Tamron SP 70-300 VC

magicaxeman

magicaxeman

An Idiot
Suspended / Banned
Messages
3,097
Edit My Images
No
I would love to know others experiences with the lens, especially wide open.

So far the weather has meant I haven't been able to shoot the birds at the feeding station as the constant cloud means I just cant get the shutter speed I need (no VC,IS or VR can make up for shutter speed on moving objects).

I just took a shot in very poor light indoors to see how far you could push the VR on the lens and I'm frankly astonished!!

I just shot this ... 1/13th of a second!! and I'm pretty shaky at handholding.

Full details:

Canon 500D
ISO 800
1/13th second
F5.6
No flash
Shot raw with no processing other than converting the raw.

Full size shot
test.jpg


50% crop
test50crop.jpg
 
Assuming you still own the Tamron, how have you found it since you posted this? I'm thinking about getting one and would be interested to hear your thoughts if you wouldn't mind? Particularly interested in how well you've managed tracking birds, as I would potentially consider this for sports and wildlife photography too. Cheers!
 
I've not had any problems at all with the lens, its been spot on all the time with whatever I shot with it.
 
Thanks for the reply - birthday next month can't come soon enough now!
 
I own one and it's sharp at all focal lengths and apertures! The stabiliser is without a doubt the best I've ever seen. It really is incredible. I wouldn't part with it. If they release a 70-200 with this system it will be very impressive! Love mine!

Edit this was on the d7000 I haven't gave it a thorough testing on my d700 bar a few basic tests with AF, metering and flash use, all of which came up trumps
 
Last edited:
Also for a variable aperture lens the bokeh is creamy smooth and not distracting at all. For the money it's a steal
 
I've had mine for a week and love it!
 
I did have a quick play with it on my 40D in a Jessops and I found the VC really impressive as well! That's partly what's swayed me from the Canon, as well as reading some positive press reviews. It's great to know that it's sharp in all situations so thanks for your input!

Am I right in thinking that it's heavy for it's size? I couldn't really gauge in the shop without having carried it around for a bit.
 
This is great to know for the sport/wildlife scenarios I'm likely to end up using it in if I do buy it. Any chance of a sample shot with nice bokeh? Don't worry if not :)

Add the 5 year warranty (which, unfortunately, is almost unheard of in this day and age) to the great price and it's even better value!

TonyNI said:
Also for a variable aperture lens the bokeh is creamy smooth and not distracting at all. For the money it's a steal
Click to expand...
 
jb92 said:
This is great to know for the sport/wildlife scenarios I'm likely to end up using it in if I do buy it. Any chance of a sample shot with nice bokeh? Don't worry if not :)

Add the 5 year warranty (which, unfortunately, is almost unheard of in this day and age) to the great price and it's even better value!
Click to expand...

I haven't updated my Wordpress in ages but the pictures in this link of the butterflies, birds and rally cars had all been taken with it wide open at (mostly) 300 mm on a d7000

http://thompsonsphotos.wordpress.com

Actually nearly every telephoto shot was done with that lens on there
 
Last edited:
Great pictures, really shows off the potential of the lens! Lovely colours and the sharpness for wide open is fantastic like you said!
 
jb92 said:
Great pictures, really shows off the potential of the lens! Lovely colours and the sharpness for wide open is fantastic like you said!
Click to expand...

It is indeed. I would easily put it in the same league as the most expensive lenses I've used. It is quite big and heavy(ish) though!

I would love to see how this lens performs on a D800 or another high MP camera. It seemed to push my d7000 to the limit. Even my test shots out the back garden with the d700 looked really good wide open
 
Last edited:
I've owned one for about 18 months. It's by far the weakest lens that I own. I've used it on a D50, D2x and now D800. Frankly it's pretty poor on all of them. Even the lowly D50 poses a challenge to it. I'd get shot of mine but the used prices have dropped like a stone recently. I guess I'm not the only one who's found the lens disappointing.
 
This is interesting, I am really torn between this lens or a used Canon 70-200 F4 (non-IS) in my budget. I am hoping to be able to use it wide open and achieve sharp photos. Has anyone taken any candid portraits with this lens wide open? I would be really interested to see them. How is the AF speed and accuracy? How well does it stand up to cropping?
 
Last edited:
I've never used Canon stuff but the 70-200 f4 has a very good reputation. My Tamron 70-300 has consistently disappointed me. I've struggled to get sharp shots at the longer end even stopped down to f8 or f11. With the benefit of hindsight it's not a lens I'd buy again or recommend to others. Shame really because I find the new Tamron 24-70 VC very tempting but I'm very wary from my experiences with the 70-300. I accept that I might have a bad copy and generally the lens seems to have a favorable reputation.
 
I like mine, always been spot on. When its not it's my error.
When you have perfect light conditions its fantastic! - One of the best budget lenses i've ever used.


