I have seen some excellent static shots taken with this lens, and some BIF which were pretty good. My personal experience wasn't great: I tested the Tamron for a couple of days on a variety of subjects but then sent it back. On the outset, It seems to be a nice lens with a good build quality but it didn't come remotely close to meeting the performance of my 400 DO +1.4x which was my intent in trying it out in the first place although frankly I really would have been pleasantly surprised if it had. My biggest issue with the lens was that it hunted a lot in trying to acquire moving subjects: birds, airplanes. Getting focus lock was inconsistent at best... Oh, and I used it only with a 1D Mark IV...
Keeping it. it didn't live up to the internet hype, but it met my expectations and more importantly it will be a great lens (that gets 600mm) for the wife and other photo enthusiast who tag along with me.
big country wrote:
Keeping it. it didn't live up to the internet hype, but it met my expectations and more importantly it will be a great lens (that gets 600mm) for the wife and other photo enthusiast who tag along with me.
This was my initial thought too.....but my wife can get frustrated pretty easily with electronic gadgets......cameras included so if it was doing the hunting I experienced, she would be frustrated......so I am passing.
I don't shoot BIF and the static shots @600mm in decent light at f/8 are really very, very good right out of the camera. Add just a little PP and they're fantastic.
AF has been fast and spot-on for static subjects. I hope the AF issues get sorted out for the BIF shooters.
This lens is an incredible value at this price point, IMHO.
Here is a typical example which works for me. Canon 6D, Tamron @600mm, ISO 800, 1/2000th, f/8.
The bottom image is the full-size original unprocessed JPG and the top image is a full 100% image crop with very light sharpening and DR adjustments made in post:
Based on the quality of some photos of more static subjects from about a week ago (see sparrow photo), I intend to keep the lens. I am hoping for some sunny days next weekend to try it out further.
I have seen the same problem for BIF focusing as others have been experiencing and am hopeful of a fix by Tamron.
Would a Tamron lens firmware update, if they come up with one as a solution, involve sending the lens in to a service center, or is this something that could be performed with an internet download and then upload to or through the camera?
If a fix to improve the AI servo focusing for BIF does become available, and required sending the lens to the factory, I would do so.
Since this is a "cheap" lens,i would think that most users would be like me,beginners,i don't see a pro,that already has a Canon lens trading for it.
I still not sure if i like it or not,i only rented a 300mm F2.8 non IS and it was sharper than the Tamron so its hard to compare since its the only long lens that I've used.
My technique isn't good yet but i took better pics with the Canon. I used Tripod on both.
I have a 7D and i didn't have any trouble with the AF.
Maybe i was expecting some type of miracle….maybe we all expect the same,but so far no miracle…..
I will keep mine for a lil longer, since it isn't much money and its a challenge,maybe the miracle will happen!!!
Sorry for the bad English.
bergenor wrote:
Since this is a "cheap" lens,i would think that most users would be like me,beginners,i don't see a pro,that already has a Canon lens trading for it.
Serious or pro users may buy one as an extra lens for specific purposes. It won't replace my 100-400 + 500/4 for everything, but I see the potential for the 200-600 and a 600/4 II.
Hi folks,
After years of lurking this is my first FM post. Since Jan 17th, I have been testing this lens on BIF. Living near L&D 14 on the Mississippi river I have spent many hours shooting Eagles. Please take a look at the my results over the last few weeks. http://jjbird.smugmug.com/Photography/Tamron-150600-Lens/i-GKtJqV8
I really like this lens and find it to as sharp or better than my tried and true Canon 100-400L.
My copy does have a issue when used with my 7D in the Ai-Servo mode, it does not keep focus, as a work around I must keep bumping the focus button (I use back button focus) to keep focus. My other body is the Canon 6D, and Ai-Servo tracking works fine. I also tested this lens on the Canon 70D and Ai-Servo tracking was also worked fine. On a 1D Mark4 it did not work. This has all been reported to Tamron. This could be a firmware issue with certain Canon bodies. I am hoping for a fix from Tamron as I do not want to return this lens.
jjbird wrote:
Hi folks,
After years of lurking this is my first FM post. Since Jan 17th, I have been testing this lens on BIF. Living near L&D 14 on the Mississippi river I have spent many hours shooting Eagles. Please take a look at the my results over the last few weeks. http://jjbird.smugmug.com/Photography/Tamron-150600-Lens/i-GKtJqV8
I really like this lens and find it to as sharp or better than my tried and true Canon 100-400L.
