# Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed



## tomscott (Sep 3, 2015)

I am heading to Africa in January of 2016 for 2 months and was left short with the 70-300mm L on my trip across South America (including the Amazon) and through North America on my 5DMKIII. So decided to buy something a bit bigger to ensure I don't have the same problem again.

I know there are better size comparisons on the web like Brians at the digital picture. But I did a quick one when the lens arrived as I own most of the main tele lenses except the 100-400mm

Just a quick lens size comparison between the Tamron 150-600mm F5-6.3 VC and all the other telephoto lenses I own Canon 70-300mm L F4-5.6 IS vs Canon 70-300mm DO F4.5-5.6 IS vs 70-200mm MKII L F2.8 IS



Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm size comparison by Tom Scott, on Flickr

Excuse the girlfriends hand the 70-300mm DO struggles from zoom creep.

It is a bit bigger than I thought it was but it has surprised me. Its not any heavier in the hand than the 70-200mm and isn't much bigger either when at 150mm. Its also a much better build quality than I expected and has a gasket on the rear which I also didn't know. It also feels very stable with the 5DMKIII almost perfectly weighted, it doesn't feel cumbersome to me at all. The tripod mount is also very good, its long and easy to use as a handle. I went out and shot a few images with it last night and although its not L quality its very impressive for its size and price. I went and shot some ducks at a pond down the road from me and the lens seems to be back focusing a little so I dialled in -8 and it seemed to sort it at 600mm. At 500mm its really impressive and at 400mm even more so, but if your buying this lens 600 is probably what you bought it for and it is good but I wouldn't call it stellar very very acceptable.

Theres one thing that is a little disappointing, I'm used to the 70-300mm L with its close focus capabilities the 150-600mm you do need to be quite a distance from the subject. On the positive side, unless the wildlife is used to humans the likelihood of getting that close is quite small so it ensures you don't scare it. The backward zoom takes a bit of getting used to also.

I need to run it through Focal to make sure its ok before ensuring its the copy I want to keep. But first impressions are very good! Im very taken with it and I don't usually buy third party lenses. but at nearly 1/3rd the price of the 100-400mm its worth a punt.

I intend on going out and testing it after I have AFMA'd it tonight so I will post some few pics and a few more thoughts once I've done that.


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## tomscott (Sep 7, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

So I did some AFMA on the lens and It was out a touch, -10 on the long end and -5 at the short end. Dialled it in and wow! Really impressed with the sharpness.

So I went to South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria this weekend. Really great zoo they only have the big animals caged and the rest sort of wander around which means no gates to worry about and they are really tame so you can close and get some really nice images and keep backgrounds looking natural.

Little bit on the handling. From everything that I have read and reviews I've watched on Youtube, all I've heard is how heavy it is, cumbersome, not that sharp at 600mm, not that well built etc. Well I disagree with most points.

If you have any experience with a 70-200mm F2.8 MKII IS then you will be right at home with this lens. Its about the same weight and the same size except when zoomed. The lens was a joy to use, I don't use straps so had it in my hands all day its very very well balanced with my 5DMKIII and the tripod mount makes a great carrying handle. Im used to using my 70-200mm from shooting weddings etc and it felt very similar. Its not front heavy or back heavy feels very at home with the 5DMKIII. It is big no doubt but if your used to bigger lenses then this will feel surprisingly versatile. 

In terms of sharpness I found similar to the reviews at 400mm very sharp even wide open at 500 a little less and at 600 a little less again but it didint stop me from shooting there at all, in fact I was at 600mm most of the day (check the images below). If you are used to 400mm then 600mm does take a little bit of getting used to… framing and speed of changing direction you can get lost in the viewfinder but its all practise not a lens problem.

In terms of build I was happy to see it has a rear gasket and although it isn't L series build it feels very durable nice plastic not cheap at all. If you are worried about that I wouldn't be. Feels substantial and very nice to use, the manual focus ring is very smooth and a joy to use. I have to say I'm not keen on the reverse zoom and I tended to zoom in instead of out as I'm used to the Canon lenses. In terms of weather sealing I don't think I would be as happy being out in the rain with it like I am with the L lenses but I will no doubt test it when it arrises.

The image stabiliser especially at 600mm doesn't seem as good as the Canons the viewfinder does float around with it on at 600mm, you can't help it with the lens size its hard to keep it still (I haven't got any experience with the canon 600mm just a 70-200mm with a 2x on a crop body roughly 640mm equivalent) I found it maybe gave me 2 stops 3 at a push but more like 2, I didn't get any blurry images but I was ensuring I was shooting at over 1/1000th of a second so the IS was more to keep the viewfinder still and didn't really aid in image taking. Its also, for me, a little disappointing that the IS doesn't have a panning mode although its supposed to auto change it would be nice to have the ability to change it yourself. I find Auto to be exactly that, when you want it it doesn't necessarily change when you need it to. I haven't done any panning yet tho, but as I shoot motorsport I will test that out but I think 600mm will be a bit overkill.

In terms of aperture, theres no doubt its slow F6.3 to F8 is where your at most the time but because of the field of view it still renders background nice and out of focus, if your shooting wildlife you want to be in that sort of F stop anyway on FF because of the small DOF. It does mean your shooting in the higher ISO range. I was shooting from 200-2500 which is no problem on the 5DMKIII so I'm not too worried about that although it was a very bright day so we will see.

The AF was very good, not quite L series but it locked on and stayed on subject, all my images were sharp I only had a couple of OOF frames which is amazing first time out with the lens and over 1250 images. I only had two times where the lens hunted but a quick move of the MF ring solved that and was a really joy to use. It seems to track well I was testing the baboons running around, both toward and away.

Anyway enough talk here are some images and also some 100% crops for you to look at. Im very impressed anyway but your comments are very welcome.

here is the full album
https://www.flickr.com/gp/tomscottphotography/1gxs3w



Emu, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1250th 1250 iso



Rhea, 100% Crop, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1250th 1250 iso



Ring Tailed Lemur, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 800 iso



Capybara, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 640 iso



Cabybara 100% Crop, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 640 iso



Inca Tern, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/800th 640 iso



Parrots, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
500mm F8 1/800th 640 iso



Jaguar, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
500mm F8 1/800th 640 iso



Lion, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
200mm F7.1 1/800th 800 iso



Black Vulture, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F6.3 1/1000th 1000 iso



Black Vulture, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 640 iso



Pigmy Hippo, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/640th 640 iso



Sumatran Tiger, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
500mm F7.1 1/800th 1000 iso



Sumatran Tiger 100% Crop, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
500mm F7.1 1/800th 1000 iso



Hamadryad Baboon, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F6.3 1/1250th 800 iso



Hamadryad Baboon, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1250th 800 iso



Hamadryad Baboon, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
329mm F8 1/800th 800 iso



Giraffe, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
450mm F8 1/640th 800 iso



Giraffe 100% crop, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
450mm F8 1/640th 800 iso



Arctic Wolf, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 200 iso



Arctic Wolf, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 640 iso



Rhino, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
600mm F8 1/1000th 2500 iso



Hamadryad Baboon, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
350mm F8 1/1000th 2000 iso



Black and White Ruffed Lemur, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
552mm F8 1/1000th 1600 iso



Black and White Ruffed Lemur 100% Crop, South Lakes Safari Zoo, Tamron 150-600mm by Tom Scott, on Flickr
552mm F8 1/1000th 1600 iso

To summarise.

