Pictures are looking pretty soft, but no sample picture I've seen looks over-sharpened. Is there room for more sharpening to bring some detail and contrast out, perhaps?
Don't mean to be negative about the lens. Can't help but observe that images don't seem sharp, and contrast seems lacking. Certainly we grasp that the lens takes affordability to a new level, but the tradeoffs may be a bit significant.
AV...I'd love to see a larger version or raw image of your owl...I think a lot more can be done with it in post process.
I agree with John...many of the shots lack contrast and sharpness that is there...just hasn't been brought out in post processing.
Unfortunately we will see a lot of soft images from this lens, as those with no experience shooting at over 400mm think they can get the same sharpness as with shorter focal lengths, without implementing long-lens technique. Many will shoot at shutter speeds that are too slow for handheld 600mm shots and will think that image stabilization is the cure-all for soft images at 600mm.
Many of those same people that have no experience at long-lens shooting also have no experience at efficient post-processing. The sharpness of the above owl shot would be unacceptable to me, but I don't know if that is the fault of the lens or the photographer, or both.
Imagemaster wrote:
Unfortunately we will see a lot of soft images from this lens...
The sharpness of the above owl shot would be unacceptable to me...
In all fairness, the image wasn't intended to give an example of potential image quality. It was shot quickly, handheld, and from the inside of a running car. If you want some shots in a controlled environment, I have some here...
AvianScott wrote:
In all fairness, the image wasn't intended to give an example of potential image quality. It was shot quickly, handheld, and from the inside of a running car. If you want some shots in a controlled environment, I have some here...
The Tamron looks very slightly softer and less contrasty than the Canon, but not by much. It would be interesting to see how the Canon images looked when they are up-scaled to 600mm. Another interesting test would be to slap a 1.4X TC on the Canon, and shoot both at 560mm.
Can you do any of those tests?
Depending how the 1.4X TC test goes, it may be difficult for some Canon owners to give up their 100-400mm zoom. However, for those who don't already have that lens, it's probably a no-brainer to pickup the Tamron at this price point.
If this Tamron was a 150-400mm lens, no one would care. The reason people are interested is the 400-600mm range. So- like others, I'm more concerned about what options I have to get out to near 600mm with full autofocus on a non-1D/5D3 body. Those are the comparison tests I think matter to the most people- the 100-400 at 560mm f/8 vs. the Tamron 150-600 at 560mm f/8.
I could actually see some owning both the 100-400 and the 150-600, and use the Canon when it's 400mm or below, and pull out the Tamron when you need more than 400mm.
gocolts wrote:
If this Tamron was a 150-400mm lens, no one would care. The reason people are interested is the 400-600mm range. So- like others, I'm more concerned about what options I have to get out to near 600mm with full autofocus on a non-1D/5D3 body. Those are the comparison tests I think matter to the most people- the 100-400 at 560mm f/8 vs. the Tamron 150-600 at 560mm f/8.
I could actually see some owning both the 100-400 and the 150-600, and use the Canon when it's 400mm or below, and pull out the Tamron when you need more than 400mm.
Agreed.
The most "important" field test is from 400mm to 600mm with the Tamron vs. 400mm to 560mm with the Canon and the 1.4X TC.
In post, the most "important" test is how well 400mm images from the Canon zoom look when up-scaled to 600mm.
I'd like to see both of those tests performed. Can anyone do them in the SAME controlled environment?
The samples aforementioned has clearly stated that the Tamron produced overall better image than the Canon 100-400mm combined with 1.4x TC. Sharpness, contrast, colour are so much better than the former settings. Under good light, this is going to be a one hell of zoom lens available at the moment given the price, its almost a no brainer. I have 70-200mm but this Tamron 150-600mm would be a good companion to my EF500mm II if it ticks all the boxes
Quickly I have a lot of respect for this lens. It arrived from FedEx and it was ice cold so I quickly wanted to see how smooth zoom ring and manual focus was...........very pleasant feel to both.
Extended out the zoom ring to full extension, there was no wobble or slop detected.
Looked down the front element, pretty wicked!
Mounted on camera, firm and secure, perfect actually, snug and reassuring fitment.
Randomly pointed to obtain focus, super silent and very quick
Turned on VC......don't hear a thing but man it works! Took a few shots at 600mm @ 1/50 with satisfactory results.
Not seeing at the moment any color casts as far as WB is concerned, Tamron has often been slightly warm for me.
Mounting foot and swivel are great, smooth rotation in ring and good feel to tensioner knob
Hood is lightweight, reverse stores on lens and mounts up easily with twist lock. Nice pinch style front cap provided.
oops forgot, need to download my free Silypix software which a link and license code is included
Just going to tell it like it goes for me. I spent $1069, I don't often pay retail for anything.
the EXIF finds this Tamron as a Canon 90-300 at the moment, interesting based on jeffries viewer exif
For me and my interest, I'm looking to see what the lens can do for birds in flight shots. I haven't seen any of those yet. This shot is difficult in that you you turn off the distance limiter since the subject is less then 15 m. Have you played with the AF limiter, that is, turn it on when the subject is over 15m (15m to infinity setting) or do you always leave it off and have no limiter set at all?
I've got a half a mind to pre-order it. Definitely thinking about it.
Reckon I should wait for a little more evidence though. But the tiger shots has just about convinced me that this would be a very useful lens for handheld birding on a sunny day.
the EXIF finds this Tamron as a Canon 90-300 at the moment, interesting based on jeffries viewer exif