70D + 150-600
在APS-C机身上的效果

一个印度摄影师，原文(图片和评测）链接http://www_sumeetmoghe_com/2014/02/field-testing-bigron-aka-tamron-150.html
flickr链接 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ciphertux/sets/72157640716188384/with/12404032494/

ISO200, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/400秒ISO500, 483mm, f/6.3, 1/3200秒ISO500, 329mm, f/5.6, 1/2500秒ISO100, 600mm, f/8.0， 1/125秒ISO100, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/20秒ISO200， 600mm, f/6.3, 1/500秒ISO400， 500mm, f/6.3, 1/2500秒ISO200， 428mm, f/6.3, 1/1600秒ISO200, 400mm, f/5.6, 1/800秒ISO500， 309mm, f/5.6, 1/4000秒ISO100， 600mm, f/16, 1/4000秒ISO100， 600mm, f/6.3, 1/250秒 本帖最后由 entersandman 于 2014-2-14 05:55 编辑

在室外光线充沛的条件下，高手使用这两个镜头，差距不会很大，而T156的轻便可能还会让出片率更高。

在室内环境下毫无疑问200-400会有优势，但我看了一些专业人士用200-400拍的舞台照，与328L和428L相比还是不可同日而语。

至于我们这些一般摄影爱好者，我相信使用这两个镜头在户外良好光线条件下拍摄野生动物或打鸟不会有任何肉眼看得出的差异（喜欢拍报纸测分辨率的请绕道哈）。

区别就在于，200-400拍100张片子可以找出20多张这样的片子，150-600也许只能挑出2张。

最近看了许多这个头的帖子，只有这个还真的让我动心了。原本看中佳能的200-400了，也一直认为他们绝不是一个档次的，但看了这贴子，感觉实在是没有那么大的差距，这俩个头竟相差十倍价钱，怎么会这样？

看来是性价比超高的镜头，值得拥有

PS里ctrl M，拉下曲线

这人PS也算是比较特别，用钢笔工具勾勒了部分轮廓而不是全部，跟有毛的边缘形成对比，应该是有一定美术基础，但绝不算高手

说那么清楚还看不出来，说明您这20年是浪费生命。

分辨率很好，色彩干黄干黄的

置顶的图片中鸟是大鸟，光线条件都比较好。最好是有实际使用的色友，发几张一般光线条件下飞版的小鸟图，更有说服力。 本帖最后由 半米 于 2014-2-26 11:57 编辑

似乎不错。

多谢！写地真够详细的。看了一下，还不错。

一分钱一分货，这里的每张照片都是在光照很充足的时候拍的。

这是原文，实在太长，就不翻译了
他给Tamron 150-600取的绰号是bigron(big-ron，大号龙)。 以前Sigma 50-500的流行英文外号是bigma (大号马)

另外一个网站上有个帖子也在给这个镜头取外号，我看到比较搞笑的有
tarminator  ( 从终结者terminator引申而来，tarm-inator)
megatron (威震天)
tamaron ( t-amazon)
tamzilla ( 从哥斯拉 godzilla引申而来，tam-zilla)
tam-rex (从霸王龙T-Rex引申而来）
A Tamic Bomb (从原子弹的英文atomic bomb引申而来）

Field Testing the Bigron - a.k.a the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-f/6.3 Di VC USD unveiled
Sharp, Ready and very Steady - the Bigron is quite a Beast
So yes, the rumours are true. I did get my hands on the new Tamron 150-600mm lens and I gave it a full on field test on the edge of the Thar Desert. First up, it's a pain to refer to it as the Tamron 150-600mm f/5.0-f/6.3 VC Di USD. When Sigma came up with a 150-500mm lens, people promptly dubbed it the Bigma. It's only fair that for a Tamron lens that goes all the way upto 600mm, we find a similar name - the Bigron. Sounds catchy doesn't it? Well if my experience with it is anything to go by, I have to say you'll hear a lot about the Bigron in years to come. Let's not tip the waiter before he brings us our meal though! As I was saying, I did take the lens for a spin at Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary. Let me tell you what I discovered.
What I was looking to test
I'm not a big believer in lab tests. I'm not a big pixel picker either. So if you're looking for MTF charts and data about chromatic aberrations and distortions, there are better reviews for that kind of thing. And hey, I'm not saying those things aren't important. They probably are for many people - it's just that I choose to put my faith on field performance more than anything else. Until now, I've used the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses from Canon and Tamron and the 100-400mm f/4-5.6L lens from Canon as my primary wildlife photography equipment. Occasionally I've used the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 and the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 to get slightly wider perspectives. So a new super telephoto, zoom lens had to score highly on the few parameters that have mattered to me until now:

