I ended up trading it in for the new Sigma 150-600. Optically this lens was a very good performer and I have no complaints with it in that regard. The problem I had with it was the amount of AF fine tune adjustment that was needed at the 600mm end. For AF to achieve a shot actually in focus I had to adjust my fine tune setting to +20 otherwise it would severely front focus. +20 was also too much adjustment for anything less than 600mm, causing it to back focus if left at that setting. What does this mean? It means any time you want to shoot between 600mm or any other focal length, it would require a trip to the menu to adjust the AF fine tune setting. This became a VERY cumbersome process and actually caused me to miss a few good shots fumbling around with fine tune settings. The other problem, which is widespread and a known issue, is that the lens will stop autofocusing at all. The only way to get it to resume is to detach the lens and reattach it. Power cycling the camera wouldnt even get it to start working again. This seemed to happen at bad times as well. Hopefully they will be able to fix this issue with a firmware update. Tamrons customer support is good. They did offer to take the lens in under warranty and recalibrate it for me so that the fine tune problem would be more manageable. I almost decided to go this route before making the decision to try the Sigma (which I own the USB dock for, allowing me to permanently set the fine tune of the lens at various focal lengths in the lens itself). The Sigma ended up being the right lens for me.

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This is by far the longest lens I have owned. My other telephoto lens is a 80-200mm F2.8 AF-D with a 1.4 teleconverter. That gave me around 420mm when you take the crop factor of the D7000 into account. This lens more than doubles that. On a Nikon crop sensor (i.e. D3xxx, D5xxx, D7xxx) it goes all the way to 900mm. That is a monster zoom! You can zoom into things that you cant make out with your eyes. It is really good stuff. Now how does the sharpness hold up? It is very good. As you probably know the limitation of this lens is the slow speed. At 600mm you have a aperture of F6.3. I would say to just stop it down to F8 and increase the ISO. Your hit rate for sharp pictures will improve. Matter of fact I suggest turning on auto ISO + aperture priority. Set the auto ISO to turn on if the shutter goes under 1/250. That seems to work for me. YMMV. If you are steady you can probably go below 1/250. If you are not I would say to increase to 1/320-1/500. I need to play around with it more but with the slow speed of the lens you will need to adjust the ISO more often than you will with a shorter lens. Obviously 1/250 isnt a good shutter speed at 900mm.... unless you have some good vibration reduction. The lens did a nice job here. Yep it works and works well. You can hand hold this lens but be prepared for a workout and a reduced number of sharp pictures. Bring a tripod for when you need to rest your poor arms. This beast is heavy but not terribly. It wasnt so bad for me since I was used to the 80-200mm which weighs in about 3.5lbs but *if* you havent used a heavy lens before be prepared for some adjustments. Alternatively you can tame this beast with a monpod. Something I need to pick up. Attached is one of the first pictures I took with this lens. It is handheld at 600mm. Only cropped slightly into the rule of thirds.

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Works great with my Sony A7Rii as long as the battery has enough juice. Yeah, I dont know exactly what the limit is, but when I was having some issues with focus, I noticed my camera battery was almost dead. Stuck a newly charged battery in the camera and it was back in business. I think the lens is quite sharp at 600mm...and thats where I typically use it. Note, the Sony LAEA3 Tripod Camera Mounts is necessary for using this alpha mount lens on an e-mount Sony camera. Update: Lowered my ratings by one star. Still have issues with focus when lighting is not great. Finally checked resolution with a good lens test chart. Its quite good up to about 525mm....beyond that the clarity goes downhill with 600mm being noticeably worse. Bottom line...dont zoom all the way out. Stop in the middle between 500 and 550mm. Still, the resolution at 525mm is really good. As I still have my Olympus micro 4/3s camera, the Olympus E-M1...I decided to test the 75-300mm Olympus lens and compare to this Tamron. At 300mm, the Tamron and Sony beat the pants off the Olympus duo. Not close. I compared side by side using Lightroom. Even at 600mm, the Tamron is still clearly better than 300mm on the Olympus. I note that many in the micro 4/3 community like to claim that 300mm is equivalent to 600mm full frame. That is pure baloney. 300mm is 300mm. All the micro 4/3 does is crop the center of the image...it does not magnify the image...which you can verify when looking at the images from each camera. I used a 200% view to compare the images from Tamron and Olympus each set at 300mm and they were exactly the same size. Maybe the $2,500 Olympus prime 300mm could compete with the Tamron zoom. I would certainly hope so. I dont have the bucks to buy one to run my own test...not after buying the Sony camera.

