Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD for Nikon DSLR Cameras (Tamron 6 Year Limited USA Warranty)

I always wanted a quality lens that would bring distant subjects closer, and with the Tamron lens, that end was achieved. My budget would not allow the wallet buster L series Canon lenses, so instead, I purchased this Tamron, and I am very happy with it. It takes excellent, sharp, detailed pictures. I am exceptionally pleased with the clarity of the images it produces. The lenses are obviously top quality. It absolutely blows away my Canon 70-300mm lens for clarity. It is very quiet in focusing, and for the most part, hooked up to my Canon DSLR body, it performs wonderfully. The only drawback it the weight of the lens. It is heavy. I try to find a rest for the base or side each and every time I take a picture. I have not used it with a tripod yet, but can see the huge advantage of stabilizing the weight of the lens. This is not to say one cannot hand-hold a picture. It performs great hand held, especially when the shutter speed is above 1/200. For any exposures in darker conditions, a stable tripod is a must. I took some moon photos and these were exceptionally clear. (I used a tripod at 1/30th of a second at 600mm).This is a great lens for wildlife, and I would imagine that this is why most people would consider purchasing this lens. One does not have to spook the subject by getting nearer to get a good picture. I got some stunning pictures of an eagle and a tom turkey, yet I was at least 50 yards or more away.I think most people will be pleased with this lens. The quality of Tamron is quite evident in this well constructed lens.Kone

This is just a preliminary report, since I have only had the Tamron 150-600 for a few weeks and have only had the opportunity to use the lens a few times. This is an impressive lens. I was surprised by the weight. It is difficult to picture just how heavy an item will feel from the figures quoted. Be prepared to handle a very weighty camera setup once you attach this lens. That said, the weight is worth the heft in the field. Get a carrying case for this lens so that you can carry it comfortably when not attached to your camera. I bought the JJC DLP-7 Deluxe Lens Pouch, which is padded and fits the lens perfectly, even with the hood attached in reverse to the lens. I extended the shoulder strap to fit comfortably in the field.The performace of this lens is excellent. Without getting into comparisons, I can honestly say that I have several Tamron lenses, along with many Canon lenses, and I have never been disappointed in the performance of a Tamron lens (or a Canon lens, for that matter). The Tamron at full extension to 600mm will do a descent job at f/6.3 with reasonable light. Focusing is quick, since it has fast motors. The ability to switch from near to 45+ feet helps achieve fast focus when needed. I had no trouble zooming and focusing on birds in flight at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge during several trips. The images were sharp at all focal lengths and the color rendition was very impressive. I was very surprised at the impressive colors delivered.That said, be prepared to track your prey with this lens because birds in flight, or any moving target, will require you to be prepared in time to let the auto-focus do its work to deliver a great photo. The focal length is as advertised on my Canon 5D Mk II full-frame DSLR but if you are shooting with an APS-C size chip you will be astonished at the 960mm equivalent focal length when extended (1.6x mag factor).The lens construction is solid and zooming and focusing are smooth. With the lens attached to your camera, the tripod mounting clamp serves as a great handle when carrying the combo. But, like all long lenses, the quality of what you produce depends on what you put into the photograph. The VC does a great job but at 600mm I always use a high shutter speed when hand-held. My preference at 600mm is 1/1200 of a second shutter speed, which means I use auto-iso much of the time. If you buy one of these Tamron super-zooms you will find your own optimal setting to achieve good results. As always, "for the price" there is nothing on the market that will touch this lens. 5 Stars and highly recommended.

Let's face it, this lens is not a prime lens. It's not super fast. Since it is not super fast, it may occasionally loose focus on continuous focus (AF-C) mode. It also does not work very well in low light situations, but one really can't complain too much because we all know it is only a 5-6.3 lens. I find that I am having to push my ISO between 1000 to about 2000 in mid to lower light situations. Other reviews seem to also agree that when you extend the focus to somewhere around 500-600mm, photos can be a little soft, so keeping aperture around f8-f11 seems to work fairly well to compensate. The issue I personally see is that when ISO is pushed to around 2000, and f-stop is closer to the f11 position, pictures do seem a bit grainy, especially if you trim the photo even more after the shot. I own a Nikon D7000 (1.5 DX sensor camera). I would not recommend trying to use a teleconverter of any type on the DX format cameras. I could not make any recommendations for a FX frame. BTW, yes, the lens does work fine with my DX camera body.Other than issues mentioned above, I still really like this lens, and am glad to own it. I've had it now for about a month. For the price, this is a great option for being able to reach out a full 600mm without use of a teleconverter. I had recently parted with my 300mm f4, and I'm glad I did, because in my opinion, with teleconverter, the 300mm did not really perform any better. The build of this lens feels solid, yet the lens isn't super heavy. I don't know the exact differences, but my Nikon 70-200 2.8 vr ii actually feels heavier by comparison. I am able to hand hold the lens when extended to 600mm position. Despite the somewhat slower focusing, I've still managed to get some awesome bird photos (even hummingbirds hovering over flowers). Scope creep can be an issue when carrying the lens, but there is a 'handy-dandy' lock to prevent this from being a huge problem.THIS NEXT PART HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MY OVERALL STAR RATINGS ON THIS LENS:I am a bit annoyed that authorized dealers (and some unauthorized dealers that are scalping the lens and re-selling) are selling the lens at a marked up price that is way above the MSRP price of $1,069. I made the decision to pay a little more from an authorized dealer on Amazon because I was really wanting the lens for an upcoming trip. I had been on back-order for this lens for over 5 months before breaking down and paying a slightly higher price. I had discovered, after talking to a local Tamron authorized dealer, that Tamron may be having a few supply chain production problems with the lens. I think it is obvious to everyone that Tamron certainly did not mass produce this lens prior to it's release, and now they are slow to keep up with demand. I personally feel that some dealers are taking advantage of this situation and gouging many of us at a marked up price. My advice... just wait until you can get it at a fair market price. Take this information or leave it... it's up to you... but again, THIS PART HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY OVERALL STAR RATING. Bottom line, the lens is worth having.