    Handling - ease of use and overall 'hand-hold-ability'
    Build Quality
    Image Quality
    Versatility - ability to create a variety of images

Since I had a work trip to Delhi planned, it made total sense to combine it with some time at Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary - India's finest grassland. It felt like a good place to test the lens. Light is usually pretty good for most of the day, but winters can throw in foggy mornings and overcast evenings and when it's low shutter speed and high ISO time, you're usually also grappling with poor quality of light. Plus, for the most part your subjects are either fast moving antelopes, skittish foxes or birds. So in terms of versatility in subjects Chappar scores in a big way.
Handling and Build Quality

When you think of a zoom lens that goes all the way to 600mm, you'd like to believe a few things. First, "It's got to be expensive." Second, "It's got to be heavy." Third, "The image quality can't be that good." We'll deal with that last one in a bit, but let's address the first two thoughts right away. Here's a comparison table for you to look at a bunch of lenses in the enthusiast category of wildlife lenses. A few caveats - I've got the 300mm f/4 prime lenses from Canon and Nikon in the comparision. The reason for this is that a lot of wildlife photographers who also have an interest in bird photography, use these lenses with or without a teleconverter and to great effect. They also fit the general price bracket between $800-$2500. Second, the prices in the table are from the US. While the prices are quite different here in India, the US prices should give you a sense of proportionality to decide a purchase. Third, I've deliberately not included the 70-200mm 2.8 variants here, because it doesn't just complicate the equation a bit, it's neither a super telephoto, nor really a lens in the same segment. Last but not the least, while I have some Nikon choices in this table, I'm not a Nikon user. So I can't speak for the lens performance on a Nikon mount.

Lens Aperture Range Autofocus Weight Weather Sealing Image Stabilisation Price
Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Silent Wave Motor 1.59kg No Claims Yes $2296
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Ultrasonic Motor 1.38kg None Yes $1699
Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 Hypersonic Motor 1.96kg None Yes $1509
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 Hypersonic Motor 1.90kg None Yes $899
Canon 300mm f/4 Ultrasonic Motor 1.19kg Yes Yes $1449
Nikon 300mm f/4 Yes (Noisy) 1.44kg None None $1369
Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Yes (Noisy) 1.24kg None None $949
Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Ultrasonic Drive 1.95kg No Claims Yes $1069

As you can see the Tamron packs some great features in there. It claims unto four stops vibration compensation (a.k.a image stabilisation) and a silent focussing system. It's weight is right up there alongside the 50-500mm from Sigma, but you've got to weigh that against the 600mm focal length advantage that none of the competitors seem to offer.

The lens is fairly easy to handhold once you get to terms with the weight
In general I felt Tamron has come up with a good looking lens. The team here in India handed me a piece without a hood though and with a 95mm filter lens, that's a lot of glass exposed to the risk of accidents. That being said, I can imagine the hood will not just add protection to the glass but also reduce flare which incidentally was minimal. More about that later. You'll notice that the Canon 100-400 which is my current lens is amongst the lightest in the lineup. Yet, I didn't have too much trouble adjusting to the weight of the Tamron. I did have to modify my technique slightly to have the lens use my shoulder or another part of my body for stabilisation. It took a bit of adjustment to get used to panning and action shots, but after about half a day, I think I was doing just fine.

For people used to a zoom ring, the lens primarily uses that design to zoom in and out. You can of course use some force to push and pull the zoom, but the precision is not quite there. A lens of this nature benefits from a full time manual focussing ring and Tamron's thoughtfully added one to fine tune your focus after locking on. Other thoughtful inclusions include a zoom lock that helps guard against zoom creep, especially with extreme telephoto lenses such as this one. You'll find focus limiters on the barrel too; but I rarely used them in the field.
Image Quality and Versatility
The market in India that's looking for a lens of this kind usually wants to walk around with it. Tamron, by accident or design has probably got a decent weight going on this lens for the focal length it offers. The very fact that it's a zoom lens also gives you heaps of compositional freedom to make different kinds of images when in a fast paced, wildlife environment. One of the big reasons I love my Canon 100-400 is because it gives me the ability to zoom in and zoom out from scenes while my prime lens wielding friends are stuck with a single composition. This is gold dust in a wildlife situation where the subject dictates the distance. The Bigron, with its 150-600 focal length range gives you similar flexibility, with the ability to zoom all the way to 600mm at a reasonable aperture of f/6.3.