Im very happy with my purchase, cost wasn't really an issue in this case more focal length and I'm very happy I got this over the 100-400mm. I paid UK £750 new from Park Cameras in a bank holiday sale. The lens isn't L series quality but as you can see from the above its damn close. Very very impressed its only my second third party lens tending to stray away as my first was awful. 

The 3rd parties have certainly stepped up the game making much better products these days. Its a very interesting concept, huge range - small cost (relatively compared to other native lenses) to get 600mm on a full frame camera the cheapest way of doing it and keeping AF is to buy a 300mm with a 2x converter, buy a 600mm or use a crop camera with a 70-200mm F2.8 and 2x converter. I love my 5DMKIII and don't really want to take two cameras with me so I ruled that out. The primes are both better options but cost is stratospheric, much heavier and difficult to use and less useful, 150-600 is a great range. Were talking between £6-8000 if you go the above route so its coming in at nearly a 10th the price but your getting a couple of stops less light. Everything a trade off but a £7250 trade off is worth it in my mind.

The weight was a non issue for me and I like handling larger lenses feels right. Im a pretty average built bloke and had no issue carrying it around without a strap all day. doesn't feel that heavy tbh but if your not used to FF cameras with heavy lenses like the 70-200mm then you might think its like a tank and unusable milage will vary depending on how you shoot and what gear your used to.

600mm is the softest part of the lens but at F8 it seems to be a good improvement at 6.3 its still really impressive. As the images above show I wouldn't have any problem sending any of those for publication. You have to see it as new territory on full frame thats not been available to us normal photographers as a definite option without renting, having it is better than not. A little sharpening works wonders in post, all the images above were sharpened in lightroom by 60 points with a radius of 1.5 detail at 10 and masking at 30. Its the difference between filling the frame and not with larger animals in a safari situation.

One thing I did find weird was the lens tended to throw the exposure a touch with a tad of overexposure never experienced that with my Canon lenses. It was easy to sort and when I got home it was nothing to worry about just a note.

With that in mind its a steal, its worth buying one to fill the range imo. The IQ is great, more than acceptable, its a little slow but unless you buy primes they all other zooms will be F8s with tele converters. Im also not worried about it, at the cost if something happens to it buying another isn't an issue because its much cheaper than the competition.

So ye… its a great compromise! Really enjoyed using it and can't wait to get on the Savannah with it.


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## beforeEos Camaras (Sep 7, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

nice photos and it really looks like you gave it a good work out I can live with that iq . well done as you get to know the lens better give us a update


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## tomscott (Sep 8, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Thanks, I certainly will I prefer more real world than charts and the above shows its definitely worth considering.


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## tomscott (Sep 9, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

I spent a few minutes cleaning the lens today. 

The only lens I have had problems with with dust is the 17-55mm which is full!!

Ive only really been out once with the tammy (above) but its already accumulated a few specs of dust. Not that its a problem but with one outing and I didn't even remove it from the camera… 

I was going to buy a UV filter for it because I'm going into some pretty hostile wet, sandy, dry environments. I only use UV filters in these sorts of situations and as said not really had problems with my other canon glass.

Does anyone have any advice when it comes to the UV filters? They are expensive around 10% the price of the lens which makes me wonder if its worth it really.

So far I've seen the B+W which I usually buy but they are over £100, Hoya etc etc the one that caught my eye was the Marumi 95mm DHG.

Anyone got any advice/experience with this lens and any UV combos? I have found that the B+W filters tend to accentuate CA in backlit situations which is really hard to get rid of in post especially with my 24-70mm F2.8 MKI L.

Any advice welcome


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## JPAZ (Sep 9, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

I have tried and have been impressed with the Breakthrough Photography line of filters but don't know if they have one for that size opening. Seems at least of the B+W quality


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## tomscott (Sep 28, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Thanks JPAZ will bear that in mind.

I have been shooting with the 150-600mm for a few weeks now and really liking it. It is quite hard to get used to, I have found one shot gives me much better keepers than AI Servo, also I find it fools the camera to over expose by about a stop so I usually dial it back a bit more.

Anyway here are a few I shot yesterday with it.



Lunar Eclipse coinciding with Super Moon 28-9-15 by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Goldfinch picking Milkseeds, Thacka Beck by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Rabbit backlit lurking in Dock leaves (Rumex crispus) Thacka Beck, Penrith Cumbria by Tom Scott, on Flickr


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## verysimplejason (Sep 28, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*



tomscott said:


> Thanks JPAZ will bear that in mind.
> 
> I have been shooting with the 150-600mm for a few weeks now and really liking it. It is quite hard to get used to, I have found one shot gives me much better keepers than AI Servo, also I find it fools the camera to over expose by about a stop so I usually dial it back a bit more.
> 
> ...



Wow! That moon was outstanding. I'm thinking now of owning this lens. I'm not an actual fan of "long" lenses but just recently I began to be interested with wildlife and occasional sports. Here's mine using my "crappy" 70-300 F4-5.6 IS USM lens.


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## tomscott (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Thanks, I think yours came out really well! 

Well if you are looking for more range the Tammy has it in spades, its also not such a huge investment for the focal length infact its cheaper than any of the L series lenses. IMO its worth a punt really and fills a huge range.


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## knkedlaya (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Really big review  I must say, images have comeout really well. are they 100% crop from OOC files? Have you done any sort of sharpening either in PP or in-camera settings? What was the saturation settings if any?

Naveena


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## tomscott (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

The 100% crops are from the Images I've edited but made from virtual copies in Lightroom so to answer your question they are from the raw files.

My style is to add a bit of vibrancy but non go past 25 on the Lightroom scale was a really nice vibrant, bright summers day which also helps with lens tests because if it's bright you get sharp images in soft light you get softer images.