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If you are just starting out and want a great telephoto lens, this is it. Some people are commenting about how this lens isnt very sharp and I have to say, compared to what? If you mean less sharp than a $9,000.00 professional lens, then you are correct. But this lens is also 8K less expensive and with the release of the G2 version I assume it will only drop further in price. Less sharp than other comparable lenses like the Sigma? Maybe but if you are looking for a lens at this price point, you either cannot afford to be that discerning or are just starting out and anything more expensive would likely not benefit you at this time. You need to use this lens on a tripod or have absolutely perfect technique when hand holding or you are going to get motion blur, just as you would any telephoto lens. When I first purchased this lens and took it out I couldnt hold it up for more than a few seconds and thought I had made a terrible mistake. After practice you will find you can hand hold but it is better on a tripod. Yes it has a variable aperture and it doesnt open up any wider than f/5 and it does physically extend when zoomed so air get sucked into the lens, but it is also several thousand dollars less than a lens that doesnt. I do notice lots of dust inside on the elements but do not notice any degradation in photo quality. I do not know how much I trust the weather sealing and havent really used it out in the elements but I did get caught in a rainstorm and the lens held up just fine although I dont recommend trying.

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In the process of taking advantage of my warranty. While I still rate it 3 stars, customer service will decide if I lower the rating. I currently run this lens with my D7100. At first it took some time getting used to. I mainly purchased is for my ability to take nature shots.Which I admit it did provide some nice ones. The focal length for the price is great. The quality is ok. I personally have problems with getting consistent focus. I see some front and back focusing at different focal lengths. The sharpness doesnt seem to be there. I may have received a dud. Looking at other peoples pictures and Im left wondering how come I cant get this lens that sharp on a tripod. I recently had the pleasure of taking pictures of a nesting bald eagle. The lens performed ok, giving me usable shots, but still seems the detail isnt quite there. I took the lens to a local dealer with an Tamron representative and they gave me tips on trying to get the best picture possible ,but even they admit the lens might have to go back. Some how I have acquired lots of dust behind the front element. looking at the side of my lens it appears my lens it cupped which could be a factor in all this. I do appreciate the rubber edges by the front elements giving a little extra protection from bumps. The mount is plenty sturdy and easy to adjust remove. I do not recommend handhend as this is a pretty heavy lens you need to stabilize. The construction of the lens seems to be good. Feels solid in the hands. Overall seems like a great value once i iron out the kinks. Staying positive as this is a decent investment for a hobbyist.

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I have been waiting for this since April, 2014 on B&H PHoto and finally gave up. Last week right before I went to sleep, I checked amazon, and they actually had it in stock so I purchased it right away! The next morning it was out of stock again, so check often. I guess Amazon gets one or two in stock every so often. I got it for $1069 prime. Anyway, this lens is AMAZING on my Nikon D810. I used it handheld inside the house at f8.0 zooming into various objects and focus was impeccable. I took a picture of my daughter from about 20 feet away at 600mm, handheld with VR on and when I pixel peeped, I could see the fuzz on her cheeks. INCREDIBLLY sharp! Outside is a bit of a different story. I tried taking pictures of some birds at 600mm, f.11, handheld, and it was not as sharp. I think this is due to shakes even with VR on. I tried it with a tripod, and the pictures again, became incredibly sharp. My conclusion is that if you find your 600mm pictures not sharp, and you are taking the pictures handheld, its because of the shakes, even with VR on. Try putting it on a tripod, and I will bet the pictures will be razor sharp. When comparing sharpness to my "Holy Trinity" lens and my Nikon 24mm f1.4., I can confidently say that with my own eyes, and pixel peeping on a Mac 30" monitor, this lens is as good as any of my lens. Maybe the 70-200mm f2.8 vrii is a bit sharper.

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The lens is ok for what it is, not the best but close, i have used for wildlife, landscape, parks, surveillance, Moon, hiking, real estate, nice lens, BUT, keep in mind that DUST-DIRT-LINT moisture ? does get in these lens , once your warrantee runs out !!! it is very expensive to keep sending it in for dust removal, SO buyer be ware !! I own 13 cheaper telephotos, 9 extremely expensive, like the, 800mm, (sigma 150-600), 400mm, ( Nikon 1200-1700mm) and havent seen any dust inside these, I havent used the Tamron very much, probably 400 shots, I carry it in a JJC neoprene bag-pouch, then slide that into the BIG BUMBLY LowPro 13X32CM case, these have on dust-dirt-lint- and I feel they are very safe to carry, Bulky! yes! but worth every penny, Oh as of 1 /14/2016 this spectacular lens went back for dust-large lint, inside it to be thorough cleaning, ??? Maybe I just got a LEMON, maybe Tamron should just replace it, Yet to be seen, ? once it comes back I will be going on a trip to Sand Point Idaho, Priest Lake region, then to Colorado for skiing shots, SO ! in all, ?? Would I buy another one ?? only when they warrantee it for eternity for cleaning. The seals that protect it ,?? should be re-engineered, other brands seem to work, OK ! I could go on and on whining about it, but it still is a Magical lens to have, I have shot running deer, charging Grizzly, Lions, Zebra, Air shows, and no problems, beautiful crisp brilliant shots, weddings from a distance just spectacular, , For now ! Ill up grade a review once I get to Idaho, In closing, enjoy the magic, work your settings, use your tripod J .R. Massachusetts