Now let's not kid around here. This lens will not give you the image quality of say a 600mm f/4. It's also $11,730 cheaper! Heck, in India that's the downpayment for some people's first homes. In fact, you could buy an apartment for that price when I started working. I know you understand this, but I just thought it's worth spelling out just in case you had the wrong expectations.

All this said, the image quality on this lens is probably the best amongst its competition. I hear good things about the new Nikon 80-400, but given the price difference and the fact that Tamron takes you 200mm closer, I'd be inclined to give up the marginal difference in image quality if I were on Nikon. I'm not on Nikon though, so don't take me too seriously. On Canon however, it's an absolute no brainer. There's no lens in the competition that comes close to the range of this lens and it equals just about anything I've seen in terms of image quality. Heck, Charles MacPherson compares its image quality to the 600mm f/4! Having used the Canon 100-400 for a while now, I have to say that this ageing lens is still a worthy competitor; but if you can deal with the Bigron's weight I think I'd still recommend going with the 150-600.

1/125 sec @ f /8.0, 600 mm, ISO100
I was initially concerned that an f/6.3 lens wouldn't autofocus with my Canon 70d. That was out of the way immediately when I used the lens first at the Photo Fair in Mumbai. The lens is sharp at pretty much all focal lengths though I would have liked slightly better sharpness at 600mm f/6.3. That being said, if you stop down to f/8 it goes back to being magical all over again. Again, don't get me wrong. The lens is probably sharp even at f/6.3. From my limited handling (and I'm sure things will get better with time), it feels sharper at f/8 especially at the long end. If you look at the portrait above, you'll see that even at f/8 the bokeh at 600mm can be really pleasing. The cool thing about the lens is that it offers you an f/5.6 aperture upto 410mm and then stops down by a third to f/6.3 right until 600mm. This is quite awesome, because effectively your light gathering ability increases from 400mm to 600mm. Moreover it offers me the same aperture I'd have shot with if I'd used the Canon 100-400mm. So I wasn't missing much from my stock lens.

1/2500 sec @ f /6.3, 500 mm, ISO 400
The autofocus is dead accurate and you'll nail your stationary subjects without blinking. More importantly it's a quick and silent focus which in the field is invaluable. Imagine your lens noisily going back and forth trying to lock onto a nervous subject. The Bigron does none of that. Focus locks on in an instant and you're ready to fire away. AI Servo however felt like a different kettle of fish. You've got to understand that at 600mm it's really difficult to lock on to a fast moving subject. So it takes a fair amount of practice to get used to panning and action shots at the longest end. Once you get used to that kind of range and the weight associated with it though, it's actually quite easy to photograph moving subjects.

1/80 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 320
The image stabilisation deserves a word too. I'm sorry if all my comparisons go back to the Canon 100-400, but that's been my gold standard right until now. I usually handhold my 100-400 at speeds of about 1/100 or so. If I'm feeling confident or if I've had less coffee to drink then I may even handhold the lens at 1/60. While Tamron claims unto 4 stops of stabilisation, and I have no way of proving whether they're right or not, it's quite evident to me that their vibration compensation tech is really, really good. The fox you see up there is a subject I shot without any external stabilisation, in really poor light, at 1/80. If the results are anything to speak of, the VC worked better than I expected, especially if you consider that at 600mm even the slightest shake feels pronounced.

1/4000 sec @ f /16, 600 mm, ISO 100
Additionally the lens performed admirably in all kinds of conditions. Rajasthan is an unforgivably dusty location to shoot in and despite the daily abuse the lens seemed to hold up quite well. While Tamron chooses to stay mum about the weather sealing I'd like to advise caution with any lens that has an external zoom. There's a rubber gasket to guard against dust and moisture near the bayonet mount for the hood; but the front element did accumulate some particles during my test. I have to say though, that this dust didn't interfere with image making. If there's something I'd have desired, it would have been foolproof weather sealing. That said, I always remind myself that this is a $1069 purchase and there's always some extra cash to buy a dust and rain cover for the lens! And yes, the Bigron worked like a charm when cutting out flare. Remember, Tamron didn't give me a hood for this lens. And I love shooting into the sun. If you consider the silhouette above, you'll see the lens handles my shooting preferences really well and gives me a really well defined sun, as against a white blob!

Verdict and Sample Images
All in all, I think the Bigron is no-brainer purchase for anyone on the Canon platform who wants a lens with great image quality and great reach. The fact that it's hand-holdable just adds another dimension to this extreme telephoto. There isn't quite anything in the market yet that beats it on a price-performance comparison. Tamron's 6 year warranty just feels like an unbelievable icing on the cake.