For sharpening I don't really add more than 60 with 30 on the mask, but at 600mm the images can be sharpened up really nicely.

I think it's often overlooked because it's a tamron and it's cheap. But it performs really well. I own the 70-300mm L 70-200mm F2.8 MKII L and a 2 x converter. It's noticeably sharper than the MKII with a 2x at 400 the 70-300mm is a tad sharper, but not a night and day but the zoom range is vastly superior. 

The canon 100-400mm MKI is also not as sharp and it also gives the 400mm prime a run for its money.

The AF isn't as good as the L zooms and the IS maybe gives 2-3 stops. But it's no slouch either as I'm used to canon L and this is my second off brand lens I'm very impressed. It basically matches all lenses in the canon line up to 400mm or is only slightly softer and it's the cheapest out of all of them sometimes half the cost. So you can see it as the best to 400mm and you get the extra 200mm for free. Can tell you how nice it is to have 600mm native on full frame. I generally shoot at F8 with wildlife anyway so the F6.3 doesn't bother me really.

One thing people have been concerned about is the weight and size. It's about the same weight as the 70-200mm F2.8 and is about the same size. Another concern is the minimum focal distance which sounds massive. I did a quick test with the 70-300mm and yes you can get much closer to the subject with the 70-300 but when compared with the tammy the tammy frames closer at 600, which means you can be further away from the subject which for wildlife is a huge benefit for others maybe not.


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## AlanF (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Tom
I used the Marumi 95mm protection filter with mine. It was excellent. Unfortunately, I sold it after I sold the Tammy.


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## Luds34 (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*



AlanF said:


> Tom
> I used the Marumi 95mm protection filter with mine. It was excellent. Unfortunately, I sold it after I sold the Tammy.



+1, I use the exact same filter on my Tamron 150-600. I've played around with Hoyo, B&W and I find the Marumi to be as good as any. Very happy with the one I got for the Tamron.


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## tomscott (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Fantastic thanks for the suggestions.

What did you replace the Tammy with if you don't mind me asking?


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## AlanF (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*



tomscott said:


> Fantastic thanks for the suggestions.
> 
> What did you replace the Tammy with if you don't mind me asking?


100-400 II


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## tomscott (Sep 29, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

How are your finding it? Do you use it more with the 5 or the 7?


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## AlanF (Sep 30, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*



tomscott said:


> How are your finding it? Do you use it more with the 5 or the 7?



Use it with both, with the 5DIII for general photography but mainly with the 7DII for birds. On the 7DII, I use it "native" for birds in flight or plus the 1.4xTC for more static birds at long distance. The Tammy is a very good lens indeed and I really liked the Tammy on the 5DIII at all focal lengths but not as much on the 7DII where it loses sharpness. When you can fill the frame on the 7DII, the Tammy is good but small crops aren't so hot. On the 7DII, the 100-400 II is sharp to the very edges and focusses really fast. The 100-400 II is very convenient for travel as it is smaller.


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## tomscott (Oct 1, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Last night I had a friend who came to visit he's a biologist and heading to antarctica for a year for bird counting etc.

He wanted to get a new lens and was looking at the 150-600mm, 70-300mm L, 70-200mm L and 100-400mm L

I have 3 of the 4 so we went out to test them, his major concern was BIF. So I was like well give it a go he uses a 7D, to my shock the tammy was getting 1 out of 10 at best using AI servo on 5DMKIII with all the af settings set to what I would have for BIF. The 70-300mm got nearly 90% and the 70-200mm with a 2x was getting nearly 80%. The Tammy was a huge high disappointment at around 10%.

It basally put him off completely and me also.

So I decided to do some research and they have released numerous updates and although my lens was bought brand new from a UK distributer on the 2nd September 2015 so I assumed it would have had the latest firmware. The last firmware was delivered in May 2015.

Stumbled upon this
https://www.tamron.co.jp/en/news/release_2015/0508.html

The first serial number with the update is 055889 and mine is 050688 so it must be one of the first lenses released? Im pretty disappointed tbh and I'm assuming it needs sending in to have the update which is also annoying without a definite solution.

Im going to take it out tonight and turn off the AF and see if that makes any difference because it should stop confusing the AF system. But if the AF is no better with the IS off then I think I may have to send it back for a refund as even with the AF switching from standard to panning if it can't keep up at 1/2000 and get a better hit rate I don't know how much an IS update will improve things.


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## AlanF (Oct 1, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Tom, if the price is not an obstacle, you will not regret buying the 100-400mm II. Its all round performance from IQ to AF is just so good and, as Lensrentals have shown, the copy variation is minimal so there aren't any lemons out there. Either of mine with the 1.4xTC on the 5DIII at f/8 is better than the Tammy at f/8 although you will be restricted to centre point focussing only.


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## tomscott (Oct 1, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm First Impressions Mini Usage Review*

Hi Alan, thanks for the advice.

I completely agree with you and price isn't an obstacle it was more a question of whether the range would be more useful to me and getting away with paying significantly less but there are always trade offs but this is a huge one. Being used to the way the Canons focus it no doubt will be a better lens albeit 3 x the cost here in the UK. I will get in touch with Park Cameras and see what they say then make a decision. I do like having the 600mm…

Ive had it a month tomorrow so not sure whether they will take it back.


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## tomscott (Oct 2, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Review - Returned*

I went out with the lens again yesterday. Set all my usual settings but doubled the shutter speed to 1/2000th but TURNED OFF the IS. So the firmware issue doesn't allow the IS to distract the AF. Unfortunately it made no difference.

I barely came home with a frame in focus from the tammy. This with a 5DMKIII, I was shooting fairly quick birds like Snipes, but also slower like Ducks, Pigeons and Crows (for testing purposes) that fly in a less erratic way. It seems to lock on but its just slightly out, not pin, whereas even the 70-200mm with a 2x converter (which canon says should be up to 90% slower) is faster at acquisition and then keeps it in focus the same with the 70-300mm. I even tried photographing dog and again it seems sharp then you zoom in and its just off and it just misses the fine detail i know its capable of. Its so frustrating.

The lens has had Af micro adjusted using Focal, so I don't think its the lens thats out, I just don't think its fast enough to change while the bird is moving, even with back button focus.

I will state here that I think the lens is very sharp, fantastic even, very pleased with it but with static subjects… Like larger animals, smaller birds that are perched, I haven't had a problem at all and the above images are testament to that. But as soon as an object starts moving the lens just falls apart, stupidly all I tested originally were static subjects.

