Tamron SP 150-600 f/5-6.3 VC Review

[Chaitanya]

Having problems with the website loading in chrome as well.

[ScottyP]

$1000 for the lens, and about $700 for a crop body to screw onto it and you have quite the birding setup!  If is any good, that is. I've not had any experience with Tamron.

[Drizzt321]

Having problems with the website loading in chrome as well.

The reviewer popped in her and already said his ISP thought it was a DDOS. That's what happens when you get slashdoted. I guess we'll just have to wait for this ISP/Hosting customer service to get to his message saying that it's real traffic, not a DDOS.

[racebit]

The question is if this lens has any advantage (IQ, speed, size, weight) over the 400 5.6 L. The 600 number on its own means nothing if it can not outresolve the 400L.
It should be comapred to the Canon 400 as they have similar price, not to the 500 or 600.

[mrsfotografie]

should I get one of these http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/ so I can use it with my iPod?

Sorry, but that's just crazy! 

[Drizzt321]

And it looks like the website is back up.

[hksfrank]

Tamron has had QC issues in the past (e.g., second elements coming loose in the 24-70/2.8 VC). Assuming this review is of a pre-production lens (likely hand-picked for the reviewer), I'd prefer to wait for reviews of production copies of the lens, purchased through normal retail channels.

I do enjoy Dustin's reviews as he, like Bryan C. speak in real world terms and the review isn't coming off as a sales pitch. But I agree with Neuro and the off the shelf review vs promo-pre production review.

yep , they told me this was not cherry picked and just take out from those stock (not sure but i knew everything there will be golden sample and they knew how to cherry pick the good stuff) at least my copy on hand was looking like that . but if you get bad copy usually i will exchange one for it (like choose 3 lens while buying in shop and pick the most good one) not sure oversea shop will allow like that but in hongkong some shop does let you do so haha .

while tamron switch from japan to china those years , people epic and finding japan stock everywhere (i am the one of them anyway , then i get a 2-hand used A16 and sold it after i upgrade. while later in end 2013 i get a free one from buddy , made in japan =D)  thats why i pointed at the review , location of manufacture was not a issue , main problem is how the quality control doing.  But for personally comment , china was not a good place to handle high level quality control , that's why better grading lens are made in japan = = (true fact)
hope this time wont have that quality issue because i gonna to buy one (oh tamron plz)

[unfocused]

The sample images don't blow me away, but they aren't bad. Nothing that a little sharpening in post couldn't fix. For most of us, there really isn't any other choice. The only relevant comparison is between this and Sigma's "Bigma." If it outperforms that, then it's a winner.

[Buschtrommel]

it might be a good lens, but the problem is the aperture of 6,3 at the long end. With clearly sunshine there a good results possible but try at bad weather to get a 1/1000 without pushing the ISO into highest heaven.
Also I think that this lens will not be very sharp at the long end and the long end is at least the reason to buy this lens.

[hksfrank]

The sample images don't blow me away, but they aren't bad. Nothing that a little sharpening in post couldn't fix. For most of us, there really isn't any other choice. The only relevant comparison is between this and Sigma's "Bigma." If it outperforms that, then it's a winner.

yep , i dont always shoot wildlife (i do product review and shooting event photo these years lol~)
for sigma i does not suffer from focus issue and now i only keep a sigma 35.4 art which are godly nice

lets professional and lab test do the job. but they are too slow then i doing it myself hoho~
some people from china said it does not sharp as their 500mm F4 and 600mm F4 lol~ but i told them i can put it into my bags and travel around. i am looking forward that comapre to sigma again , i cannot borrow a sigma in time to made head to head compare but at my experience sigma 50 500 was not sharp as tamron at wide open tele. but OS and vc are like 50:50 or 40:60 , both good. one thing my friend stick to sigma is : it have shorter MFD at certain focal length (like 300 or 250) which he always using for butterfly shot. thats tamron cannot provide . although it have more reach at 600mm , but angle of view are different though~

[hksfrank]

it might be a good lens, but the problem is the aperture of 6,3 at the long end. With clearly sunshine there a good results possible but try at bad weather to get a 1/1000 without pushing the ISO into highest heaven.
Also I think that this lens will not be very sharp at the long end and the long end is at least the reason to buy this lens.

i found that most shot are at 600 ... (not long enough for small birds too)
for 600 F6.3 vs 600F4 and remember that F stop are different from Tstop (like canon 24 105 L was about T5.6 ) . which means tamron actually will have less light travel into the body, and the vignetting does affect metering too. VC cannot help to freeze target , which means smaller aperture = higher ISO needed  . in bright sun , no problem for this lens . but for forest or bad weather it maybe a problem but personally i can accept 6400 ISO and event i using 51200 in my job photo (nearly complete dark concert...) . my boss was correct - he said frank you are luck that DSLR have ISO boost , on old years he using flim camera ......... ( skip ~ his talk was like forever lol~) 

it worth the penny but cannot change the fact , it was not a fast lens (not focus speed , the T-stop)

[slclick]

You can wrap it like a Sigma Art series but it's still a 6.3 Tammy

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I was a little bit concerned with the quality of the 600mm images.  I know that things are reduced and sometimes images are distorted by reduction and jpeg, but I feel that my 100-400L with a 1.4X TC looks as good or better on my 5D MK III with a 100% crop.
The comment about AF stopping at times was a bit concerning as well.
Like others, I'd like to have a low cost 600mm lens, and I know there will be compromises, I want to better understand what they are.
 
Frank - Did you try a TC on the lens with the 5D MK III?
 
 

[mackguyver]

The link is working now - nice review of the lens.  It looks like the performance is good but not great from this review, but I'm sure it's going to be finding a lot of spots in amateur & birder's bags given the price and size. 

I'll wait for the DxO / PhotoZone / LensTip, etc. results before passing any further judgement.

[hksfrank]

I was a little bit concerned with the quality of the 600mm images.  I know that things are reduced and sometimes images are distorted by reduction and jpeg, but I feel that my 100-400L with a 1.4X TC looks as good or better on my 5D MK III with a 100% crop.
The comment about AF stopping at times was a bit concerning as well.
Like others, I'd like to have a low cost 600mm lens, and I know there will be compromises, I want to better understand what they are.
 
Frank - Did you try a TC on the lens with the 5D MK III?

bad news , kenko DGX pro 300 blue dot (newest one) was not working either 1.4x or 2x , error 01
maybe old non report model will work (or tape mod)

but working on 600D , exif are not correct ( while i using with canon 70 200 2.8II it show F4 with 1.4 and 5.6 with 2x) but on tamron 150 600 it only show value without VC

i need to return lens within a few hours, it is 3:30 am hong kong now, i will online tomorrow ~
fixed the server , finish the review and now i finally can get a sleep HAHA~