Tamron 150-600 and wildlife photography

Hello everyone!

I'm here to asking for some advices...

I'm a passionate amateur photographer and i will stay like that for a long time. I also didn't have too much time to invest in photography since job, love and other interest are "strong in this one" (q. Star Wars).

I'm really happy with my 60D camera, i can handle HIGH ISO shooting with this camera, and i find the 18-135 IS STM + 50mm f 1.8 really good for the majority of the pictures that i do love to take.

But i'm really in love with my cheap Canon 70-300 IS USM.

With this last lens i started to love "static" animal photography. (I don't know if it is the correct translation!) What i'm saying is that i love to capture pictures of animals in their natural habitat, i do not have too much needings about capturing flying birds at high speed, i prefer to shoot at them while they are on a stick.

For that, i'm considering to buy the Tamron 150-600, the reviews are very positive, the price is really accessible and with the few time i can spend going around for woods shooting pictures, i think that this lens would be a really good time-price-investment. And with an APS-C camera, the focal lenght will permit me to stay at the right distance without scaring birds deers and other animals.

So, now that i explained my background and the reasons for my choiche, i would like to ask something more specific about this kind of photography (which is really new to me) and this lens!

- The lens weight is something also new to me, for this kind of photography, do i need a "one-leg tripod"?
- I like to lay on the ground when i "hunt" for some of those shoots with my 70-300. I imagine that i would love to lay down also with 150-600... but the difference in weight suggest me that maybe exists some kind of "small tripod" or something useful to support the lens when i'm on the ground. Do you have any suggestion?
- Usually animals are easier to spot at dawn or sunset... and with those light conditions i imagine that rising up the ISO is a really common practice to obtain "sharp" pictures with 150-600 x 1.6mm focal range. Did you find some problem with such a long focal range?

- Any suggestion in general? :D Also on other lenses, or any impression about the Tamron 150-600?

Probably in the far future ( :p ) i will exchange my good 60D for a 7DMarkII, but that's another story.

Thank you everyone and excuse me for long and confuse post! Writing it already clear my mind on some points :)

Kayaker and I spent the day shooting my Tamron and his Sigma Sport 150-600.

We swapped back and forth. I am real happy up to 400mm and then by 600 (barrel reading) the images are getting soft. I think Bryan nailed it w/ the comparisons between the Sigma and Tamron.

I got the Tamron as it was really the only thing available at the $1,000 price range that could reach to 600mm ( or close to it). I can't justify spending much more than this - though if you get really into the long stuff, the Sigma sport can take teleconverters and the images look pretty good.

Shooting any of these bazookas takes practice and patience. Hand holding these beasts for anytime is really not practical. K and I were in a car driving around a bird sanctuary so we stopped ever few minutes and rested for several minutes between locations. The idea of hand holding this on a particular subject for a minute or two waiting for just that right moment is only available to those with really big arms. At 600 mm the barrel is extended quite a ways, just hold a 3 lb weight at 3/4 arms length and see how steady you remain for 2 minutes. :)

It is surprising what happens to the ISO when to get consistently sharp pics, you have to have a shutter speed at 500 or 1000 (even with IS when hand holding) and an fstop in the 8 range. Particularly when you are shooting in the twilight of morning and evening.

Having said all this, any of the bazookas are a lot of fun.

I use a monopod more than a tripod. Mine is a Gitzo that supports 55 lbs. I can carry the camera and 500mm on the end of it like a lollipop, if you buy a cheaper one I wouldn't recommend this practice. Some people use heads on the monopod, I use mine without.

I have a Gitzo tripod with a Wimberly gimbal type head. My opinion for wildlife the gimbal is the type of head to go with.

If money is an issue I would suggest the monopod first and the tripod later.

The following I find true of wildlife but especially true of birds, you want a lens that gives you the highest resolution you can afford. You want as much detail as possible in the feathers and eye. If I were starting out on a budget I wouldn't count out a used older model L lens even if it is non IS.

There is nothing wrong with that focal range and light, other than you need a high shutter speed. 1/500 can be marginal and over 1/1000 would be preferred. You will be out of light well before sundown at f/8. With the 60d you will be out of light a stop sooner because of noisy ISO compared to FF. But I tracked this to see what I was loosing, between 5 and 15 minutes of shooting time at sunset to loose 1 stop. Last outing I tracked the light I lost the 1 stop that mattered (the point I felt I wouldn't get acceptable results) in 7 minutes. I own a FF so I switched bodies and continued on. Usually by that time the picture IQ is marginal.

