Need telephoto advice for my D750

Blakebronstad

Hey! So I have a d750 and have been itching to get a real long telephoto lens. I have and love the nikkor 80-200 2.8, and am now wondering if I should pick up last year's Tamron 150 - 600 5-6.3 or wait a few months and grab a new sigma contemporary of the same specs. I've really become a fan of sigma with their new lenses, but the tamron has got great reviews and is nearly identical price and spec wise. What to do?

spraynpray

Look at this months PAD thread at the top of the forum page and you will see Coastalconns osprey shots - he uses the Tamron 150-600 and you won't see better results without spending a fortune on high-end Nikon lenses (but then you still have to know how to use it).

Coastalconn

Without spending exotic amounts of money, the Tamron is very good for the price. Here is my gallery with the D7100, D800 and a few other bodies mixed in.. Sorted by flickr's "interestingness" https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=tamron 150-600&user_id=63476818@N08&sort=interestingness-desc
I'm not sure if the Sigma "C" will be better or not. I haven't seen that many images that wowed me from the Sigma 150-600 "S" and I have looked through many of them. The cool thing about the Sigma is the USB dock so you can change some settings in the lens...

Blakebronstad

@spraynpray thanks for the rec! @coastalconn, thanks for linking me some of your examples (: You have got some really great stuff in there. Aside from the dock capability (i do have the dock after all) and the preferred aesthetic (not too important), I don't think I'll be waiting the 3+ months to find out if the Sigma is better. Think I've seen enough to pull the trigger! Thanks guys!

tcole1983

I am not sure what to even add because Coastalconn's pictures are so good. Are you wanting to shoot BIF? If you weren't shooting birds there could be other options, but cost becomes an issue even with the new 300 F4 which I think is more than the tamron and sigma super zooms (although don't quote me on that since I haven't looked at anything in a while).

haroldp

The tc14-eIII works very well on the Nikon 80-400, particularly if you have good light and can stop down 1/2 - 1 fstop. You might try this before spending more.

.... H

Blakebronstad

Thanks for the tips! I'd be using it mostly for landscape, cityscape, surfing and adventure sports/wildlife on occasion. Considering a teleconverter is over a third the price and wouldn't get me nearly as far, I'll prob go with one of the tele zooms. (:

Photobug

Here are my suggestions, without knowing your budget:
Nikon 80-400mm
Tamron 150-600mm
Nikon 300mm F4
Nikon TC14X or TC17X

All three lens should meet your requirements and provides a range of cost. If money is tight, the Tamron 150-600 is an excellent deal at $1069.

The TC14X or TC17X on your 80-200 2.8 gives you a nice reach with your lens. Equivalent of 112-280mm with the TC14X or 136-340 with the TC17X.

spraynpray

"All three lens should meet your requirements and provides a range of cost. If money is tight, the Tamron 150-600 is an excellent deal at under $300."

Under $300? @-)

Photobug

Big typo, I meant to say under $1100.

Blakebronstad

@photobug, thanks much for the input! I think I'll go Tamron for the reach and price (: !!

Photobug

@photobug, thanks much for the input! I think I'll go Tamron for the reach and price (: !!

Excellent - good decision. There have been some excellent post on PAD with this lens and I have personally seen 16x20 prints of BIF and stationary birds at a local dealer. Crisp images with excellent IQ. You will enjoy this lens.

Coastalconn

It's hard to argue the performance/price ratio of the Tamron. I have been through many lenses and there is currently nothing on the market that would make me switch at this point. Unless something crazy happens I will be happily shooting it for the second Osprey season, but this year on the D800...

kyoshinikon

Tamrons are optically fantastic but breathe on them and they lock up as if you dropped it 12 stories... Not the most durable things. You are better off with a used Sigma.

Msmoto

"The facts ma'am, just the facts" as Joe Friday used to say.... IMO, when used with proper technique.....once again, Coastalconn, the Tamron performs about like my Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 with TC-20EIII. The price difference......mmmmm.

The big advantage with the 400mm f/2.8 might be in extremely low light where f/2.8 is really needed. Of course, when carrying it around folks think you must work for SI or one of the auto mags, so this must be worth something..... )

Coastalconn

@kyoshinikon, I would have to disagree with you there. The Tamron 150-600 is built pretty well. I have shot it in every condition possible and it doesn't even look like it's fallen 1/2 story. I easily have 100K shots in it, laying in mud, on beaches, through thunderstorms and snow storms. I am tough on my gear and the Tamron is still going strong. I personally have had very bad luck with Sigma. I purchased a new 120-300 F2.8 OS in November of 2013 and by May of 2014, the OS system failed once and the HSM was replaced twice. I have also had the 50-150 and the focus regulator failed. I have also seen it happen on 2 versions of the 100-300 f4.

@Msmoto, Sure wish I had a 400 F2.8 at my disposal

haroldp

The Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 with TC-20EIII. is an 800mm F5.6 and sharp wide open, even more so down 1/2 stop at F6.3 (at 800mm)

They are hardly comparable.

... H

Photobug

Tamrons are optically fantastic but breathe on them and they lock up as if you dropped it 12 stories... Not the most durable things. You are better off with a used Sigma.

Also disagree with you. My reference is owning the Tamron 200-500 for 6 years. Used it in all sorts of nasty weather and never...not once...had an issue with it not working correctly. Used it on a tripod and handheld and got bumped by people and no issues. One of my friends who works for a local camera dealer has owned a 200-500 for one year and he is ruff with his equipment. He swears by Tamron.

Photobug

@photobug, thanks much for the input! I think I'll go Tamron for the reach and price (: !!

Your welcome. Just for clarification, I have personally used all three lens thanks to some very good friends. All produced nice images. After using the 300 F4 last year I decided to buy one in 2015 so when the 300 F4 PF was announced I decided to wait for the DxO results and other field testing before moving forward. I have used a TC17X on my 70-200 but did not use the TC14 or TC17 on those three lens.

From my perspective, it really comes down to which lens will meet your requirements. From the testing I read on the Tamron 150-600, images posted here on PAD, and my 2 hours of use, it's a good lens.

heartyfisher

I have an old tamron 200-400 F5.6 .. its been around .. was given to me many years ago.. still works nicely :-) Such a pain.. I have no excuse to get an upgrade :-) IQ is quite nice only problem is no VR. I have 2 other tamrons. I don't use one of them anymore, it still works but the old 28-200 super zoom from film days just cant compete with the modern IQ. And my latest addition is the 24-70 VC. IQ is really great! seems reasonably tough.. has weather sealing which nikon and canon equivalents don’t, not that I will take it out into the rough (me and that tammy still on "precious" mode :-) ) .

Vipmediastar_JZ

Having the Bird Flu myself, BIF, I been enjoying these types of photos.

I do want the 300f4e with tc due to weight primarly.
Shooting with the 70-200 2.8 I can see how beneficial zoom is in this case and would rather get a zoom for BIF but then again the weight of the 300 f4e is very tempting.


here is a review from digital photogrpahy school

Here is one from Photography life about the sigma version

kyoshinikon

Maybe my experience with tamrons is tainted. All 3 of the ones Ive had broke on me in ways none of my nikon gear has. Maybe they've upped their game since 2011. Optically I found all 3 to be fantastic tho.