Thank you for the review. I just got myself this lens and tried a few shots with Sony mirrorless camera, I have to say that I am pleased with the result. However I realised a tripod is absolutely necessary 😊 I also bought a remote shutter release as the camera shake is really bad even on a tripod 😊
Best photosI have seen from this lens! I have just bought a 55B and with Fujifilm X-H1 it is horrible. I did some testing and it suffers from serious astigmatism, nothing is in focus. I am sending it back. I showed the seller your video to tell his lens is faulty to useless level.
Thanks a lot! Yeah, I think some copies could be a little old now, although I will admit that this lens is not extremely sharp in general, but must be used with care. Still, you should be able to get something in focus, especially in a controlled environment. And with the X-H1, you should DEFINITELY be able to get something looking fairly sharp with it, as long as you're within 2-6m of your subject.
I just got one locally, in pristine condition for 75$ Canadian. It’s a challenge to use but it’s fun. On my m4/3 camera it’s equivalent to a 1000mm on FF 😂
Awesome price for this lens. I paid $200. Good thing you're using it on mirrorless because I started out with a DSLR and it was tough to use on it. But now I use it on the G9 and it works like a charm.
I just got one to try astrophotography. There's a single spot on the lens, but otherwise it's in incredible condition. I have a 2x teleconvertor on the way for it, too.
Thank you for your detailed review, I was thinking about buying this lens, but now perhaps I will go with Sigma 100-400C or wait to see what Panasonic will come out this year, their plan includes a 100-400(500)-ish lens in 2024. I have used Canon FD 300/5.6 with GH6 (now mainly use S5II), it gave me some OK to even good photo, but the manual focus is a bit hard, my hesitation before is not so sure if 400mm will be enough for bird, let's see what happens.
Sigma 100-400 will be way better. The bokeh of this lens requires you to specifically avoid certain situations that will be good with a normal lens, and you don't get autofocus either. It's too speciality.
the donut bokeh doesn’t matter for the moon or astrophotography because everything is in focus at infinity. I actually got it for the eclipse so light shouldn’t be a problem. Its kindof like a tiny telescope.
Thank you for the reply. The actual focal length is still 500mm, the equivalent focal length is 750, and the angle of view is about 3.3º. And by 'equivalent' I mean crop equivalent: the field of view on APS-C is the same as that of a 750mm lens on full-frame. (Of course, the number of pixels on your subject is dependent on the pixel pitch of the sensor.)
Used it on full-frame, APS-C, and micro four thirds. The AOV is rarely too small for small birds, even on micro four thirds. The key is to have a mirrorless camera though with IBIS. Using it on a DSLR is harsh. My main setup is a Nikon D500 with a 500mm lens, so the AOV itself is definitely not too small.
@@WildEarthPhoto Thank you. Fell in love with the Tamron brand in 1987, as a much younger person. Main camera currently is a Sony A6000. Your videos are great BTW, and you choose such excellent shots. Their sharpness, clarity and warmth is amazing.
It should work pretty decently on an A6000, just make sure to keep your shutter speeds high. 1/800 should be enough without IBIS. Tamron is a great brand indeed. I used to have a Tamron 150-600 G2 and it was a great lens. I actually regret selling it. Thank you for the compliment also. It means a lot!
I would say if you're handholding, at least 1/500 but sometimes you can get away with less. If you can stabilize on a tripod and your subject is still, even 1/100 is possible on a mirrorless camera with IBIS. Of course, you can't adjust your aperture. Make sure you master manual focus and use zoom in when you can.
@@WildEarthPhoto hum ok thanks, I get one but the results are not very good and I was not sure if that was dure to the old age of mine combine with a bad maintenance or if it was due to the settings. Can I contact you to know how I can know if the lense is in good condition?
Right now I am in between this one used, or a ttartisans 500mm f6.3 that was just released. My aim is closeup on birds and I use manual focus, but not sure if this one would be too soft in comparison to the ttartisans one at f8. The other option is an old Zuiko 600mm f6.5 but they are expensive at that point😢
I've not tested the TTartisan lens so I can't say for sure. I did take a look at some samples. It's probably of similar sharpness to this lens, maybe worse but I can't say as most people can't squeeze out the optimal quality from these lenses. But the huge advantage of the TT lens is that it doesn't have the donut bokeh, which is quite distracting at times (though it can be used for artistic effect).
@@WildEarthPhoto Thanks yeah. I think I will skip the ttartisans. It’s not like 329usd is too far from an used sigma zoom. Edit: Or the sigma mirror which is found for very cheap.
Hi I am very surprised by the quality of images you can get from this lens. Are you sure all pictures you are showing come from it ? If yes I consider it s a quite interesting one.
Of course, except for the marked comparison. What you have to realize is that these are my best shots with the lens, and that for every 100 shots that a high-end prime will nail, this one will produce 2-3 good ones. I've spent hours in the field and figured out the very specific conditions in which it produces good results, using it on mostly mirrorless cameras with careful focusing on still subjects. Most of the time where other lenses deliver, this one fails, but if you use it carefully under the exact right conditions and with a lot of skill, you can get decent results. Don't get the final results fool you into thinking it's an easy lens..
