In-Depth Review: Tamron 150-600 f/5-6.3 VC

[Efka76]

Dustin,

thanks for such good review! It was a great pleasure reading it!

 

[Deeohuu]

It does not seem to be available in Canada yet. It's probably impatience, but it feels like we are the only country that haven't got any in stock. Does anyone have any information about Canadian availability?

 

[Lee Jay]

the photo above looks soft or is it blurred/not focused correctly?

Looks to me like it has about 4 pixels of handshake-induced motion blur, up and to the left.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

It does not seem to be available in Canada yet. It's probably impatience, but it feels like we are the only country that haven't got any in stock. Does anyone have any information about Canadian availability?

It's shipping to dealers today (which is why I was able to go live with the review).

 

[Xayvian]

It does not seem to be available in Canada yet. It's probably impatience, but it feels like we are the only country that haven't got any in stock. Does anyone have any information about Canadian availability?

I placed my order with Camera Canada a couple of weeks ago. I had to email them to find out when to expect it - they said mid-February.

If it is shipping to dealers today then maybe I should check with other retailers.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

the photo above looks soft or is it blurred/not focused correctly?

Looks to me like it has about 4 pixels of handshake-induced motion blur, up and to the left.

That is entirely possible (in fact, likely). I got better results when I learned to up the shutter speed beyond what I normally have (I was shooting with a longer focal length than ever before). That was shot at 1/250th second in fairly extreme cold (well below zero Fahrenheit) at 600mm. In later outings I increased my shutter speed at longer lengths and saw more consistent results.

You can't engineer out human stupidity entirely

 

[Lichtgestalt]

still no access....

seems like reviews for this lens are in high demand.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

still no access....

seems like reviews for this lens are in high demand.

We are in the process of migrating to a new server to help. Outages are still intermittent during the process, but tend to be brief. Try back in a couple of minutes and you should get on. It may be slow, but it should be functional.

 

[dhr90]

Great review. Took a long time to load (10 minutes in and most photos have yet to load, gives me reason to read it again when issues are sorted though

Just discovered the UK price: £949. Given my inability to afford a great white, and how infrequently I got beyond 200/300 this could definitely end up being my next purchase. May go along to the local shop sometime to see if/when they will have one to demo.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Sorry again to everyone for the issues. Server migration is in process. The review is going somewhat viral, so there are a lot of people from a lot of places accessing it.

 

[Roo]

Thanks for the great review Dustin It looks like this would be a great option to replace my Sigma 150-500. I got to try the 600f4 with 1.4x teleconverter at the weekend - great lens but regardless of price, the lack of versatility killed it for me. I also noticed how much wind gusts affected the 600f4 with that massive lens hood.

 

[9VIII]

Aaaand the 400f5.6 is safe (well, mine isn't going anywhere).
I have no doubt that it will be the better performer at 400mm, it weighs almost 1/3 less, and has an integrated hood! (I love that integrated hood.)
Honestly I would love to have both, but I'm looking to upgrade, where selling the 400f5.6 and getting one of these sounds more like an even trade than upgrading.

For the average person just looking for a nice long lens I would probably recommend the Tamron first though.

 

[cliffwang]

Really enjoy reading the review. Great job Dustin.

 

[WoodyWindy]

....
Funny you should say that.... I have a Snowy Owl hanging around and hope beyond all reasonable hope that by the time my lens (pre-ordered a month ago) arrives, that Snowy will still be around....

Even funnier, as I am waiting for a LONG!!! lens for birding, I was wandering around yesterday shooting Chickadees at 24mm.... yet I use them as justification for 600mm....

Lucky you! I've encountered one owl in the wild here, and had a great timing getting shots of it!! That was a winter ago, however, and I only had the 300mm reach of the 70-300L.

I've been lucky enough to catch juvenile great horned owls on some of my walks...

 

[Lee Jay]

the photo above looks soft or is it blurred/not focused correctly?

Looks to me like it has about 4 pixels of handshake-induced motion blur, up and to the left.

That is entirely possible (in fact, likely). I got better results when I learned to up the shutter speed beyond what I normally have (I was shooting with a longer focal length than ever before). That was shot at 1/250th second in fairly extreme cold (well below zero Fahrenheit) at 600mm. In later outings I increased my shutter speed at longer lengths and saw more consistent results.

You can't engineer out human stupidity entirely

We're all grateful for your efforts, and what I said wasn't meant as a criticism. It's a valuable piece of work you provided.

I'm attaching a version after 4 pixels of motion blur correction. If this is objectionable, let me know and I'll remove it. Either way, I'll remove it after a couple of weeks.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

the photo above looks soft or is it blurred/not focused correctly?

Looks to me like it has about 4 pixels of handshake-induced motion blur, up and to the left.

That is entirely possible (in fact, likely). I got better results when I learned to up the shutter speed beyond what I normally have (I was shooting with a longer focal length than ever before). That was shot at 1/250th second in fairly extreme cold (well below zero Fahrenheit) at 600mm. In later outings I increased my shutter speed at longer lengths and saw more consistent results.

You can't engineer out human stupidity entirely

We're all grateful for your efforts, and what I said wasn't meant as a criticism. It's a valuable piece of work you provided.

I'm attaching a version after 4 pixels of motion blur correction. If this is objectionable, let me know and I'll remove it. Either way, I'll remove it after a couple of weeks.

No problem at all. I intentionally didn't really edit anything so people could see what the lens itself could do without "intervention".

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Just as an update for everyone that has had a frustrating experience trying to access the review. I am migrating to a new server with more dedicated processes. This will (hopefully) solve the problem.

 

[Lee Jay]

No problem at all. I intentionally didn't really edit anything so people could see what the lens itself could do without "intervention".

My only point was that this particular sample image is not representative of the optical performance of the lens due to handshake.

 

[that1guyy]

Congrats on the very popular review! I wish I could read it haha but its not loading.

 

[Marauder]

Brilliant review Dustin! Very thorough and very detailed. You've answered my main questions/concerns about this lens--can it match my 100-400L in resolution (YES--at least at 400 and still good at 600 when stopped down!) and will it auto-focus well. It's rather impressive that Tamron has been able to achieve so much at such a bargain price! As much as I'd love a 500 or 600 Canon, the new ones are way out of my league and even the old ones are a huge investment second-hand. And the 200-400 with 1.4 TC is also way beyond what I could possibly save in a reasonable time-frame.

This lens seems like an amazing deal, and I think it will end up in my kit! Only reason I'm not ordering it now is because I already have the 100-400L and I'm still saving $'s for the 7D II when it releases, but this will be a great addition to my bag for SURE. Want one!!! I've been dying for a really thorough review that answered my questions. I know you didn't get to try BIF, but I suspect that it will be good for that, given the Servo testing you did already. I just hope Tamron doesn't begin cranking the price up once the thing is as popular as it's likely to get! As you said, their margins must not be great considering the low purchase price and the obvious quality of the lens! Amazing!

Thanks again for such a detailed, interesting and thorough review!!!