I will also state here that from looking on the Tamron website it seems my lens is an early version (from the serial number) and it doesn't have the latest firmware. I rang Park Cameras in the UK, at first they were a little sceptical, but they dug out the files and had been having problems with Tamron and new stock. The stock they are receiving still doesn't have the updated firmware that was updated in May 2015. My lens was purchased in Sept 2015 so I thought that would be more than enough time to get these updates into circulation. 

They weren't overly hopeful that they would allow a return because Ive had the lens longer than the 14 days although I thought standard consumer return had recently been changed to 30 days, anyway, they rang back to say in this instance because of the firmware issues and the issues they were having with Tamron that they would refund the lens. After checking their back catalogue they only had one 150-600 in stock with a serial number on or after the date of the firmware update.

Im not sure whats going on but I have a feeling Tamron know there is an issue here and as there is such high demand they are rolling the lenses out regardless. They are offering free firmware updates with free postage here in the UK and they will clean the lense as there are also issues with dust. Mine certainly has a few specs and I've barely used it.

For me I need a lens to rely on, I was hoping this would be the great option that everyone has been raving about but for me its just not. I need a lens I can rely on for motorsport and also specifically for the big game on my trip. It has such huge plusses, good build, relatively small, great IQ this is really underrated imo but this means nothing with slow AF.

If you go on flickr and look at images by the Tammy its hard to find good BIF images, I thought well its a more amateur directed lens so its probably technique in reality its not! The lens won't keep up!

This is a perfect example of what I mean, it looks sharp until you zoom in and its just missing. I don't think its a matter of it being soft just missing focus, flickr is full of half sharp images from this lens.

(not my images I haven't edited the ones I shot as it was a waste of time)



Testing Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD by Emil abu Milad, on Flickr

There is an exception to the rule if your in optimal conditions with the sun behind you creating as much contrast as possible the lens does better.



Low altitude cruiser by DENNIS CHAU | FOTOGRAPHY, on Flickr

For 95% of the time this situation doesn't present itself and the bird at the same time, you'll see that rare bird in soft overcast light and you will shoot regardless. You may think I'm being nick picky but even with my 70-200mm and a 2x extender I'm used to pin sharp images.



Puffin in flight with a mouth full of Sand Eels, Farne Islands, Seahouses by Tom Scott, on Flickr

But I forgive it when it doesn't as it should be much slower with a 2x converter.

If you are shooting static subjects then this is the lens for you its great, for birding or fast moving subjects its not. I also found AI servo only really performed well using the centre point which makes the AF zones on the 5DMKIII not so useful. One shot also got me much sharper consistent results. 

So I am returning the lens I'm afraid to say. Park Cameras were really good about it and admitted issues, so it looks like I'm going down the 100-400mm route and may pick up a 7DMKII at the same time to add to the kit to gain more range.

I think I was and am still asking a lot from this lens, cheap, sharp and as good performance as the natives. The third party lens game can be fruitful, but as Tamron have already released 3 firmware updates in 18 months having to send the lens back and forth just doesn't appeal to me at all. It should just work and I think sigmas approach with the dock is a much better implemented system. 

I will also say that the lens may well perform better with the firmware, I don't know and won't find out now. I must also say that my opinions are of the lens at 600mm. The lens focuses better at 400 as the aperture is F5.6, but the whole point for me is to be able to wind it out to 600, if you want a 400mm there are other better options that are a tad sharper but much more expensive as detailed above. So for me the 100-400mm looks more and more appealing.

Ive read reviews raving about this lens "why would you spend £8-12k on a 300+2x, 500+1.4 600mm, 200-400mm when you can have 90% of the image quality for a 10th the price" I would agree! They are much heavier and cumbersome and using a tripod is counter productive for birding when they move so fast. If you set up a still subject for 90% of people the tammy will prove perfect, but its not consistent, if you need to have something reliable when the action gets difficult you can't rely on it and that is why these lenses are in the pros bag. If I wasn't backpacking a 200-400 would be in my bag but I just don't like the bulk and weight. Maybe when another DO zoom lens comes out it might be able to fill all my criteria at even more money!!! (living in dream world)

Hope this world wind affair with the Tamron will help others looking to add one to their bag!


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## TheJock (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

At double the price of the Tammy, Sigma's 150-600 Sport might also be worth a punt Tom. It would be interesting to hear the opinions of a fellow 5DIII owner with the Sigma Sport!!


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## tomscott (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Hi Stuart,

Sort of two in one answer.

The Sigma Contemporary was actually top of my list the first time round as it seems from reviews sharper than the tammy. But after watching a lot of comparisons its seems the AF is worse. I took my main comparison from Dustin Abbots review where he said he preferred the Tammy AF. Im also put off again from 3rd party with the whole firmware updates etc and that its such a farse although sigma implementation seems better with the doc i don't think i can be bothered with it. But if the Tammy for me isn't quick enough in the AF department then I don't think the Sigma Contemporary will be the answer although Id like to try it out.

The sigma sport is also an interesting one, same IQ but it sounds like AF is a little improved, although in dusting review he said its similar to the Tammy which isn't really what I'm after. But the problem for me is weight its huge and heavy. I'm backpacking for 4 months and just don't fancy taking something so heavy! Although I would also like to try it out.

For the time being I'm waiting for my shipping instructions for the Tammy then I've decided to purchase the 100-400mm MKII.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

A DO 600mm les will be much shorter and easier to handle, certainly, a f/5.6 would find a lot of buyers if it was priced under $3,000. That may never happen though, DO tech seems expensive, and production rates are slow. It might require a new factory to mass produce, and then prices would soar.


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## TheJock (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

I'm STILL holding out until I hear more about the "affordable supertele" from Canon that's been discussed in the rumours all year ???
I'm also secretly hoping that Sigma are considering a 600mm Art prime to rival the Canon and Nikon supers, now THAT would be awesome!!! an Art supertele would most likely be about $3000/$3,500, one can hope!


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## tomscott (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

I think because the 100-400mm has just been released I wouldn't hold your breath, the 100-400mm was rumoured to be replaced since 2011 when the 70-300mm came out and most people thought the 70-300mm was the 100-400mm replacement. With nikon bringing out the 200-500mm F5.6 its possible but... Canon will take its sweet time, especially with the 200-400mm surely canon will try and protect sales and I'm sure the 100-400mm has taken a few of them. 

If you need something of this 600mm range rent and try them out see if they will do for you and buy the best you can afford and when canon brings this lens out sell and buy. A lot of the time buying what you need is better than loosing out on images and waiting.

The problem with Sigma and Tamron is that they reverse engineer the Canon AF system so it will never be as quick as the L lenses and if your used to it I can't tell you how frustrating it is.

