Tamron SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 DI IF VC USD

Phil Young said:
I thought we were still talking about the digital picture comparison tool?

I'm not comparing lenses as much as comparing detail from the test. I'm not sure why that would be unfair???
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My interest is comparing the detail between the Tammy at 600/8 and other lenses that I may use for bird photography. on TDP I can compare my 100mm IS macro with a 500/4 mkI and the macro comes out sharper but it is not a lot of good for bird snapping IMO.
 
It is fine for bird snapping perched on a branch fairly close to you.

There are so many variables and reasons why x lens is better or more appropriate than y lens but what I'm saying is from the tests illustrated and my experience of TDP being right for me 100% of the time... the detail *should* be fine, for me at least.
 
danbroad said:
I guess the real crux question for me is whether a 600mm shot would show microcontrast and fractal detail retention (especially feathers and fur) better than a cropped-from-20MP image from a 400/5.6 on the same sensor. If not appreciably better then for my needs the 400/5.6 is the right choice for a similar price, even though it loses the headline reach. Not to belittle the lens- it seems like a huge bang-for-buck, but I can't help but think the sweet spot is much less forgiving of fast moving subjects in poor British light.
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Yep, this is something like my thinking Dan although I am probably more interested in comparing the fine detail of The Tammy at 600/8 v the 400/5.6 + 1.4x tc at f8. From the TDP comparison tool there does not seen to be a lot in it but from actual bird images I am seeing I am not so sure that the Tammy captures such fine detail - I would love to be wrong as I fancy a crack at the 150-600.
Attached are a couple of shots taken with the Canon 400/5.6 + 1.4x tc (on as 7D and cropped a fair bit) OK nothing special I will agree but if I can get the same fine detail from the Tammy I will be buying one. Please click on images for correct size.
robin560_zps9559a515.jpg


Bluetit-560mm_zpsaf4aa8ee.jpg
 
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sthwild said:
Roy, if you fill the frame I can confirm that you'll get very similar amount of detail. I'll try to upload something in next two days so you can compare.
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Thanks, would appreciate that, I if you have any that is about a 50% crop then that would be great as my two images above were about that.
 
HoppyUK said:
That second shot is less easy, if there's nothing in the foreground. Dunno really, could actually be a weird background, or something about the lens, or a bit of both.

You could maybe identify it as a lens characteristic by comparing directly against another lens. Assuming you don't have another 600mm, just use your longest other and enlarge to match - should be good enough to see if they're significantly difference.

You don't have a filter on the Tamron do you? That's a common cause of funny backgrounds with long lenses.
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I was able to replicate that strange background by holding some grass leaves in front of the lens and looking at the image in the viewfinder. Thanks for the suggestion!

Now - thinks - did I have the filter on or not...........
 
Can anyone give me the definitive answer on this, please....

Should the VC be on or off when a tripod is being used?

I know Tamron says it should be off, but I have some truly horrible out of focus results with it tripod mounted and VC off using shutter speeds of around 1/200th second. I can't tell if it's a focus or camera shake problem.
 
Phil Young said:
VC should be off on a tripod if the shutter is low enough (I usually turn it off when it goes into the seconds).

If it were 600mm and 1/500th I'd still leave it on.
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A 600mm lens can still be prone to camera shake, even on a tripod.....?

Yes, I get that.
 
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VC shoul
jerry12953 said:
Can anyone give me the definitive answer on this, please....

Should the VC be on or off when a tripod is being used?

I know Tamron says it should be off, but I have some truly horrible out of focus results with it tripod mounted and VC off using shutter speeds of around 1/200th second. I can't tell if it's a focus or camera shake problem.
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VC should be off when on a tripod, however there are other things to factor in e.g. quality/stability of the tripod/head/foot :)
 
gramps said:
VC shoul


VC should be off when on a tripod, however there are other things to factor in e.g. quality/stability of the tripod/head/foot :)
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Well I haven't got the heaviest tripod/head combination around but it is a good quality one. Also it was a vertical format shot so that could well have added some extra instability.
 
jerry12953 said:
Can anyone give me the definitive answer on this, please....

Should the VC be on or off when a tripod is being used?

I know Tamron says it should be off, but I have some truly horrible out of focus results with it tripod mounted and VC off using shutter speeds of around 1/200th second. I can't tell if it's a focus or camera shake problem.
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No definitive answer. If I have a hand on the camera, eg gimal or monopod, IS stays on. Otherwise off, except when it's on :D

It depends - use live view at max magnification and see if there's less jiggling or drifting of the image with IS/VC on or off. Just a guess, but with that lens at 600mm, I think IS/VC on might be best, certainly if there's any wind - that huge lens hood acts like a sail.
 
jerry12953 said:
Can anyone give me the definitive answer on this, please....

Should the VC be on or off when a tripod is being used?

I know Tamron says it should be off, but I have some truly horrible out of focus results with it tripod mounted and VC off using shutter speeds of around 1/200th second. I can't tell if it's a focus or camera shake problem.
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Hi Jeremy,

Are you taking the shot using timer or remote shutter? Also have you tried setting the mirror up option (I think Nikon call it MUP, I'm not sure what Canon call it).

my general rule it to always have VC off when on a tripod, the tripod should keep the camera perfectly still, but if you are shooting at 600mm any camera shake but pressing the shutter button or the mirror moving might cause your issue.

Good luck
 
jerry12953 said:
I have some truly horrible out of focus results
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Leaving aside the fact that VC should be off when tripod mounted, if you really mean, "I have some truly horrible out of focus results" then I would think something else is going on outside of shutter-button or mirror issues ... post a sample.
 
gramps said:
Leaving aside the fact that VC should be off when tripod mounted, if you really mean, "I have some truly horrible out of focus results" then I would think something else is going on outside of shutter-button or mirror issues ... post a sample.
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Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit! But I was disappointed .
 