The only pitfalls I'll ask you to be aware of:

    It's a heavy lens, make no mistake. The very fact that I could handhold it doesn't mean that you can as well. Try it out for yourself. I'm not a very big guy though, so I'd like to think this should be a good walk around lens for most wildlife enthusiasts.
    It can be tricky to focus moving subjects due to a combination of the third party AF, the weight and the huge focal length. You'll definitely need to get used to the lens to produce great action pictures.
    I don't believe the lens is very weather sealed. If that is important for you, try the Canon 300mm f/4. Be ready to walk away from a few hundred mm of focal length though.
    At times, the piece I got made a rattling noise when handheld. I'm not sure if this is down to the individual lens or if it's an issue with all the pieces coming through to the market. Handle your piece and be satisfied before you bring it home.

All in all, I'm tempted to give this lens full marks, but that's not possible since I don't really have a standard rating scale on this website. I recommend it highly though and if I could, I'd get one for myself. If my disclaimers don't bother you, then I daresay you'll be a very satisfied customer. As I sign off, here are some sample images from my review and here's the entire set of images if you'd like to take a look. I've tried to keep my post processing down to minimum for these images, given the nature of this review. While I've shot several hundred images with the lens, I decided to put out just a few of my images for you to review. Feel free to drop in a note if you have any further questions that you'd like me to answer for you.

1/20 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 100, Bean Bag Stabilised

1/1000 sec @ f/6.3, 600 mm, ISO 200

1/1000 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 250

1/250 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 100

1/500 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 200

1/1000 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 500

1/1600 sec @ f /6.3, 428 mm, ISO 200

1/500 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 100

1/4000 sec @f /5.6, 309 mm, ISO 500

1/8000 sec @ f /6.3, 150 mm, ISO 500

1/2500 sec @ f /5.6, 329 mm, ISO 500

Posted 4 days ago by Sumeet Moghe
Labels: 150-600 advice equipment images lens photography reviews tamron telephoto
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    3rd eyeFebruary 11, 2014 at 11:07 AM

    Fantastic review !! My limited experience with the same lens is almost identical . Focussing moving target at the long end is a tricky thing , but otherwise its a good lens and value for money .
    Reply
    HIMANSHU PANCHALFebruary 11, 2014 at 11:29 AM

    Amazing Pictures Shot. Great Work. Sumeet San.
    Reply
    Dean BairdFebruary 11, 2014 at 6:01 PM

    Excellent work. Thanks for the thorough field review. Looks like Tamron might have a breakthrough winner here. I used to shoot that Canon 100-400mm, and was very happy with it. The D800E got me to switch to Nikon, and I missed easy access to that range. When I switched, Nikon's 80-400mm was old and not well-regarded. They've since updated, but the updated model is pricey. The Bigron is appealing with its longer reach and lower price. I may be heading to Tanzania in late spring, so I'm looking hard at this lens. And it would be the second lens in my kit to use Ø95mm filters!
    Reply
    PrinsFebruary 11, 2014 at 6:08 PM

    Thx very much for this field review and pics. The Bigron seems to be what we hoped for. Cant wait to get my hands on the Nikon mount.
    regards
    Reply
    Replies
        Les CraneFebruary 11, 2014 at 6:52 PM

        thank you for the well written review and great images. I agree with your conclusions based on my limited experience.. I wonder, do you always shut down the VC when on the tripod? I've tested mine and find that if the ballhead is not locked down and I;m using shutter button (no remote) that under 1/1000 I am better off leaving VC on..
        Sumeet MogheFebruary 11, 2014 at 7:05 PM

        @Les I think your mileage may vary but I've had no trouble leaving the VC on all the time. I must say thought that many photographers have said Tamron's VC jumps a bit before it locks, so you should leave a moment's gap between focussing and releasing the shutter.

        My experience hasn't been anything like that so I didn't try any such precautions, but if you have any trouble with the VC you may want to try this trick.
        Reply
    Sumeet MogheFebruary 11, 2014 at 6:59 PM

    @Dean: Glad you find the review useful. Yeah I do think the Bigron is a game changer. I would strongly recommend getting a good zoom lens for Africa. The challenge in the African plains is rarely distance - it's more about making the right compositions. The 100-400 and the 70-200 have really stood me in good stead in Africa and I think the Bigron should be a very good lens use there too.
    Reply
    Rick GrantFebruary 11, 2014 at 10:01 PM

    I started to read this review to learn about the lens and then quickly realized that I should really be studying your terrific photographic skills instead.

