The Tamron 150-600mm f5-6.3 G2 ...
Is it worth anything? That's exactly what I wondered when I first heard about this lens because you see, it's only a 1,000 dollar (average) lens if you buy one used on ebay! And that definitely raises eyebrows because it's not just any 600mm lens that is possible to grab for this price!! Having said that there are a quite a few limitations that come at this price point and these are...
1. Slow aperture
2. Not the sharpest, especially wide open
3. Autofocus tends to hunt on mirroless
Although, I'll dare to say this is the best lens for wildlife photography under 1,000 dollars for those that use dslrs. Otherwise if you use mirroless (especially if its crop sensor) you may as well grab a 100-400mm f6.3-8 if your a Canon shooter or a Sigma 100-400mm. Whereas if you run full frame mirroless Canon I would suggest the 600 or 800mm f11 lenses. I know that f11 they are super slow, but even then, Canon's newer, full frame sensors handle low light very well and the image stabilization on these lenses is insane. Anyway, those are some of the options I would consider if you run mirroless, but for those that run dslr and are interested in getting into bird or wildlife photography the Tamron 150-600mm G2 will absolutely take care of your needs!
So then what are some of its qualities?
First off , this lens for the price is actually very sharp. But one thing to take note of is with a camera that has a high megapixel count, for example, the 90D, with its 32 megapixels your technique will have to be flawless. Otherwise you will come away with out of focus and low quality pictures most of the time so I personally only recommend this lens for someone that has a 24 megapixel camera or lower. And I've noticed that this lens works phenomenally on the canon 7D due to its 18 megapixels, enabling you to shoot at 600 mm f7.1 at its sharpest point giving you some very pleasing images. Otherwise I personally have never really had issues with it's IQ and overall have been more than happy with the results!
The second huge pro to this lens is the auto focus. I remember when I first went out and tried it, I was blown away with the speed that this lens offers. I have noticed that for BIF it does struggle some but that can be solved by buying a Tamron lens dock, which is an external piece you screw on to the lens, hook it up to your computer and from there can program it's settings. So if you do buy this lens I totally recommend buying their dock also so you can fine tune everything! Otherwise for still birds just sitting on a branch of swimming along it never gave me any issues. Even when the bird was hidden behind some branches it still managed to lock on! Overall, I have been more than pleased with it's performance.
The third pro for me is the Image Stabilization, or VC ( vibration compensation) as Tamron calls it. Even with the lens weighing a good chunk it is possible to shoot handheld down to 1/60th for a perched bird ( be prepared for only one or two of those pics turning out though)! With a beanbag or even a simple support like a post or wall it becomes rock steady and makes it plenty smooth for video. Using a tripod? Then it doesn't even budge, making it perfect for video or even low light photography in the forest or blue hour! Overall I've been more than pleased with the results!
Anyways, if you are looking for a budget telephoto lens and use dslr than I personally don't think there is a better lens than this with this kind of reach! I've attached down below some of my favorite pics taken with this lens so you can take a peak at what it’s capable of. Enjoy!!
Canon 7D & Tamron 150-600mm G2
Canon 7D & Tamron 150-600mm G2
Canon 7D & Tamron 150-600mm G2