Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

For what this lens offered at the price point, I was a little skeptical. This is a whole lot of feature to package into one product without sacrificing something major. I have shot exclusively with Canon L lenses in the past and really expect that sort of performance in my gear. I typically use a 400 f/2.8L or 600 f/4L for telephoto work, but I could not take these lenses on my recent Tanzania safari due to size and weight. That being said, I am extremely satisfied with the performance of this lens! The small aperature (f5-6.3) does take a while to get use to, but as long as you keep your shutter speed up, tack sharp images are achievable at long focal lengths. I shot pretty much wide open at 600mm the whole time. I even stacked my 2x Teleconverter on and manual focused in some situations with decent results. The images are a tad fuzzy, but perfectly suitable given the conditions. Photographing wildlife in the plains of the Serengeti from an open top Landcruiser requires some practice. There are endless obstacles (Serengeti means "sea of endless grass" for a reason) to disrupt the AF and constant breezes to shake the lens causing micro blurring. After some practice and set-up changes, the results just blew me away. Tack sharp images from close range to about 50-75 yards were easily obtained. Though you can get pretty close to some wildlife, the expanse of the African plains do keep many things out of range. The small aperature made quick AF on moving subjects difficult, but with more practice this may be achievable. Catching birds in flight is a challenge for slow lenses. That is about the only downside to this lens. Stable platform at 600mm is a must. I would love Tamron to make a straight f/4 or f/5.6 version of this lens at a higher price point.

I purchased the Canon version and a Sigma adapter to connect this lens to my Sony A7 mirrorless full frame. I love it! I can hand hold it at 600mm, but it's not my favorite thing to do....I bet have of the pictures are too blurry to call decent. So anything over 400mm I tripod. The way my setup is, auto focus is worthless. The Sony has a great manual focus feature and I've gotten pretty fast at it. Not sure if I am bird in flight fast, but when my kids are running track and field I can get them running by with a couple of attempts. So-so results indoor. I've tried it at swim meets, and it's OK. Make no mistake, it is a beast to lug around. It's heavy and large enough to be cumbersome. Add in that I like to have it on a tripod it quickly becomes too much to hike long distances with. I'd totally still buy it though! I like up close photography, and that 600mm really allows you to get close at a moderate distance. Added thing to be aware of...people see it and my kids sporting events and assume I am a newspaper photographer or something. You'll get so many comments, you'd better think up a few snappy replies. My favorite has been "Yeah I know, I am just overcompensating" lol

I had a choice between this lens from Tamron and a lens from Sigma. After the lens arrived, I took photos taking it through its paces and after downloading the images, I was well pleased with the results and found clarity of images throughout the levels of magnification.

Full disclosure, I returned the lens. Now for the review. This is a really good lens, I was impressed with the focusing, the sharpness at 600mm, and the quality of the pictures I took. It’s well balanced, optical stabilization is good. So, why did I return it? It was too much lens for me. It was too heavy. I bought the lens in preparation for a trip to Africa next year. I decided on this lens because of the features. I figured at nearly 4.5 pounds that it shouldn’t be an issue. I brought it down with me to Florida for a weekend, and lugging it around a wetlands down there told me it was a major issue. I like to handhold, this lens was very difficult to do so. Also found it difficult to pan with a moving object. In reality, you need a monopole to steady it. All in all, it was not the lens for me. But, for those looking for a lens in this range, I highly recommend it. It is a quality lens that does it job extremely well. That is why I give it five stars despite my experience with it.

I really wanted to rent a Canon 600 mm lens for a bird shoot I was going on but when that proved next to impossible I changed course. While the Tamron is not as fast as the Canon lens, I could buy it for not much more than the rental would have been so I decided to go for it. The bird shoot turned out great and having the zoom was a big benefit as I could back off the zoom when the birds got close instead of switching cameras like I would have had have done with the Canon. I can't do a direct comparison with the Canon on sharpness but, comparing my images to those with the 600mm, I could not see a difference. Because of conditions, depth of field was pretty shallow for everyone so my edges may have been softer but you couldn't see it. The bad news - I was using a Canon 7D MK II and in brighter conditions the focus speed was fine. However we had some overcast days with tough lighting and the lens was noticeably slow to focus. The 600mm folks indicated they didn't have a big problem with focus but I would say I did. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase but wish the low light focus was faster. For shooting critters I would recommend this lens.

This product is absolutely amazing.. Fast focus.. Tack sharp. Delivery and packaging were perfect.. Very pleased with this company and will do business again!!!

good build, perfect quality, nothing bad

I received this lens on Saturday night and shot with it on Sunday. I am happy with its performance. Good build quality, light to hold and fast focussing.

Very good telephoto lens very fast af in good light situations. Fast delivery by Amazon. Affordable price.

I use the Tamron 150-600mm G2 with my RP with the adaptor. Very good quality. Here are a few casual shots.