Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Comment

I have the Nikon 200-500, but got this to replace it. I dont use the 200-500 nearly enough due to its weight and bulkiness. My choice was to go 500 f/4 (probably used or the Sigma) or this 150-600. What I decided to do is go 150-600 for day and 70-200 f/2.8e (with 1.4x or 1.7x) in morning or evening. I wouldnt carry both at the same time. This puts me at 6.5 lb or 5.8 lb, respectively, with a d500 and a TC or two. Id be around 9 lb with the Sigma 500/4. If weight wasnt an issue for me, id go 500/4. The 300 f/4 + 1.4 tc is another reasonable option, especially at only 3.8 lb w/ camera, but I wanted to be able to go longer than than 420mm. The 200-500 is great with constant f/5.6, but it is too bulky and too heavy for the type of hiking and shooting I want to do. Also, the lens hood on the 200-500 does not attach securely and its dropped on the trail a few times if it brushes against stuff. I cannot use a soft hood cap, the hood comes off when I try to put the hood on. This 150-600 has, for me, these advantages: (1) its noticeably lighter and less bulky, (2) 600, (3) the lens hood is well attached. It takes, I think, about equal quality photos under appropriate conditions. The f/6.3 at the long end is ok in good light (d500), especially in the center. If the light is less good, I have to use the center focus point. Sometimes I have to focus a little, center the focus point, then bring it in to focus otherwise it hunts. I have tried it with the Kenko TC 1.4x and it works well. It will be f/8, so only center focus point and good light. Ive gotten a few shots at 840mm that even look good at 100% crop (it was a windy day with only a monopod) at 1/1000.

more

Comment

An excellent lens for the price. I am using it with a Nikon D850. It is a moderately heavy lens but you can use it hand held. The photos are fantastic even at 600mm. However at full range you do see some vignetting - but I am not a professional so it does not bother me that much. Image stability and the new panning feature works well for bird photography. I used the Sigma 150-600 on a Canon 5D Mark1v and this one performs way better. The big difference being the quality of the images and functions very well in low light conditions too. The sigma was not that good at low light conditions. Mind you that is a Canon and this is with Nikon. I compared the Nikon 200-500 mm - Tamron at 600 mm is better than Nikon at 500 mm. At shorter distances they are both equal. I recommend this product without any reservation for this price. The 4 star is because of peripheral vignetting.

more

Comment

I was concerned about this lens from some of the negative reviews, but after using it heavily over the past month, I have nothing but praise for it. This lens is sharp. Tack sharp. Ridiculously sharp. Its focus plane at 600mm, even at f/8, is razor thin, so any front/back focusing will make shots unusable. Verify that your copy is good with a test strip before heading to the field to avoid frustration. Mine was fine out of the box, and the crazy fast AF finds focus instantly to boot. When using the focus limiters its even faster. Its less of a journey to focus as the motor turns, like on my Nikkor AF-S G 50mm, and more of only a slight delay before "you have arrived at focus." This is shooting on a Nikon D750, which has a good, but not the best, AF system. I find the manual focus ring essentially unusable because the throw distance is so short, but Im not sure why youd need it on a lens with AF this effective. Chromatic aberration is essentially zero, and is the least of any lens I own, even wide open. Ive forgotten about Lightrooms CR removal tool at this point. OS is amazing. I usually leave it in mode 1, but occasionally find modes 2/3 useful. If I get in a stable position I can easily shoot at 1/100 and below at 600mm, which is extremely handy when I dont want to setup my tripod. The only thing I wish this lens had/did is accept small rear filters. I havent even tried putting filters on the front because theyd be so expensive and hard to carry around. I already have to deal with 150mm square filters for my 15-30mm, and thats about all Im willing to put up with in a single backpack. Being able to use little 52mm circular polarizers or the like would be really nice, but truthfully I dont find myself wanting filters very often when using this lens. The enormous lens hood pulls double duty keeping dust and debris off the objective, and its easy enough to clean with good lens wipes. The tripod collar is well-designed and just works. Its unremarkable in its functionality in that it does what its supposed to. I cant believe this lens goes for as cheap as it does, even at full retail. If you get a good copy, youll have no regrets. If you get a bad copy, thats why you buy from Amazon.

more

Comment

First day out of the box on my Nikon D850 and the autofocus repeatedly freezes up. Need to turn the camera off and back on again for it to start working again. This happened multiple times. Not acceptable for a wildlife lens where timing is critical. If you read the online forums you will see this an issue with this lens. Sending it back in favor of the Nikon 200-500. Update: after one month of using the Nikon 200-500 I can say I am very happy with it. Tack sharp, fast and accurate auto focus. Keeper.

more

Comment

This is excellent. Somewhat heavy in the 4 pound range, but manageable. The Vibration Compensation works amazingly well. Used this in a recent trip to the Everglades, and did not disappoint. The details are clear and precise. The only issue I had was the hunting for focus in busy scenes. Overall an awesome lens.

more

Comment

Just finished a 3 week vacation using my new Tamron 150-600 Zoom! I am in love! The lens is a bit heavy but to be expected for a long quality lens. What I am extremely happy with is the capability to hand hold and still get razor sharp images at 600mm! The focus is extremely fast and tracking moving subjects such as birds is very reliable. Will post images taken with this lens and the Nikon D810 soon.

more

Comment

I am quite pleased with this lens. The lens is quite sharp and autofocus is quick, but occasionally misses. I would recommend getting the tap-in console to go with the lens. The lens was front focusing a fair bit at medium to long distances. Once corrected with the console the lens performs fantastically. The vibration reduction is decent, but I do prefer Nikons VR. Prioritizing stabilization in the viewfinder can lead to some blurry pictures and prioritizing capture makes it a bit more difficult to frame shots. Shooting hand held on a crop sensor Ive found that the VC starts to become ineffective at around 400mm. This lens is also quite heavy. I wouldnt recommend shooting hand held for a prolonged period of time. Overall for the price I find this lens hard to beat.

more

Comment

Ive always craved longer reach for my photography, but the pricing was always out of reach. Even used prices were too high to justify. I am a hobbyist, so dropping even $1000 for a used lens was just unreasonable. Then Amazon began offering a free 5 month payment plan on specific items and this one fell into the program while it was on sale. Now, I wouldnt just buy it because of the deal. If the lens performed poorly, it will still be a high price to pay. I research this lens extensively and, although the reviews were somewhat mixed, the lens received enough positive praise to go for it. I have not been disappointed at all. If fact, even on my old Nikon D7100 and D3200, the lens has exceeded my expectations (and probably my ability!!). I use this lens hand held exclusively and find its size and weight reasonable considering the reach. The image stabilization works magically, even at lower shutter speeds. The auto focus can get confused at times, but I attribute this to the older cameras Im using and my own inexperience with lenses of this length. When focus is locked on, its very sharp. And the manual focus override is super easy to use. I find I can use the tripod collar to hold the lens and still use the zoom and/or the manual focus ring while staying on the subject. The lens feels very well made and thought out. This lens has renewed my love of bird photography and Im looking forward to doing other types of photography with it.

more

Comment

I have been using this lens for about a month and love it. The auto-focus is quick and accurate. The shooting distance is more than I expected. The lens weight is lighter, allowing me to use additional camera accessories. I would recommend this lens for getting the long crisp shots.

more

Comment

I am extremely impressed with this lens. It is extremely sharp even when shot wide open. I have used it to shoot birds and have been very pleased with the results. I highly recommend it.

more