    I am stunned by the quality of your art.

    I have a feeling that you could turn out superior work just using a point and shoot. Well done.
    Reply
    Replies
        Sumeet MogheFebruary 11, 2014 at 11:41 PM

        Rick those are really kind words from a pro journalist. Thank you.
        Reply
    idFebruary 11, 2014 at 10:34 PM

    Great post Sumeet! I am a fan of your posts on varied topics and your photographs

    I thought I will point out that the f-number is the actual measure of light entering the lens. So when the f-number remains the same as you zoom in, what is actually happening is that since your field-of-view is narrowing, if the lens maintains the same aperture, the f-number would have reduced. For this lens beyond 400(?), if it is able to maintain the same f-number, then the lens is opening up the aperture to let in the same amount of light. So maintaining the same f-number from 400-600 your light gathering ability is not increasing but maintained at the same level.

    Gopal
    Reply
    Replies
        Sumeet MogheFebruary 11, 2014 at 11:49 PM

        Thanks Gopal.

        You may actually be able to help clarify my basics here. On the light gathering ability I was going with the understanding that the aperture is really the quotient of the focal length and the f-stop number. So, what I was meaning to say is that if the aperture if f/5.6 at 400mm then the opening is roughly 71mm wide. If the same lens operates at f/6.3 at 600mm then the opening translates to being roughly 95mm wide. That should effectively translate to 33% greater light gathering ability, shouldn't it? While of course I do understand this doesn't mean that the light reaching the sensor is greater. All I'm saying is that the lens is engineered to be quite wide open at the longest focal length.

        Is my understanding flawed? I'm no manufacturing engineer or pro, so I'm quite happy to be wrong.
        BirdBrainFebruary 13, 2014 at 4:09 AM

        Sumeet, you are right about the aperture having to increase to maintain the same f-number when you zoom in.
        When you zoom into a scene with a fixed aperture, since your field of view is now narrower (only a smaller part of the scene is now hitting the sensor), you will end up with lesser light. So your light gathering ability has an inverse relationship to the focal length.
        Increasing aperture with a fixed focal length increases the amount of light proportionately naturally since you have more lens area which is focusing light into any given point in the frame.
        So if you want a measure of the amount of light hitting the sensor, you can define it as Aperture/F.L which is why the f-number is defined that way.
        So a 50mm lens at f/4 has the same light gathering ability as a 500mm f/4.

        Based on your review, I am tempted to exchange my 300 f/4 for this lens.
        Reply
    NiflhelFebruary 12, 2014 at 4:06 AM

    Really beautiful photos - can't wait to get my hands on one of these to put my brother's 150-500 Sigma to shame!
    Reply
    bryan stephensFebruary 12, 2014 at 8:52 AM

    Thanks for your review of the lens!
    Your series is over all the best bunch I've seen with the lens and you have some BIFs too.
    Would be interested to know what you think of your keeper rate with the lens vs your 100-400 ... thx
    Reply
    Sumeet MogheFebruary 12, 2014 at 4:20 PM

    Hi Bryan, I have to be honest - the keeper rate is probably a little lower than my 100-400. I can usually guarantee myself a high 80% with the Canon (depending on shooting conditions) and with the Tamron, I'm probably be down to more like 65%.

    You have to take this with a pinch of salt though. I've had the 100-400 for years. That piece of equipment is almost a part of my body now. On the other hand, I've shot with the Tamron for just over two days. So it isn't really fair to make a comparison. I'm confident that if I get the Tamron for myself, I'll probably equal my Canon keeper rate in time.

    Does that make sense?
    Reply
    Replies
        Alexander CalderonFebruary 12, 2014 at 5:54 PM

        sumeet wonderful job. tha gazelle shot i like it alot. great review too... when you use the lens on a tripod what kind of tripod head do you use?.. im thinking about getting a gimbal head ( not for very fast moving subjets like BIF but for some wildlife action going on in the ground). what do you think? thanks
        Sumeet MogheFebruary 12, 2014 at 10:37 PM

        Well I just did a couple of shots on the tripod mount. I used it handheld 99% of the time. On the tripod, a simple Manfrotto bullhead did just fine, though I'm sure a gimbal would be far better for wildlife shots. For ground shots I've found it far more convenient to lie down flat and use my elbows to stabilise the shot. That's how I ended up shooting the rimlit fox, the fighting blackbucks and many other such shots.
        Alexander CalderonFebruary 13, 2014 at 3:26 AM

        great pictures and also wonderful wildlife diversity you have there in India... cant wait to see Tiger's pictures with the Bigron :-)
        hellgapFebruary 13, 2014 at 4:10 AM