The Tammy is amazing for the price and for many people it will be fantastic, but for me I want more and with investing heavily in getting to some amazing places the last thing I want to do is get there and be held back by the lens. Id rather spend more money and buy a tried and tested combination and this purchase has taught me this lesson. You get what you pay for.

I can't see a DO lens being under £3000 more like £6-8000 look at the 400 DO, even if its a stop slower at 5.6 it will be still in the stratosphere.


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## tomscott (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

I just watched this review of the 150-600mm Sport and although not the best review he's having similar issues without really explaining it.

https://youtu.be/W4XLaBOv3mw

The still subjects are tack anything that moves all the shots aren't tack sharp, seems like its just missed by an inch and it ruins the pictures with the DOF you get at 600mm and shooting fast action above F8 is difficult in 90% of situations.

For these lenses they need more like 5-6 stops of IS to stabilise handheld and the AF needs much improvement for wildlife and sports. For most other things they are great and I would keep one around as the focal length to weight is pretty good.


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## TheJock (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

It's pretty much as I expected, if you want tack sharp long range image's then your gonna have to shell out a hefty sum, end of story :'(


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## tomscott (Oct 3, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Yep, true would love the 200-400. One day.


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## tomscott (Oct 4, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Another little update.

I went out again tonight, good conditions decided to test a few different aspects that we've been talking about in the thread. I had the camera set on 1/2000th, F5.6-11 between 1000-3200ISO using centre 9 point expansion and case 6 for subjects that change speed and move erratically and lastly IS OFF because of the firmware issue.

I decided focus on BIF and locked the focal length in at 400mm and try it out, as at 400mm it is an F5.6 lens therefore should focus better and... it does! I found that in good light I was getting 7-10 images in focus. There are a couple of caveats, if the subject is moving parallel to you it tracks very well, if the subject is moving toward you it doesn't do so well I found maybe 4-5 - 10 in focus but by pumping the back button af helped acquisition. If the subject is moving away from you it had no problem. It is also really sharp at 400mm rivalling a lot of what canon offer.

More caveats - with the lock button engaged at 400mm there is movement and it can zoom to 423mm anything over 400mm moves it to 6.3 so I found that i had to hole the zoom function as it would move and found about 1/4 of my shots where I had moved hand position had come out at F6.3 and the hit rate dropped significantly.

I decided to give 600mm a try again and pumping the af button does help but I still struggled with about 5-10 shots in focus and those that were didn't feel anywhere near as tack as at 400mm the odd one would come out and its impressive! But it just doesn't hit. 

So im a little torn again, at 400mm the hit rate at 7-10 isn't awful and impressive seen as tho were back to the fact its 1/3 the price and could it be better with the firmware? 400mm wasn't a bad place to be for birding but 600 would be nicer but the fact is the 100-400 is most likely to be at 400mm for birding so isn't an advantage. From talking to a few friends who have shot Africa they said it was more big game than birding so 600mm could be useful for the big game and if they are still then AF will be fine. But still can't decide, would be easier than taking another camera if not and would prefer to stick with full frame than go crop.

So the main caveat is that you have to think about what your doing with the lens to get the most out of it, you can't just put it on and expect to get good results. You also have to be careful with the lock as it easily moves to 6.3 with the slightest movement.

As you can probably tell I really want to like this lens but I'm not sure if the caveats outweigh the positives about 50/50.

The other option I've been looking as is buying a 300 F2.8 MKII with a 2x ex and a 1.4x extender but I think its a bit crazy for back packing and is a big investment if the worst should happen... But would be perfect for my professional work. Still torn.

Opinions??


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## AlanF (Oct 4, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Tom, I've been thinking about the 100-400 II on the 5DsR. Have you seen any reviews of it for BIF?


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## tomscott (Oct 4, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

It is very intreaging! I have thought about it! I think you'd have to be careful with the resolution at 400mm. But from what I've seen it basically handles like a mkIII with twice the resolution but half the buffer.

It's a difficult one the 5DSR and the 100-400 are about the same price as the 300 f2.8 II. Adding a 2 and a 1.4x converter adds such a great alternative and it's only a kg heavier than the 150-600mm.


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## unfocused (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



tomscott said:


> It is very intreaging! I have thought about it! I think you'd have to be careful with the resolution at 400mm. But from what I've seen it basically handles like a mkIII with twice the resolution but half the buffer.
> 
> It's a difficult one the 5DSR and the 100-400 are about the same price as the 300 f2.8 II. Adding a 2 and a 1.4x converter adds such a great alternative and it's only a kg heavier than the 150-600mm.



If you are considering the 5D S and thinking that with the extra resolution, you can crop the image, why not try a 7DII first? Try renting one for a few days and see what you think. Sensors are virtually identical and you get near 1DX focusing and frame rate for half the cost of a 5D S. 

I've been shocked at how good the quality is. Possibly not up to your standards, but you'd do yourself a favor and possibly save yourself some money by giving it a try. Don't know if you can borrow one from CPS in Great Britain, but if so, you'd only be out the cost of shipping it back.


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## AlanF (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



unfocused said:


> tomscott said:
> 
> 
> > It is very intreaging! I have thought about it! I think you'd have to be careful with the resolution at 400mm. But from what I've seen it basically handles like a mkIII with twice the resolution but half the buffer.
> ...



The response by Tom is to me. I do have the 7D II, which is not optimally sharp because Canon has retained the AA filter, which blurs slightly. I suggested the 5Ds R, not the 5Ds, because the R doesn't have the AA filter.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Both the 7D and 5Dsr are both intreaging.

The 5Dsr because I'm primarily a wedding photographer, but because of the resolution they could be fantastic for birding as it has the same focus system as the 7DMKII could be incredible. There was another conversation I was having in another thread and there are a few images from I think eldar? Look great. One thing that puts me off is file size and buffer,

7DMKII is intreaging because it seems like it closes the gap in ISO with the 5DMKIII but shoots at 10fps so I'm moving closer to the 7D and will probably buy the 5D4 when it comes out.

Another lens on my radar is the 400DO you can get good used versions for £2000 about the same size as the 100-400mm zoomed out!! Only 500g more and can take a 1.4 at 5.6... With a 7DMKII 900mm f5.6...

What about that? Only £200 more than the 100-400mm in the uk and take the 70-300mm with me too.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2014/05/23/the-canon-400mm-f4-is-do-lens-fourteen-images-that-prove-that-the-internet-experts-are-as-usual-idiots/

Reading this this quite compelling!


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## AlanF (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

You have to be careful with Birdsasart, the great man is very commercial!

