Tamron 150-600mm Real-World Results

Just returned from 5 weeks in New Zealand using the Tamron 150-600mm G2 exclusively for my wildlife shots. Mostly hand-held and zoomed to the 600mm mark. Some results posted here. Not looking for accolades, "likes" or pats-on-the-back as I have been in this business far too long to need that. Just trying to show readers of this forum that with proper technique and hard work you CAN get amazing photos with this ~$1300 lens. And it's easier to use and more convenient than the huge 500mm or 600mm primes.

Image 1 Tui - An endemic New Zealand bird with a gurgling, melodic song. Bird more often heard than seen. Taken on a rainy day.
  100% crop of image 1
Image 2 Royal Spoonbill - The only spoonbill that breeds in NZ. Image shot hand-held, 600mm, 1/1250sec., f/7.1, ISO 400
100% crop of image 2 Image 3 Gannet - Taken near Auckland at a Gannet rookery. 100% crop of image 3 Image 4 Kea - An endemic parrot and fairly easy to see and photograph at Milford Sound. 100% crop of image 4
Image 5 - White-fronted Tern with fish - 600mm, 1/2000 sec., f/6.3 (wide open), ISO 1600 100% crop of image 5 Feel free to contact me if interested in getting some info on bird hotspots in NZ.

-Don Mammoser

Wow, those seem very good indeed!

Vivek wrote:Wow, those seem very good indeed!

Don:  What camera body did you use with that lens?  hcarl

hcarl wrote:

Vivek wrote:Wow, those seem very good indeed!

Don:  What camera body did you use with that lens?  hcarl

All images taken with the Canon 5d Mark IV.

Don Mammoser

DonMammoser wrote:

hcarl wrote:

Vivek wrote:Wow, those seem very good indeed!

Don:  What camera body did you use with that lens?  hcarl

All images taken with the Canon 5d Mark IV.

Don Mammoser

Thanks for reply Don.  I shoot with a Nikon D810 and a AFS 500mm 1:4 D11 which produces excellent results but would like to have a lens somewhat lighter and more flexible like the Tamron, Sigma, or the 200-500 Nikon.  hcarl

I need to replace my Canon 500mm which is not functioning. I'm reading about this lens but see one huge issue for me

It does not have image stabilization switchable to a second setting for panning birds in flight, just on and off. Is this an issue for you?

jnadler wrote:I need to replace my Canon 500mm which is not functioning. I'm reading about this lens but see one huge issue for me

It does not have image stabilization switchable to a second setting for panning birds in flight, just on and off. Is this an issue for you?

Jeff, Check out the Sigma 150-600 Sport

RBuckmaster wrote:

jnadler wrote:I need to replace my Canon 500mm which is not functioning. I'm reading about this lens but see one huge issue for me

It does not have image stabilization switchable to a second setting for panning birds in flight, just on and off. Is this an issue for you?

Jeff, Check out the Sigma 150-600 Sport

I did read Sigma reviews. Oddly despite, the better weather proofing, more complex glass, and steeper price, the sport came in below the cheaper Sigma for lens sharpness at 600 which what I would use most.

jnadler wrote:

RBuckmaster wrote:

jnadler wrote:I need to replace my Canon 500mm which is not functioning. I'm reading about this lens but see one huge issue for me

It does not have image stabilization switchable to a second setting for panning birds in flight, just on and off. Is this an issue for you?

The Tamron 150-600mm G2 has 3 VC (vibration compensation) settings - from the manufacturer -
VC MODE 1 is the standard mode that strikes a great balance between the stability of the viewfinder image and the stabilization effects.
VC MODE 2 is exclusively used for panning.
VC MODE 3 prioritizes the stabilization of the captured images and forgoes the stabilization of the viewfinder image.

But E.J. made a great point in an earlier post about fast shutter speeds with birds in flight so that VC, VR, IS, etc. becomes unnecessary most of the time anyway. I agree with this and turn the VC off for BIF.

Don Mammoser
www.donmammoserphoto.com

jnadler wrote:

RBuckmaster wrote:

jnadler wrote:I need to replace my Canon 500mm which is not functioning. I'm reading about this lens but see one huge issue for me

It does not have image stabilization switchable to a second setting for panning birds in flight, just on and off. Is this an issue for you?

Jeff, Check out the Sigma 150-600 Sport

I did read Sigma reviews. Oddly despite, the better weather proofing, more complex glass, and steeper price, the sport came in below the cheaper Sigma for lens sharpness at 600 which what I would use most.

