New TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD A011 - Tests.

Coastalconn

This morning after Setting my AF fine tune to +6 and having really crappy light, I can really give this lens a serious nod of approval... check out the first 12 or so on my page and check the exif.. it performed very well at high ISO...

TriShooter

@Costalconn I looked with great pleasure at your Flickr site, and very impressed with your shots. I sold my 200-500mm Tammy, and will be waiting I am sure for some time for the new 150-600mm. Meanwhile I have my 400mm f/3.5 with a modified TC16a which is more than decent.

Thank you very much for sharing your early experience with this wonderful new lens. Your comments, and your expertise on bif shooting were very helpful, and most appreciated by me.

donaldejose

ditto.

Photobug

Very nice work @Coastalconn.

PB_PM

A local bird photographer (former long term newspaper guy) just got this lens within the last week. He said it was no match for his 500mm F4 VR, with or without TC (kind of a given), but for a light weight travel lens, or for long hikes, he thought it was good enough.

[Deleted User]

@Coastalconn Very useful information, thank you. Can you try a couple of shots on the D600 you had before?

Coastalconn

@PB, lol, I don't think anyone thought it would be as sharp at a 500 F4. I'm happy it can come sorta close to the 120-300 with the 2x TC... I think it is sharp enough for the vast majority of people unless you want to pixel peep and argue with people on DPR, lol... For the price I think it is close enough to the 80-400 VR that it's a no brainer to pick the Tamron as a first long lens...

@Ton, I will see if my friend will let me borrow it again..

tc88

I got mine during the week. Here is my current assessment.

Pros: AF is surprisingly quiet, fast and accurate. I really like that. Resolution it beats my 300 f/4 + TC20III. It could use some more microcontrast, but I understand it's a zoom and not a prime.

Cons: It has a long zoom throw. While I in general prefer long zoom throw, it may be too much to turn during BIF. Also it's a little bit heavy and my technique become sloppy due to the weight. While I hand hold my 300 f/4 very well, I think I have to adapt to this lens differently. My copy also creeps badly in both directions.

Today when I took it out to shoot, I noticed the ISO jumps up more than I expected. After I got home, I took some controlled interior shots. Comparing to my 300 f/4, even though this TAMRON is supposed to be f/5.6 at 300, it requires 3x of the light (3x shutter time) to reach the same ISO. At 600, it needs at least 4x. So it's really f/8 at 600 for light transmission purpose. That's my biggest disappointment so far.

Coastalconn

@TC did you notice you can lock it around 400mm?

tc88

Coastalconn, no I would never find it out had you not mentioned it. Thanks for the info. How did you find it out?

[Deleted User]

@tc88 On which camera you had it?

Msmoto

Thanks, Kristofer

Coastalconn

@TC, I read it online, lol.. it was one of the first things I checked.. I did some , real life comparison shots with the 120-300 this morning, but I won't be able to post them til tonight.. I will probably put them on DPR, since I can upload them there.. I went early and had some nice light and might have surprising results...

tc88

Ton, I have been using D7100 since it came out. It's an excellent DX camera (as long as one can tolerate the buffer limitation and gets a copy without back/left focus issues).

Coastalconn, yes, it would be interesting to read your new results.

[Deleted User]

TC Thanks for the info, seems to be a great combo, Kristofer posted stunning results with it on Flickr, handheld 400 - 600mm.

Coastalconn

I think I have to do a re-test with the 120-300, it seemed way less sharp than the Tamron. The preliminary results are here.. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53739942

Not sure why, but in normal usage the Tamron seems to exhibit more shadow noise than the sigma. Today I used a little ETTR and got much better results. I also have to change my processing. I've been leaving WB set to auto and not changing it since the Tamron seems to produce better colors. The Tamron also can't take as much sharpening because of the noise thing.
So on a shot like this, at 600mm wide open, SS 1/2000, ISO 1600, I lowered the exposure by .83. +10 contrast, -5 highlights, -12 blacks, +2 clarity and +7 Vibrance, I think the results were very good.. I only did a high pass sharpening at .6 and 40%.. no noise reduction...

2000px..https://www.flickr.com/photos/coastalconn/14255930286/sizes/o/

As far as AF tracking, to me it is very good for BIF.. Here's a 10 shot landing sequence.. https://www.flickr.com/photos/coastalconn/sets/72157644866430505/

tc88

Coastconn, impressive pictures as usual. A couple of questions for you. What EXIF viewer do you use to get the subject distance? Also how much did you crop on the sequence? If not much, you have very steady hands. Thanks.

Coastalconn

@tc88, Flickr actually lists the "approximate focus distance" in the exif if you expand it. These are not cropped much.. They are barely cropped, first one is like 5700x3200.. as always.. handheld..

donaldejose

I would say that lens is looking very good, quite a bargain.

Photobug

This lens is such a big value, expect more people to buy it this year. From the pictures I have seen, it sure is a hit producing sharp photos.

Coastalconn

@Ton, as you requested... first 7 are tracking in low light.. https://www.flickr.com/photos/coastalconn/sets/72157644890515852/

[Deleted User]

Thank you Kristofer, I appreciate it very much.

I have the D600 now for 1-1/2 year and was always impressed by the IQ, the biggest lens I worked with was 400mm and experienced that as very difficult. You gave your settings in the other (BIF) thread, mine were mostly the same, but after setting my AF to - long -you gave me a lot of work, because of the dramatic increase in useful hits.

ISO 6400 (6 stops) is no problem and tracking is spot on as we can see.

If I buy the lens, there are many practice days (ok weeks) to come, but on my age with plenty of time, photography became now for 90% a hobby.

jjb930

Thanks for the awesome updates Coastal.

I have a few quick questions
1) Are you using a UV filter? What brand if so?
2) Thoughts on using this lens with a monopod? I know it has VC, but in certain circumstances, it may be helpful.

Coastalconn

@jjb930 I do not have a UV filter on any of my lens. I pretty much never have a lens cap on for that matter, I am always ready to shoot, so I cant help you with that..

As far as monopods, I am sure it would work fine, my personal preference is always handheld. I can get sharp results down to 1/125th at that point the subject is more likely to move..

I uploaded a raw file here if anyone wants to see what it looks like.. Wide open at 600 with the D600 http://www.mediafire.com/download/kfbk288d499a8ty/DSC_5604.NEF
It's this picture...

donaldejose

Looks real good to me!