According to TDP tests, the old 400 DO is not as sharp as the 100-400 II, both at 400mm and more so at 560mm, especially as you move out from the centre. 

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=338&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=1&API=1&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=5&APIComp=2

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=338&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=1&API=1&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=5&APIComp=2

And the 400-100 II at 400mm on the 7D II (effective reach 640mm) beats the 400 DO II + 1.4xTC on the 1Ds III.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=338&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=1&API=1&LensComp=972&CameraComp=963&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=0

I'd be very wary of getting the 400 DO now the 100-400 II is available. The 400 DO II is good, but I have resisted temptation so far.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

Here are a few images from the Digital Picture this is the newer 400DO but they are pretty much the same size












The charts show that the 100-400mm is a little sharper and has more contrast. The caveat here is that the lens is an F4 meaning you can get 560mm at F5.6

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=962&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=2&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=4&APIComp=1

To me at F5.6 theres not a lot of difference. At 560mm the difference is F8 vs F5.6 so the AF will still focus with most points.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=962&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=1&API=1&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=5&APIComp=2

At 560mm F5.6 vs 100-400mm at F8 the 100-400mm wins out but stop the 400mm DO down to F8 and the results are still pretty good. At 800mm the 400Do will still focus at F8 but the 100-400mm is at F11 and looking pretty sorry for itself.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=962&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=2&API=2&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=6&APIComp=2

Pros for the 400DO
• Focus is L grade and 3 stop IS
• Similar size to the 100-400mm 
• Similar weight to the 150-600mm
• Will take both 1.4 and 2x extenders well and AF.
• At £2000 used is a fantastic price for a high end super telephoto and is really small only £200 more than the 100-400mm (except grey market, difference is £560)

Cons for 400DO
• It is still large for backpacking
• Slight contrast dip and not as sharp as the 150-600mm and 100-400mm at 400mm but only very slight.
• More expensive
• Old lens and will be in used condition.
• Focal length not as useful, zooms are always more useful and will have to take the 70-300mm L for <300mm
• Relatively large MFD of 3.5m need extension tubes

Pros for 100-400mm
• Will be new
• Stupidly sharp
• Very useful focal length
• Fantastic close focusing of 934mm or <1M
• Smaller and lighter than 150-600mm and 400mm DO
• Better IS and AF than both above
• Cheaper than 400DO
• 560mm F5.6 on crop body

Cons for 100-400mm
• At F5.6 getting to near 600mm means a crop body or Full frame F8 on a 1.4x extender
• More expensive than 150-600mm
• Would buy a crop body to use it on so another £1000
• Crop and 100-400mm £1000 more than the 400DO

Feel free to pull my thoughts apart.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



AlanF said:


> You have to be careful with Birdsasart, the great man is very commercial!
> 
> According to TDP tests, the old 400 DO is not as sharp as the 100-400 II, both at 400mm and more so at 560mm, especially as you move out from the centre.
> 
> ...



True but with the MKIII extender the results are closer and you still get the full frame ISO capability. Again its a tough one there is no clear winner.


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## beforeEos Camaras (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

just looked at that link and the do looks like its still a winner.

currently I have the 400 5.6l love it but with a 1.4extender mk 3 its a f8 lens great for tripod shooting but not for hand held. hence my interest on your own journey on finding a lens


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## candc (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

if you are considering the "do" lens then i would really look at the version ii. i know it cost more but you will be happy with the version ii, version i not so sure? 

the doii on 7dii with or without the 1.4x is an incredibly good combo.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



beforeEos Camaras said:


> just looked at that link and the do looks like its still a winner.
> 
> currently I have the 400 5.6l love it but with a 1.4extender mk 3 its a f8 lens great for tripod shooting but not for hand held. hence my interest on your own journey on finding a lens



Thanks for the info beforeEos Cameras, I think this is a big area for a lot of people and there isn't really a good resource for information across the board anywhere. So I will try to document all of my experience here how ever much its worth. I am just organising my images from the other night and will post a range of tracking images to show its accuracy at 400mm and 600mm. If you are used to the 400mm prime I think the Tamron will surprise you with its IQ, its not as good but its damn close and as the 400mm 5.6 is usually the benchmark although an old lens its impressive. Tracking is another subject however.



candc said:


> if you are considering the "do" lens then i would really look at the version ii. i know it cost more but you will be happy with the version ii, version i not so sure?
> 
> the doii on 7dii with or without the 1.4x is an incredibly good combo.



Ye certainly would love an option like that and although my budget is good it just won't stretch to those sort of prices. I have about £2500 I'm willing to spend atm with second hand DOs being around £2-2500. The 400DO II in the UK is sitting around the £8k mark and £6.5k grey market and unfortunately with it being nearly triple the price I can't really stretch to it. 

Its also a grey area for me with my insurance, I have a great policy for here in the UK which is relatively cheap for my wedding business and also has £5mil public liability for the motorsport events I shoot, but when you add World Wide cover its goes through the roof. My current policy allows 3 months in any destination (which works as you hop from country to country) and I have £5k worth of cover and its around £500, more than my car insurance. The gear I'm taking currently: 5DMKIII 24-105mm, 16-35mm, and 100mm L macro thats already at the 3.5-4k point not including my laptop and other essentials so have to be careful not to exceed it. As a backpacker I'm much more likely to be a target.


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## AlanF (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



tomscott said:


> AlanF said:
> 
> 
> > You have to be careful with Birdsasart, the great man is very commercial!
> ...



The 100-400 II + 1.4xTC on FF is better than the 400 DO + 1.4xTC III. Ok you do lose a stop and are restricted to centre focussing, but you make up for it on sharpness, contrast and better IS as well as lower weight and cost plus zoom ability.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=338&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=3&API=1&LensComp=972&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=5&APIComp=0

The 300mm f/2.8 I or II would serve you better.


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## drphilgandini (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

It sounds like you've ruled out the 400DO, Tom, but in case it's still in play, I recently bought a Series I 400DO used for a very reasonable
price here in the US. A friend has both the Series I and the new Series II, and he warned me of (slightly) lower contrast and (slightly) 
slower AF on the Series I. I am very happy with this lens, and it is amazingly sharp, reasonably lightweight for it's focal length, 
but still a very specialized lens that I don't expect to use all that often. 
I prefer my 70-300L IS which is a truly marvelous lens. Yes it could be faster, and longer, but then it wouldn't be the lens it is now.
Depending on your needs and expected use, I doubt you'll be disappointed with the 400DO I. Yes, the Series II is superior, but not at 3x the price.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



AlanF said:


> tomscott said:
> 
> 
> > AlanF said:
> ...