Brayg01 said:
Hi Jeremy,

Are you taking the shot using timer or remote shutter? Also have you tried setting the mirror up option (I think Nikon call it MUP, I'm not sure what Canon call it).

my general rule it to always have VC off when on a tripod, the tripod should keep the camera perfectly still, but if you are shooting at 600mm any camera shake but pressing the shutter button or the mirror moving might cause your issue.

Good luck
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The self-timer is not really possible with quickly moving birds. Maybe a cable release and/or mirror up option might have helped.
 
I suppose I was wondering if there is some basic incompatibility between a totally steady camera on a rock-solid tripod and a lens with VC/IS switched on. Is there some mechanical or electrical reason why IS/VC should be switched off?

Otherwise presumably it is a question of degree, and therefore a judgement that the photographer makes?
 
jerry12953 said:
I suppose I was wondering if there is some basic incompatibility between a totally steady camera on a rock-solid tripod and a lens with VC/IS switched on. Is there some mechanical or electrical reason why IS/VC should be switched off?

Otherwise presumably it is a question of degree, and therefore a judgement that the photographer makes?
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Ooops - just trying to edit my own post.
 
It's the way VC/OS/VR works, it is designed to counter vibrations but if the vibrations don't exist in the form expected, (as when mounted on a tripod), it can generate vibration-like effects itself ... here's a good read: http://www.bythom.com/nikon-vr.htm
 
jerry12953 said:
Gramps - your top shot is incredibly sharp and I'm amazed that you were able to manage that on a tripod!

But not with a self-timer, I presume!
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No self-timer or remote, just on the tripod with gimbal-head, back-button focus and pressing the shutter button :)
 
gramps said:
It's the way VC/OS/VR works, it is designed to counter vibrations but if the vibrations don't exist in the form expected, (as when mounted on a tripod), it can generate vibration-like effects itself ... here's a good read: http://www.bythom.com/nikon-vr.htm
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Thanks!

I had a horrible feeling there might be something like this. Tamron definitely say that VC should be switched off if the lens is used on a tripod. Much as I dislike doing it, I shall definitely have to do some testing.
 
This may seam out of context but an example of what tripods can do,in the very distant past when my late wife did weddings her first single lens 6x6 was a Bronica S2A with if i remember correctly a flash sync speed of 1/30th,she used it hand held with fill in flash with no problem,on selling it to another wedding photographer he complained something was wrong with it because his fill in flash shots where not sharp,after much testing we found it was because he was using a tripod, whereas my wife hand holding was absorbing the vibration from the mirror and shutter.
He changed to hand holding and was eventually able to get sharp results,so give as much thought to using tripods as you would hand holding.
 
Not saying this is a good example just an example

 
I have had two sessions recently where I set the camera+tamron long zoom combo on the tripod and waited for a bird to arrive in a given position.

In quite long series of images something has happened such that the results are not sharp at 100%. Fortunately during one possibly unrepeatable session I changed settings at some stage such that I have another long sequence of perfectly sharp images.

Whether the change I made was VC on>off or vice versa I can't remember!

The other thing that happened was that up to 2 stops of light leaked in through the viewfinder resulting in badly underexposed images, but that's another matter!

So thanks for reminding me that a tripod is not the answer to every problem. Although it appears to be the answer to a heavy lens.......
 
HoppyUK said:
No definitive answer. If I have a hand on the camera, eg gimal or monopod, IS stays on.
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This!

There is but one rule - if the camera can/will wobble then IS stays on. The only time I'll switch it off is when using a tripod and a remote release, because that's the only time I'm sure that the camera won't wobble.
 
jerry12953 said:
I suppose I was wondering if there is some basic incompatibility between a totally steady camera on a rock-solid tripod and a lens with VC/IS switched on. Is there some mechanical or electrical reason why IS/VC should be switched off?
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When the camera is still, the IS/VC can create feedback that builds up and creates its own movement. Eg, older-tech Canon IS lenses like the 100-400L are notorious for the image drifting all over the place on a static tripod. Newer 'tripod sensing' lenses are much better, but off is properly off (like parked in neutral, with handbrake on).

Otherwise presumably it is a question of degree, and therefore a judgement that the photographer makes?
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Yes.

gramps said:
It's the way VC/OS/VR works, it is designed to counter vibrations but if the vibrations don't exist in the form expected, (as when mounted on a tripod), it can generate vibration-like effects itself ... here's a good read: http://www.bythom.com/nikon-vr.htm
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That piece by Thom Hogan is often quoted, and years old now. More significantly, he shows no pictorial evidence of this theory, and I've not seen anything even vaguely convincing from any other source. Furthermore, I've tried to recreate this alleged problem myself (using Canon) without success.
 
There are dozens and dozens of reports about having VR/OS/VC switched off when on a tripod.
 
jerry12953 said:
Echoes of uv filter/no uv filter me thinks........
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And, just like that debate, a proper experiment provides the proof.

100-400 22s exposures. IS on vs IS off. QED.

IS%20on-off%20100-400.jpg


I've got results from the same test with the 24-105 that show no difference.
 
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Phil Young said:
I think the test would be more suited at 1/200th like the shots in question.

I'll bet there's no difference.
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Of course not. A non-detecting IS system on a tripod will go into a slow loop.

I may try getting a video of it.
 
Still no word on stock for the 150-600mm canon fit?
It seems to be on back order everywhere.
 
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