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Horrible sharpness. This lens gets so many positive reviews but for me it was terrible. At any focal length my photos were blurry. Maybe I just got a bad lens. I used it on a Canon SL2 with and without lens filters (to make sure the UV filter wasnt the issue) and I was very bummed out. My kit 70-300mm Canon lens blows this one out of the water for sharpness (and i consider it my worst / least sharp lens). Everything seemed to work fine with the lens and it seemed to be fairly heavy duty ..AF worked as good as manually focusing (pics werent sharp either way though). If the canon 100-400mm (arriving today) is blurry like this then I will update my review. My SL2 seems fine and takes very nice photos with my other lenses (kit and primes) so I dont think that the camera is the issue.

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Excellent packaging, no case, had to purchase one. However, images are decent, and better than the Sigma 150-500, a bit soft at 600, bright days work better for the lens, had a few eagles fairly close and the images were keepers. Of course, always use a tripod when you can. This lens is much lighter, when compared to Sigma and Canon lens in this telephoto range. I would also say, to get a decent CASE, and if you are use to using those heavy lenses that can take a lot of punishment, you will need to lighten up, and treat this lens with more carefully. I think the leading lens maker has something to worry about, and I hope Tamron keeps up the pressure to encourage them to compete more in this consumer lens range. Most folks that arent professional will never buy those lenses from $5000 and up, Tamron has at least made a stride into the "Most Folks, affordable range, at least for me. Good for the price.

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About 3 weeks ago I purchased the Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Zoom Lens. I chose the lens after much research, reading reviews, checking other user’s opinions on Photography forums, and looking at and comparing other brands and models. There were 2 reasons for this choice (actually 3 though one came after my purchase). 1. The reviews were all very positive for the most part. Quirks were noted but nothing that I considered to be a major problem. 2. Price - for what it does nothing else comes close in price 3. I was unaware that Sigma was going to release an equivalent (with some extra features) lens. However the Sigma is also almost twice the price. Last week I flew to south Florida. Since then I have had the opportunity to use the lens extensively in the Everglades and some botanical gardens. I have been very happy with the results. While it seems to focus a touch slower than my Nikon 28-300, it still focuses very quickly for the size of the lens and what is moving inside of the lens in order to get the focus. I will say up front that the majority of images I have taken using the lens were done using manual focus and live view. The autofocus seems to work very nicely, and I have used it, but due to the focal length I have found a tripod mount using live view gave me exactly what I was looking for, razor sharp subjects in my images The lens is heavy. When mounted on my D810 the assembly weights 6 1/4 pounds. Having said that, it feels very well made, mostly of metal as far as I can see, and the operation is very smooth throughout the focal range. Yet for what it is, and for what it can do, it is actually fairly light and relatively compact for this class of lens. I spent a whole day walking around with the lens mounted on either camera body slung across my shoulders bandoleer style without feeling too beat (though I do have a new appreciation for how a pack mule feels given 2 camera and a tripod to carry). I have not yet observed any chromatic aberration, or focus problems in the center of the field of view. Near the edges there seems to be some softness at 600mm. though that seems to pretty well disappear at f/8 and beyond. Since I am using live view the edges are not a particular problem to me. I would, if necessary, simply crop the image, or I would switch the camera to DX (crop sensor) mode and that would become a complete non-issue on what would effectively be a 225-900mm lens. With the lens wide open (f/6.3 at 600mm) it has (in my opinion) a wonderful bokeh. The colors appear to be rich and natural with very little if any distortion. The lens is somewhat slow (f/5.6-6.3) but again I do not find that to be much of an issue given the performance of today’s DSLR’s in the higher ISO ranges. So far, I have been able to get more than enough light for the camera to get a good auto-focus the vast majority of the time I am using it. Mid to late twilight, or very early morning could be an issue but I have not had an opportunity to check it out those times during the day. For those looking for a lens that will support wild life photography and birding and not wanting to spend a lot of money this lens may be an excellent option for you as it has proven to be for me.

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