Yes I completely agree with you!

Again it is all a trade off the 100-400mm with a 1.4 will be fine for anything that is still but as soon as it starts moving centre point at F8 is definitely a disadvantage, so whether the slight sharpness and contrast hit for a lens that is F5.6 and allows for AF point expansion is an advantage. I also agree the 300MKII is definitely king here and I have found an Ex demo for £3799 or you can buy them for about £3.5k grey market then add converters its £4k> which is too much unfortunately.



drphilgandini said:


> It sounds like you've ruled out the 400DO, Tom, but in case it's still in play, I recently bought a Series I 400DO used for a very reasonable
> price here in the US. A friend has both the Series I and the new Series II, and he warned me of (slightly) lower contrast and (slightly)
> slower AF on the Series I. I am very happy with this lens, and it is amazingly sharp, reasonably lightweight for it's focal length,
> but still a very specialized lens that I don't expect to use all that often.
> ...



Thanks for the comment drphilgandini, glad you like it and agree with your points! If you have any pictures you've taken id love to see them if you want to post them in the thread. I think I would like the lens but like you say the 70-300mm is so good and the 100-400mm is slightly sharper and has more range. I also like the zooms as they do have that versatility. Its a difficult area unless you have a lot of money to spend.


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## tomscott (Oct 5, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*

So here are the images from the other night. Il repeat so you don't have to go back through the thread

The images all look sharp at this resolution if you go on flickr you will get a better idea links to the albums are at the bottom.

It was good contrasty light so it was good conditions to try the lens out.

I wanted to try some of the points addressed in the thread. BIF, 400mm F5.6 with native expansion AF. 600mm F6.3+ with bird flying toward and horizontally to see if the AF struggles in either. All shots taken hand held.

I had the 5DMKIII set on 1/2000th to reduce 600mm issues, F5.6-8 1600ISO using centre 9 point expansion and case 6 for subjects that change speed and move erratically and lastly IS OFF because of the firmware issue.

Firstly 400mm F5.6 1/2000th 1600ISO bird flying toward and horizontally.

Images have been processed in lightroom, cropped roughly 30% 60 sharpening added (no mask as I would usually target sharpen) and 15 noise reduction



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 400mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr

As you can see out of the 17 frames only 2 dropped focus so 88% in focus, the bird was flying fairly well and in a predictable manner which also helped. I found I had no trouble with 400mm in numerous flybys even when the subject was highly erratic. 

one caveats - with the lock button engaged at 400mm there is play which equates to 428mm with the smallest of movement. Anything over 400mm moves the aperture to 6.3, I found that i had to hold the zoom function as it would move and found about 1/4 of my shots where I had moved hand position had come out at F6.3 and the hit rate dropped significantly.

Here is an 8 shot sequence of 400mm at F6.3, same settings as above just F6.3

Again images have been processed in lightroom, cropped roughly 80%



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 428mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr

As soon as you go over 400mm where the native F is 5.6 the lens does start to struggle a little. 3 out of 8 shots being missed here with the Bird flying towards the camera so 62.5% in focus this time. But the bird was a little distance away and on a more fussy background.

Onto 600mm, here is an 12 shot sequence of the bird flying towards. F8 this time to aid with DOF at 600mm 1/1600th 1600ISO

Again images have been processed in lightroom, cropped roughly 40%



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr

As you can see it has tracked reasonably well, 6 shots are out of focus and 1 or 2 of them I put down to change in direction by the bird and motion blur. So 6 out of 12 50% in focus, but if we discount the 2 frames 66% are in focus. Again as talked about earlier in the thread the 600mm sharpens up well and I haven't really sharpened aggressively it will take 100 sharpening no problem but I'm at 60 here. The 600mm images are certainly softer but at F8 they look good. Again as before the ones in focus have that instant look of being sharp but delve a little deeper and they aren't quite tack.

Anyway here is the last series, horizontal flying bird but not really a predictable flight path bit of a test.

600mm F8 1/1600th 1600ISO

Again images have been processed in lightroom, cropped roughly 80%




Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



Tamron 150-600mm 600mm Tracking by Tom Scott, on Flickr



TSP_7241 by Tom Scott, on Flickr



TSP_7243 by Tom Scott, on Flickr



TSP_7242 by Tom Scott, on Flickr

This is a perfect example of my claims throughout the thread. The images seem to be just a touch OOF, 5 out of 10 50% now maybe I'm being a little harsh and they are fairly big crops. The camera is tracking the bird but its just not tack. 

This is my findings of 600mm, I think you won't see much more than 60% of images tack in a sequence which can mean the difference between getting that moment where the wings are perfect and not. Although it does vary the last set of images the light was starting to fade and the bird was moving a touch, if the shutter speed was raised a little to 2000 maybe 2500 it may have done better, but these gulls don't move that quickly and it was a little erratic but compared to other birds they aren't the most erratic so 1600 should have been fine. 

There were a few instances where it performed better, against blue sky with the light in front of the subject for more contrast. I do have a 63 shot sequence where it seemed to perform very well but its too much to post.

So 400mm very good 8-10 400+ more around the 6-10. I think I'm improving also, its not an easy focal length to use. Its certainly taken me a while to get to grips with it. But like I said its not a lens you can just put on and expect good results from you have to think about what your doing, select the right settings especially shutter speed.

I think if the firmware was updated and I could have used the IS it may have helped but maybe not with those shutter speeds.

At 400mm its very sharp and quick but the play in the lock switch is a real pain and can quickly get frustrating. It also helps a huge amount if you use back button AF, I got much better results than the first time I took the lens out. 

All of the images are on flickr so you can go look and zoom in if you like. Here are the album links

400mm
https://flic.kr/s/aHskm75o5E
428mm
https://flic.kr/s/aHskm6L1f5
600mm
https://flic.kr/s/aHskibUrjp
600mm
https://flic.kr/s/aHskm77pej


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## justaCanonuser (Oct 13, 2015)

*Re: Tamron 150-600mm Reviewed - Returned*



tomscott said:


> The sigma sport is also an interesting one, same IQ but it sounds like AF is a little improved, although in dusting review he said its similar to the Tammy which isn't really what I'm after. But the problem for me is weight its huge and heavy. I'm backpacking for 4 months and just don't fancy taking something so heavy! Although I would also like to try it out.
> 
> For the time being I'm waiting for my shipping instructions for the Tammy then I've decided to purchase the 100-400mm MKII.



Dialed in a bit late, some very impressive images, congrats, Tom! 