Hyrax by JamesDollowPhotography, on Flickr

Camera Canon EOS 500D
Exposure 1/400
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 114 mm
ISO Speed 200
 
Last edited:
White Rose said:
I've owned one for about 18 months. It's by far the weakest lens that I own. I've used it on a D50, D2x and now D800. Frankly it's pretty poor on all of them. Even the lowly D50 poses a challenge to it. I'd get shot of mine but the used prices have dropped like a stone recently. I guess I'm not the only one who's found the lens disappointing.
Click to expand...

Are you even talking about the right lens? The VC USD version? Either you're talking about the poor entry level 70-300 or had a faulty one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
TonyNI said:
Are you even talking about the right lens? The VC USD version? Either you're talking about the poor entry level 70-300 or had a faulty one.
Click to expand...

Mine is the VC version.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back on topic I found my version of the tamron very sharp indeed and it served me well whilst I owned it.
 
It would be great to see sample images in this post.
 
Getting back to the lens it looks like the AF fairs well from the football photos. Do you find the usd quick/accurate/tracks well? How does the usd compare to canons usm?
 
Af was very snappy..I used it for my sons football even on cloudy days it kept up well with the action.For the price its a superb lens and I tried it alongside the nikon and came out the shop with the tammy..;)
 
jb92 said:
This is great to know for the sport/wildlife scenarios I'm likely to end up using it in if I do buy it. Any chance of a sample shot with nice bokeh? Don't worry if not :)

Add the 5 year warranty (which, unfortunately, is almost unheard of in this day and age) to the great price and it's even better value!
Click to expand...

Click my flikr link in my signature, most of the bird pics are taken with it, and shooting through double glazing as well often at highish ISO's.

Here's a sample, ISO 1600, early morning light, 300mm @ F8


CSB11 by Magicaxeman, on Flickr
 
Last edited:
iancandler said:
Click my flikr link in my signature, most of the bird pics are taken with it, and shooting through double glazing as well often at highish ISO's.

Here's a sample, ISO 1600, early morning light, 300mm @ F8
Click to expand...

Thanks for the sample/link, it does produce nice sharp images with nice creamy background. The lighting is gorgeous on that picture by the way!
 
I have a Tamron 70-300 VC that I use on a 7D. I'm happy with it and it can produce what I feel are good results. Focus is fast (not Canon L fast, but that can't be expected) and usually accurate.

However every now and again it doesn't lock focus, which is why I said "usually accurate". I can take a number of photo's and somewhere in amongst them there is occassionally a handful where nothing is in focus at all - and that's with a static subject and the 7D beeping (with the red focus point flashing) to indicate that focus had been locked. I haven't encountered this with any of my other lenses. If it starts doing this consistently then there's the 5 year warranty (redeeem within 2 months of purchase) for me to fall back on.

Onto the samples :). Taken while running about after the kids at the zoo!

IMG8781-cropped-and-resized-L.jpg

300mm/f8/iso800

IMG8922-resized-L.jpg

300mm/f8/iso800

This one was shot through plastic/glass
IMG9113-cropped-and-resized-L.jpg

300mm/f5.6/iso800 and 1/30 sec - the VC works!
 
iancandler said:
Click my flikr link in my signature, most of the bird pics are taken with it, and shooting through double glazing as well often at highish ISO's.
Click to expand...


I like the shot of the starling with its eye on a meal worm, that was taken with the Tamron too?
 
Last edited:
And that's enough with the bickering thank you.

Thread cleaned up.
Discuss, give opinions, disagree with one another all you like . . . just keep it civil.
If anyone thinks that another poster's comments are uncalled for or may be trolling, there's an RTM triangle at the bottom of every post . No need to start arguing about it in the open thread. It doesn't make anyone look good.
 
SarahLee said:
And that's enough with the bickering thank you.

Thread cleaned up.
Discuss, give opinions, disagree with one another all you like . . . just keep it civil.
If anyone thinks that another poster's comments are uncalled for or may be trolling, there's an RTM triangle at the bottom of every post . No need to start arguing about it in the open thread. It doesn't make anyone look good.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Apologies for my side of the issue.
 
TonyNI said:
Agreed. Apologies for my side of the issue.
Click to expand...

In regards to this lens it's performance at 300mm blew me away!

Edit wrong quote haha
 
Last edited:
vickylou said:
I like the shot of the starling with its eye on a meal worm, that was taken with the Tamron too?
Click to expand...

Yes Vicky, through the double glazing as usual as well.

jb92 said:
Thanks for the sample/link, it does produce nice sharp images with nice creamy background. The lighting is gorgeous on that picture by the way!
Click to expand...

Thanks, it pays to be awake at dawn here, that shaft of early light comes through the houses and lights up that branch perfectly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top