My copy does have a issue when used with my 7D in the Ai-Servo mode, it does not keep focus, as a work around I must keep bumping the focus button (I use back button focus) to keep focus. My other body is the Canon 6D, and Ai-Servo tracking works fine. I also tested this lens on the Canon 70D and Ai-Servo tracking was also worked fine. On a 1D Mark4 it did not work. This has all been reported to Tamron. This could be a firmware issue with certain Canon bodies. I am hoping for a fix from Tamron as I do not want to return this lens....Show more →
Personally it amazes me they would of not beta tested these with all potential Canon camera's, find the flaws, correct them before they try to cash in on the lens.
jjbird wrote:
My copy does have a issue when used with my 7D in the Ai-Servo mode, it does not keep focus, as a work around I must keep bumping the focus button (I use back button focus) to keep focus. My other body is the Canon 6D, and Ai-Servo tracking works fine. I also tested this lens on the Canon 70D and Ai-Servo tracking was also worked fine. On a 1D Mark4 it did not work.
This is an interesting development. So AI does work on some bodies then. Has anyone with a 6d or70d reported issues?
I still haven't received the okay from the dealer, but I've inquired about a return/refund. I'm disappointed because there is so much to like about this lens. But as a matter of principle, unless specifically stated otherwise by the manufacturer, tracking should work properly in autofocus-servo mode. It doesn't have to be the best or the fastest at this price, but it needs to work like it's suppose to.
jjbird wrote:
Hi folks,
After years of lurking this is my first FM post. Since Jan 17th, I have been testing this lens on BIF. Living near L&D 14 on the Mississippi river I have spent many hours shooting Eagles. Please take a look at the my results over the last few weeks. http://jjbird.smugmug.com/Photography/Tamron-150600-Lens/i-GKtJqV8
I really like this lens and find it to as sharp or better than my tried and true Canon 100-400L.
My copy does have a issue when used with my 7D in the Ai-Servo mode, it does not keep focus, as a work around I must keep bumping the focus button (I use back button focus) to keep focus. My other body is the Canon 6D, and Ai-Servo tracking works fine. I also tested this lens on the Canon 70D and Ai-Servo tracking was also worked fine. On a 1D Mark4 it did not work. This has all been reported to Tamron. This could be a firmware issue with certain Canon bodies. I am hoping for a fix from Tamron as I do not want to return this lens....Show more →
Thanks for reporting your findings, and nice photos! You really got some awesome frames there, especially considering the need for constant focus bumping on some. Having that extra reach to 600 combined with nice light gives a lot of beautiful detail to examine in your photos, but would you be able to post larger sizes on your flickr page? If not I understand, the largest I post is 1200x800 to avoid theft, and some of those are real keepers!
I'm very good friend of jjbird and we are in a camera club together.......He is an expert on Bald Eagle shooting(speaks in seminars about it) and if Jay(first name) says something, he has tested it and you can believe it....I've seen a lot of his eagle pictures and they are absolutely fantastic. For him to compare it favorably to the Canon 100-400L is saying something. I may buy this lens in the future when the glitches are worked out...for the money, it's a steal in my opinion.....
IndyFab wrote:
Personally it amazes me they would of not beta tested these with all potential Canon camera's, find the flaws, correct them before they try to cash in on the lens.
Bad business decision ... they new...
By the way jbird great shots..
Grammar--it's the difference between "feeling your nuts" and "feeling you're nuts".
I tested my tamron today with a 1Dx. Good news was the sharpness compared against the 200-400. However, I too have the non-focusing problem. Using back button focusing and constantly holding the af-on button, I was Able to get the lens to focus at a distance then close up, distance again but then it would not attempt to focus until I released the button and pressed it again.
I think this is similar to what others have experienced.