This thread is very interesting for me because I am making up my mind about adding a supertele zoom to my primes (EF 300, 400, and 500) for traveling. My wife has the Tammy for her Nikon gear and experienced the same as you: good lens for static settings, but its AF is definitely not good enough for real birding including action. After reading many comments and reviews on the web I was getting more and more serious about Sigma's S version because of its better AF performance - according to some of those reviewers. I don't mind its weight, I shoot with my old EF 500/4.5 frequently free hand. But the Sigma S has another massive drawback: it is the Dark Lord of all those 150-600mm zooms available! Here are some illustrative data from Bryan Carnathan's great review:

Sigma S: f/5.6 only up to 320 mm!
Sigma C: f/5.6 up to 387 mm
Tammy: f/5.6 up to 427 mm, optically it is a beautiful engineering artwork!

(http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-150-600mm-f-5-6.3-DG-OS-HSM-Sports-Lens.aspx)

So, maybe, the Sigma S simply focuses sharper because it is darker  (f/6.3 maximum in the birder's typical tele range). Finally I come to the conclusion that Canon's EF 100-400/5.6 serves me much better not only in terms of AF performance, it also should be on par with those 150-600's with Canon's quite good 1.4 Mk III TC in real life, at least with the Sigma S. I already have this TC, so my decision is clear: as soon as I need such a tele zoom, I'll get Canon's new 100-400 mm. It is expensive but obviously a fantastic zoom lens.

Many thanks, Tom, for starting this very helpful thread.


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## tomscott (Oct 20, 2015)

Thanks for the comments 

Ye thats another reason I bought the tammy instead originally because its a 400mm F5.6 lens whereas the sigma falls short.

I ended up buying a 7DMKII and impressed isn't the word… its really very very good I've been using it with my 70-200mm with 2x extender for the time being while I wait for the 100-400mm MKII that I've also ordered to arrive.

I will post some more impressions when they arrive.


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## photennek (Oct 20, 2015)

Your latest comment begs for this question: how would you compare your gut feelings of 7D2 + 70-200 + 2x combo to the 5D3 + 150-600 combo? Did the above comment mean just 7D2 is very very good, or the combo?


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## tomscott (Oct 20, 2015)

photennek said:


> Your latest comment begs for this question: how would you compare your gut feelings of 7D2 + 70-200 + 2x combo to the 5D3 + 150-600 combo? Did the above comment mean just 7D2 is very very good, or the combo?



Yes I meant that the 7DMKII is really impressive. The performance is very similar to the 5DMKIII up to 3200 ISO but the focus system is much better for tracking. The 5DMKIII is geared up to faster glass whereas the 7DMKII has all points cross type to F5.6 so it tracks incredibly well with the cheaper long lenses like the 400mm F5.6, 100-400mm F5.6, 70-200mm with 2x etc

With that in mind I've used the 70-200mm MKII for a long time with the 2x. Im a wedding photographer by trade so is my go to lens, but I also shoot motorsport and its a really good combo. It means that I don't have to carry 2 1.5kg lenses with me and whip the 2x off and have a F2.8. Generally when your trackside you can fill the frame pretty easily and because of that the AF works much better so I barely notice the slow down of the 2x especially if your using the af limiter. I have only recently (last 2 years or so) got into wildlife photography and its has been a good combo. It offers about the same IQ as the 100-400mm MKI so I wasn't really fussed about buying one. Again this is why I went in the tammy direction. But found you get what you pay for.

The most important thing is that the max aperture is F5.6 for AF tracking because the tammy is F6.3 its outside the parameters of the AF system it struggles. At 400mm Its great, sharp and fast AF but you don't buy a large lens like that to use at 400 and at 600 was pretty poor at tracking, but the overall image quality I was very happy with it certainly rivals the 100-400mm MKII at 400. Unfortunately the lens doesn't perform very well with a crop body and is much softer than it is on full frame.

The 100-400mm MKII on the 7DMKII is sharper at 640mm than 600mm on the tammy on a 5DMKIII and its max aperture is F5.6 which means it will track much better. The 100-400mm with a 1.4x is still sharper (very slight) on full frame than 600mm but unfortunately it leaves F8 and single point. The 100-400mm with a 1.4x and a 7DMKII at 896mm is about the same sharpness as a 5DMKIII with the tammy at 600. I will be taking both bodies so is a no brainer for me the 100-400mm performs better than the tammy at pretty much everything, its smaller and has that incredible close focus ability. The only negative is its about 3x the price.

As above if your shooting subjects that generally move horizontally to you or are still subjects the tammy is excellent and I can't recommend it enough. But when you are shooting fast subjects that are quite erratic like birds… its not ideal from my test about 40% of shots were in focus at 600mm, which means you can still pull a good frame but your less likely to get that moment your after. Unfortunately not a lot of wildlife stays still unless they are large mammals and you will end up shooting action at some point.

If your interested in some images here are a few I have shot with the 70-200mm MKII with 2x extender. I found the tammy was faster to focus but the 70-200mm + 2x is more accurate.

This is wide open at F5.6 at 400mm on the 5DMKIII


Courage C26S, Group C, 1989, Sarthe, Silverstone Classics 2015 by Tom Scott, on Flickr

Same again


BMW CSL 1973, Batmobile, Colin Turkington, Jet Super Touring Car Trophy, Silverstone Classic 2014 by Tom Scott, on Flickr

F8 at 400mm on 5DMIII


Puffin in flight with a mouth full of Sand Eels, Farne Islands, Seahouses by Tom Scott, on Flickr

Filling the frame at 400mm F8 on 5DMKIII


Razorbill, Farne Islands, Seahouses by Tom Scott, on Flickr

As you can see its pretty impressive! Just a tad slow to focus at times. Looking forward to getting the 100-400mm MKII.

I have been out shooting red dear with the 7DMKII so will put up some thoughts when I have some time.


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## tomscott (Oct 21, 2015)

Stag and his Doe&#x27;s, Red Deer, Martindale Valley Cumbria by Tom Scott, on Flickr

7DMKII 70-200mm F2.8 MKII with 2x extender F8 1/500 1250 ISO

Stag and his Doe's, Red Deer, Martindale Valley, Ullswater Cumbria

First time out with the 7DMKII and really impressed with it!

I have been out tracking the Red Deer in the Martindale valley for the last week or so. Beautiful creatures and the largest mammals in the UK. The valley comes alive with deer whaling, Its the middle of the mating season and now is the best time to go out and see them, this is a snippet of what was a huge heard of around 50!! Really incredible to watch. Haven't seen any rutting yet but hope to in the next few weeks.


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