        Thanyou so much for your time and effort. I was kind of disappointed with myself as I purchased the 100400 canon 2 months ago . Then about 2 weeks later heard the news of tamron coming out with the 150/600 My heart sunk thinking I made a mistake. But after reading I think Ill have easier time learning the canon lens over the tamron I do like the one 18/270 tamy I have but its got downsides. Thus we will need to see its test of time. Dust in the element may be a huge issue with no weather sealing. I over heard there was weather sealing these are all things that will come out in time. Thanks much appreciated kellyw
        hellgapFebruary 13, 2014 at 4:13 AM

        I forgot to mention that I loved all the pictures tac sharp great work. Kellyw
        Sivakumar SFebruary 14, 2014 at 9:25 AM

        Very cool pictures. I wish it came in Pentax K-mount.
        Reply
    Abhijeet MhaskarFebruary 15, 2014 at 2:30 PM

    Superb review. I use a Canon 100-400 too as my main birding lens. If this is as good as your review states, and this is proven over a bit of time, this will certainly be a lens to buy... Superb photography, and lucid writing on your part. My compliments for both.
    Reply

Visual Journeys
by Sumeet Moghe

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    Feb
    11
    Field Testing the Bigron - a.k.a the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-f/6.3 Di VC USD unveiled
    Sharp, Ready and very Steady - the Bigron is quite a Beast
    So yes, the rumours are true. I did get my hands on the new Tamron 150-600mm lens and I gave it a full on field test on the edge of the Thar Desert. First up, it's a pain to refer to it as the Tamron 150-600mm f/5.0-f/6.3 VC Di USD. When Sigma came up with a 150-500mm lens, people promptly dubbed it the Bigma. It's only fair that for a Tamron lens that goes all the way upto 600mm, we find a similar name - the Bigron. Sounds catchy doesn't it? Well if my experience with it is anything to go by, I have to say you'll hear a lot about the Bigron in years to come. Let's not tip the waiter before he brings us our meal though! As I was saying, I did take the lens for a spin at Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary. Let me tell you what I discovered.
    What I was looking to test
    I'm not a big believer in lab tests. I'm not a big pixel picker either. So if you're looking for MTF charts and data about chromatic aberrations and distortions, there are better reviews for that kind of thing. And hey, I'm not saying those things aren't important. They probably are for many people - it's just that I choose to put my faith on field performance more than anything else. Until now, I've used the 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses from Canon and Tamron and the 100-400mm f/4-5.6L lens from Canon as my primary wildlife photography equipment. Occasionally I've used the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 and the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 to get slightly wider perspectives. So a new super telephoto, zoom lens had to score highly on the few parameters that have mattered to me until now:
        Handling - ease of use and overall 'hand-hold-ability'
        Build Quality
        Image Quality
        Versatility - ability to create a variety of images
    Since I had a work trip to Delhi planned, it made total sense to combine it with some time at Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary - India's finest grassland. It felt like a good place to test the lens. Light is usually pretty good for most of the day, but winters can throw in foggy mornings and overcast evenings and when it's low shutter speed and high ISO time, you're usually also grappling with poor quality of light. Plus, for the most part your subjects are either fast moving antelopes, skittish foxes or birds. So in terms of versatility in subjects Chappar scores in a big way.
    Handling and Build Quality

    When you think of a zoom lens that goes all the way to 600mm, you'd like to believe a few things. First, "It's got to be expensive." Second, "It's got to be heavy." Third, "The image quality can't be that good." We'll deal with that last one in a bit, but let's address the first two thoughts right away. Here's a comparison table for you to look at a bunch of lenses in the enthusiast category of wildlife lenses. A few caveats - I've got the 300mm f/4 prime lenses from Canon and Nikon in the comparision. The reason for this is that a lot of wildlife photographers who also have an interest in bird photography, use these lenses with or without a teleconverter and to great effect. They also fit the general price bracket between $800-$2500. Second, the prices in the table are from the US. While the prices are quite different here in India, the US prices should give you a sense of proportionality to decide a purchase. Third, I've deliberately not included the 70-200mm 2.8 variants here, because it doesn't just complicate the equation a bit, it's neither a super telephoto, nor really a lens in the same segment. Last but not the least, while I have some Nikon choices in this table, I'm not a Nikon user. So I can't speak for the lens performance on a Nikon mount.