Check out these tests, it looks like the Sport is better to me. 
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Rev ... &APIComp=0

Here's a comparison with the Tamron G2
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Rev ... &APIComp=0

Thanks, Don, for these beautiful samples. I have this lens and use it with a Nikon D500. I generally like what I get but if I temporarily lose focus on a BIF, I can't get the lens to re-focus. I've heard others complain about this and some have sent theirs back to Tamron for repair. Did you calibrate this lens with the dock to your camera? Have you experienced this? (Looks like not!)

Cynthia Crawford wrote:Thanks, Don, for these beautiful samples. I have this lens and use it with a Nikon D500. I generally like what I get but if I temporarily lose focus on a BIF, I can't get the lens to re-focus. I've heard others complain about this and some have sent theirs back to Tamron for repair. Did you calibrate this lens with the dock to your camera? Have you experienced this? (Looks like not!)

Hi Cynthia,

To answer your questions, no I did not calibrate my 150-600mm with the dock. I think my lens & camera combo just matched up from day 1. Have I experienced the loss of focus on BIF? Of course I have and I find that more often than not this is MY fault and not the equipment's. In a shooting situation (from examples above say, the Gannet) where I might track and photograph hundreds of birds over the course of a few hours, perhaps this loss of focus happens 1-5% of the time (to recover I focus on something at a distance that isn't moving, and of course that bird is now gone and I go for the next one). I'm not saying I get 95-99 out of 100 keepers. Far from it. With clipped wings, shots where the breast was focused and not the eyes, etc. etc. I may get 10-20% of images that I call "good". Anyone who tells you they nail 99 out of 100 birds in flight is full of it. The delete button is your friend. 

My settings and technique if interested: As mentioned above I use a Canon 5D Mark IV. On one of my custom shooting modes, I input the following: Shutter priority mode with 1/1250 sec. or 1/2000 sec. (depending on ambient light levels) shutter speed dialed in, ISO auto but limited from 100-3200, AI servo AF mode with case #1 chosen. Drive is 'H', I use back button focus (BBF), and under the custom control menu I disable the autofocus for the half-press of the shutter button. I enable the center focus point plus the 8 surrounding points. I turn my lens VC off and my lens limit switch is set to 'full". Keeping the bird in the frame is the most difficult part.

Don Mammoser
www.DonMammoserPhoto.com     

DonMammoser wrote:

Cynthia Crawford wrote:Thanks, Don, for these beautiful samples. I have this lens and use it with a Nikon D500. I generally like what I get but if I temporarily lose focus on a BIF, I can't get the lens to re-focus. I've heard others complain about this and some have sent theirs back to Tamron for repair. Did you calibrate this lens with the dock to your camera? Have you experienced this? (Looks like not!)

Hi Cynthia,

To answer your questions, no I did not calibrate my 150-600mm with the dock. I think my lens & camera combo just matched up from day 1. Have I experienced the loss of focus on BIF? Of course I have and I find that more often than not this is MY fault and not the equipment's. In a shooting situation (from examples above say, the Gannet) where I might track and photograph hundreds of birds over the course of a few hours, perhaps this loss of focus happens 1-5% of the time (to recover I focus on something at a distance that isn't moving, and of course that bird is now gone and I go for the next one). I'm not saying I get 95-99 out of 100 keepers. Far from it. With clipped wings, shots where the breast was focused and not the eyes, etc. etc. I may get 10-20% of images that I call "good". Anyone who tells you they nail 99 out of 100 birds in flight is full of it. The delete button is your friend. 

My settings and technique if interested: As mentioned above I use a Canon 5D Mark IV. On one of my custom shooting modes, I input the following: Shutter priority mode with 1/1250 sec. or 1/2000 sec. (depending on ambient light levels) shutter speed dialed in, ISO auto but limited from 100-3200, AI servo AF mode with case #1 chosen. Drive is 'H', I use back button focus (BBF), and under the custom control menu I disable the autofocus for the half-press of the shutter button. I enable the center focus point plus the 8 surrounding points. I turn my lens VC off and my lens limit switch is set to 'full". Keeping the bird in the frame is the most difficult part.

Don Mammoser
www.DonMammoserPhoto.com     

Thanks so much Don. I'll try those setting, or the equivalent , with my D500. I realize user error is a big factor, and I'm not great at tracking, but this seems a little different. I get the bird back in my sights, try to refocus, and nothing happens. I can follow the bird for quite a while and although I had initial focus, I can't get it back. This was an eagle at fairly close range, flying quite slowly. Still could be my error, but if so, not sure how. I think I have also tried to focus on a nearby tree, but still lose the bird. Dunno....In another forum (Nikon), this is discussed as a possible problem with the lens, so I was mostly wondering if you had come across it.  I will, in any case , not totally discount user error......