User review of Tamron 150-600mm lens after 1 year of extensive usage

'' Copyright Goutam Shankar's Photography ''

Date- 1st April, 2015User review of TAMRON 150-600mm lens after 1 year of extensive usage

Tamron 150-600mm f/5-f/6.3 Di VC USD with CANON 60d

 Oreintal magpie Robin (Handheld Canon 60d + Tamron 150-600mm @428mm, f8, ISO 1600,1/80s)   

 Verditer Flycatcher (Handheld Canon 60d + Tamron 150-600mm @600mm, f8, ISO 800,1/100s)   

 Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Handheld Canon 60d + Tamron 150-600mm @600mm, f8, ISO 500,1/400s)   

Hello everyone,

My last blog on Tamron 150-600mm was about how I chose it over other lenses and How it impressed me and finally bought it.
(http://goutamshankarphotography.blogspot.in/2014/05/goutam-shankar-field-testing-of-tamron.html)

This blog is based on my 1 year extensive usage of this lens. Mainly birding and some Full moon photography. Whether it was a good decision to buy it or not ??
Well this will be answered at the end of this blog :)

The review is based on my personal usage and personal checklist. It may vary from person to person.

Equipments used:
1) Canon 60d
2) Tamron 150-600mm
3) Lowepro Flipside 300

Places of visit:
1) Sinhagad valley (Pune outskirts) - 60% birding done here
2) Bhimashankar (Pune outskirts) - 10% birding done here
3) Goa - 10% birding done here
4) Bhigwan - 20% birding done here

Modes of Transport:
1) KTM DUKE 200
2) XCENT HYUNDAI

Time of Clicks:
1) Morning 6 am to 11 am

Intro:
In my last blog you might have read how I came to the conclusion about buying this lens. In this blog I am going to tell you all about the decision what right or wrong.

Field Trip:
I went to Sinhagad valley like may be 10-12 times this winter. Its my favorite spot and very close to my place. 

Early morning I got up at 5am, packed everything and went to the spot.  I reached there at 6.30am.To my surprise 2-3 crazy persons like me were already ready with thr bazooka lenses occupying there lucky spots. My target was to click till 10.30am , beyond that bird activities are little less. I packed food for brunch so that I will only concentrate on photography.
I was very lucky to get so many birding activities at our spot. All these tiny, beautiful colorful migratory birds from Himalayas were dancing and ready to be clicked by me. With some minor adjustments based on the lights available, the clicks started. 
The Tammy feels very stable at hand. It looks rugged, Black color gives it the stealth looks. Handling is awesome with Canon 60d. Its versatile to take shots immediately if we have to turn 180deg around. Focuses very fast and locks the target. It may be my opinion that it works best at AI Servo. Its very very sharp in comparison to Canon 100-400mm @400mm. 
The best part is --> sharpness is persistent @ 600mm too. That is the big winner for me. Getting a  sharp lens @ this price with sharp shooting @600mm, what else we want. 

Final Verdict:

Pros:

In my opinion, Tammy is a big winner with awesome sharp images and versatility. 

It can be hand - held and shooting @600mm is no brain game. The IS helps to achieve 1/100s with ease. As per my knowledge at this price range one cannot find a lens with this versatility and range. Of course if your budget is higher one can go for prime series f2.8 aperture lenses. So on a price performance this lens again is a winner. I have got 2 years Tamron warranty while US people will get 6 years. I think this would have been better in India too. The lens doesn't miss focus and focus hunting is as good as any lens. I didn't face much issue in this regard. My keep rate has already improved to 90%. 

Cons:

1. The weight may be an issue for some people as Canon 60d + Tammy may well be above 2.8 kilos. Hand holding it for 6-8 hours will be a tough job for some people. But I am not crying for that. I have dealt with it with the soft towel trick. 
2. I have taken this lens to Bhigwan (again a Birder's paradise). Shooting big birds like Herons, Storks, Flamingos is an easy task. But flight shots is real tricky here. The lens feels little heavy to shoot above your eye line. When hand holding cont above eye level for 15-20 mins one has to be very careful as the blood needs to be circulated high up to your hands and hence pain starts after a while. So BIF shots are little tricky and one has to practice a lot to get accustomed.
3. To carry this lens one has to again invest in Big size bags such as Lowepro Flipside 300 onwards. Which is again INR 6k onwards. So in total the price keeps going up and above.
4. Using filter is not that recommended IMO. If we are using the VERY BIG HOOD supplied by Tamron then I don't think that one needs a UV filter or something for lens protection. But if one still needs it then get ready to invest another INR 5k or so for a big 95mm dia UV Filter. 

All I have to say that no lens is perfect and small niggles will always be there in our choice. But for a bird enthusiast like me who does it for hobbies, its a great lens to start with. 

I can say that I am a proud owner of Tammy and no days goes by that I don't look on it and give a smile. As I conclude the review, below are some sample images. Based on one's PP the image may vary. If I may have done some over PP, pls pardon me for that. While I've shot thousands of images with the lens, I decided to put out just a few of my images for the review. Pls feel free to comment below or contact me at my email id : goutam.shankar@gmail.com if this review needs some changes or you would like to ask anything else. I will be happy to answer for you.

For actual resolution click on the pictures and it will take you to my Google+ original pic.

All below shots are taken with AV mode@600mm unless mentioned.