    Lens Aperture Range Autofocus Weight Weather Sealing Image Stabilisation Price
    Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Silent Wave Motor 1.59kg No Claims Yes $2296
    Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Ultrasonic Motor 1.38kg None Yes $1699
    Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3 Hypersonic Motor 1.96kg None Yes $1509
    Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 Hypersonic Motor 1.90kg None Yes $899
    Canon 300mm f/4 Ultrasonic Motor 1.19kg Yes Yes $1449
    Nikon 300mm f/4 Yes (Noisy) 1.44kg None None $1369
    Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Yes (Noisy) 1.24kg None None $949
    Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Ultrasonic Drive 1.95kg No Claims Yes $1069

    As you can see the Tamron packs some great features in there. It claims unto four stops vibration compensation (a.k.a image stabilisation) and a silent focussing system. It's weight is right up there alongside the 50-500mm from Sigma, but you've got to weigh that against the 600mm focal length advantage that none of the competitors seem to offer.

    The lens is fairly easy to handhold once you get to terms with the weight
    In general I felt Tamron has come up with a good looking lens. The team here in India handed me a piece without a hood though and with a 95mm filter lens, that's a lot of glass exposed to the risk of accidents. That being said, I can imagine the hood will not just add protection to the glass but also reduce flare which incidentally was minimal. More about that later. You'll notice that the Canon 100-400 which is my current lens is amongst the lightest in the lineup. Yet, I didn't have too much trouble adjusting to the weight of the Tamron. I did have to modify my technique slightly to have the lens use my shoulder or another part of my body for stabilisation. It took a bit of adjustment to get used to panning and action shots, but after about half a day, I think I was doing just fine.

    For people used to a zoom ring, the lens primarily uses that design to zoom in and out. You can of course use some force to push and pull the zoom, but the precision is not quite there. A lens of this nature benefits from a full time manual focussing ring and Tamron's thoughtfully added one to fine tune your focus after locking on. Other thoughtful inclusions include a zoom lock that helps guard against zoom creep, especially with extreme telephoto lenses such as this one. You'll find focus limiters on the barrel too; but I rarely used them in the field.
    Image Quality and Versatility
    The market in India that's looking for a lens of this kind usually wants to walk around with it. Tamron, by accident or design has probably got a decent weight going on this lens for the focal length it offers. The very fact that it's a zoom lens also gives you heaps of compositional freedom to make different kinds of images when in a fast paced, wildlife environment. One of the big reasons I love my Canon 100-400 is because it gives me the ability to zoom in and zoom out from scenes while my prime lens wielding friends are stuck with a single composition. This is gold dust in a wildlife situation where the subject dictates the distance. The Bigron, with its 150-600 focal length range gives you similar flexibility, with the ability to zoom all the way to 600mm at a reasonable aperture of f/6.3.

    Now let's not kid around here. This lens will not give you the image quality of say a 600mm f/4. It's also $11,730 cheaper! Heck, in India that's the downpayment for some people's first homes. In fact, you could buy an apartment for that price when I started working. I know you understand this, but I just thought it's worth spelling out just in case you had the wrong expectations.

    All this said, the image quality on this lens is probably the best amongst its competition. I hear good things about the new Nikon 80-400, but given the price difference and the fact that Tamron takes you 200mm closer, I'd be inclined to give up the marginal difference in image quality if I were on Nikon. I'm not on Nikon though, so don't take me too seriously. On Canon however, it's an absolute no brainer. There's no lens in the competition that comes close to the range of this lens and it equals just about anything I've seen in terms of image quality. Heck, Charles MacPherson compares its image quality to the 600mm f/4! Having used the Canon 100-400 for a while now, I have to say that this ageing lens is still a worthy competitor; but if you can deal with the Bigron's weight I think I'd still recommend going with the 150-600.

    1/125 sec @ f /8.0, 600 mm, ISO100
    I was initially concerned that an f/6.3 lens wouldn't autofocus with my Canon 70d. That was out of the way immediately when I used the lens first at the Photo Fair in Mumbai. The lens is sharp at pretty much all focal lengths though I would have liked slightly better sharpness at 600mm f/6.3. That being said, if you stop down to f/8 it goes back to being magical all over again. Again, don't get me wrong. The lens is probably sharp even at f/6.3. From my limited handling (and I'm sure things will get better with time), it feels sharper at f/8 especially at the long end. If you look at the portrait above, you'll see that even at f/8 the bokeh at 600mm can be really pleasing. The cool thing about the lens is that it offers you an f/5.6 aperture upto 410mm and then stops down by a third to f/6.3 right until 600mm. This is quite awesome, because effectively your light gathering ability increases from 400mm to 600mm. Moreover it offers me the same aperture I'd have shot with if I'd used the Canon 100-400mm. So I wasn't missing much from my stock lens.

    1/2500 sec @ f /6.3, 500 mm, ISO 400
    The autofocus is dead accurate and you'll nail your stationary subjects without blinking. More importantly it's a quick and silent focus which in the field is invaluable. Imagine your lens noisily going back and forth trying to lock onto a nervous subject. The Bigron does none of that. Focus locks on in an instant and you're ready to fire away. AI Servo however felt like a different kettle of fish. You've got to understand that at 600mm it's really difficult to lock on to a fast moving subject. So it takes a fair amount of practice to get used to panning and action shots at the longest end. Once you get used to that kind of range and the weight associated with it though, it's actually quite easy to photograph moving subjects.

    1/80 sec @ f /6.3, 600 mm, ISO 320
    The image stabilisation deserves a word too. I'm sorry if all my comparisons go back to the Canon 100-400, but that's been my gold standard right until now. I usually handhold my 100-400 at speeds of about 1/100 or so. If I'm feeling confident or if I've had less coffee to drink then I may even handhold the lens at 1/60. While Tamron claims unto 4 stops of stabilisation, and I have no way of proving whether they're right or not, it's quite evident to me that their vibration compensation tech is really, really good. The fox you see up there is a subject I shot without any external stabilisation, in really poor light, at 1/80. If the results are anything to speak of, the VC worked better than I expected, especially if you consider that at 600mm even the slightest shake feels pronounced.

    1/4000 sec @ f /16, 600 mm, ISO 100
    Additionally the lens performed admirably in all kinds of conditions. Rajasthan is an unforgivably dusty location to shoot in and despite the daily abuse the lens seemed to hold up quite well. While Tamron chooses to stay mum about the weather sealing I'd like to advise caution with any lens that has an external zoom. There's a rubber gasket to guard against dust and moisture near the bayonet mount for the hood; but the front element did accumulate some particles during my test. I have to say though, that this dust didn't interfere with image making. If there's something I'd have desired, it would have been foolproof weather sealing. That said, I always remind myself that this is a $1069 purchase and there's always some extra cash to buy a dust and rain cover for the lens! And yes, the Bigron worked like a charm when cutting out flare. Remember, Tamron didn't give me a hood for this lens. And I love shooting into the sun. If you consider the silhouette above, you'll see the lens handles my shooting preferences really well and gives me a really well defined sun, as against a white blob!

    Verdict and Sample Images
    All in all, I think the Bigron is no-brainer purchase for anyone on the Canon platform who wants a lens with great image quality and great reach. The fact that it's hand-holdable just adds another dimension to this extreme telephoto. There isn't quite anything in the market yet that beats it on a price-performance comparison. Tamron's 6 year warranty just feels like an unbelievable icing on the cake.

    The only pitfalls I'll ask you to be aware of:
        It's a heavy lens, make no mistake. The very fact that I could handhold it doesn't mean that you can as well. Try it out for yourself. I'm not a very big guy though, so I'd like to think this should be a good walk around lens for most wildlife enthusiasts.
        It can be tricky to focus moving subjects due to a combination of the third party AF, the weight and the huge focal length. You'll definitely need to get used to the lens to produce great action pictures.
        I don't believe the lens is very weather sealed. If that is important for you, try the Canon 300mm f/4. Be ready to walk away from a few hundred mm of focal length though.
        At times, the piece I got made a rattling noise when handheld. I'm not sure if this is down to the individual lens or if it's an issue with all the pieces coming through to the market. Handle your piece and be satisfied before you bring it home.
    All in all, I'm tempted to give this lens full marks, but that's not possible since I don't really have a standard rating scale on this website. I recommend it highly though and if I could, I'd get one for myself. If my disclaimers don't bother you, then I daresay you'll be a very satisfied customer. As I sign off, here are some sample images from my review and here's the entire set of images if you'd like to take a look. I've tried to keep my post processing down to minimum for these images, given the nature of this review. While I've shot several hundred images with the lens, I decided to put out just a few of my images for you to review. Feel free to drop in a note if you have any further questions that you'd like me to answer for you.
本帖最后由 entersandman 于 2014-2-15 18:33 编辑

在美国也有6年保修，香港好像是5年。
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