I own the Tamron, and it's a great lens. That said, if I were doing it all over I'd buy the Sigma Contemporary in a heartbeat. Besides having a slightly nicer build (and looking better IMHO), the USB dock is a huge advantage. You can fine tune your lens without resorting to in-body micro adjustment. And, you can update your firmware, which is huge.

I just sent my Tamron in for the service advisory - there's a problem when panning the camera with the VC on. It cost me $50 to ship the lens off. If it was a Sigma, I'd be done already. That $50 would pay for the USB dock. And, I wouldn't be without the lens for 2 or 3 weeks. While Sigma claims a 3 day turn, here on the West coast it's a week to get to NY via UPS ground. This is the second major firmware update for this lens. I doubt it will be the last. I'm hoping that I get some performance increases as some users have noted after this update.

Then to answer your question - as busted knuckles mentioned the weight is a huge issue. Holding a 7 lb. lens is tough even just for a few seconds. I've found I need to have my shutter speed at at least 1/1000 to get good results. At 600 I can see my image bouncing around and know I need that shutter speed and VC. I bought a monopod pretty much exclusively for this lens. I've gone 40 years without one. It makes a tremendous difference. It's also a less expensive setup than a tripod and Gimbal would be. I'd like to try a gimbal at some point in the future. A good Gimbal is an investment by itself, but I think if I get good with birds and move to BIF, it will be an essential item.

So anyway, the Tamron is a great lens, but unless you're a huge Tamron fan, consider the Sigma. I believe Bryan gave a slight advantage to the Sigma himself. If anything happens to my lens during shipment, I'm using that insurance money for a Sigma!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamsus

- The lens weight is something also new to me, for this kind of photography, do i need a "one-leg tripod"?

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Yes and no. Some people do use monopods. Some tripods. But mostly, I have seen people shooting the 150-600 series of lenses hand held. The Sigma 150-600S I've read more of a mix, people using mono-, tri- and hand holding shots.

I would probably buy your lens first, have a bit of budget remaining, and then get a mono- or tripod if you find you need it after shooting your new lens for awhile.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamsus

- I like to lay on the ground when i "hunt" for some of those shoots with my 70-300. I imagine that i would love to lay down also with 150-600... but the difference in weight suggest me that maybe exists some kind of "small tripod" or something useful to support the lens when i'm on the ground. Do you have any suggestion?

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If I was laying on the ground I would likely be resting my elbow on the ground supporting the lens by holding it's barrel. So, again, I would probably buy lens first, make sure you have some budget, and buy support second. In this case, pay attention to the minimum height of mono- and tripods. I think you'll find that tripods can actually get lower to the ground than monopods by spreading their legs out to be nearly horizontal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamsus

-Usually animals are easier to spot at dawn or sunset... and with those light conditions i imagine that rising up the ISO is a really common practice to obtain "sharp" pictures with 150-600 x 1.6mm focal range. Did you find some problem with such a long focal range?

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Sure....but finding the extra ~$10,000 to gain 1-2 stops was a bigger problem. Limitations are a part of life and definitely part of photography. Just understand what you can shoot. But I think you'll find that 1/1200th f/8, ISO 800-1600 will be enough for a lot of circumstances for faster moving targets and 1/500th, f/8, ISO 800-1600 enough for even more "static" targets.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamsus

- Any suggestion in general? :D Also on other lenses, or any impression about the Tamron 150-600?

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There are a lot of options out there now in the ~sum $2,2k telephoto zoom market and most if not all are really pretty good. These include:

• EF 400 f/5.6
• EF 70-300 L
• EF 100-400 Mk 1
• EF 100-400 Mk 2
• Tamron 150-600
• Sigma 150-600 "C"
• Sigma 150-600 "S"

The first think you need to decide is "how limited are you by 300 mm?" It is the IQ at 300 that is your limitation or is it the reach (ie, you are constantly cropping). If it is the reach, are you cropping more than half your image file? If yes, then you likely want something that goes out to 600 mm. If not, then maybe one of the 400 mm options with much better IQ would be better for you.

I own the 100-400 Mk 1 and the Sigma 150-600S. On crop I found the 100-400 Mk 1 good enough for most instances. On FF, it was still good for many uses but I wanted more reach. So I got excited when Sigma announced the 150-600S.

For the money, the Tamron and 150-600C seem to be very good deals. I would read Bryan's reviews to differentiate between the two.

While not an answer or a specific recommendation, I hope that helps. The super telephoto zoom market is becoming a bit like the 70-200 market. Lots of good options. You really have to think to decide which is best for you.

I really thanks everyone of you - your suggestions are really deep and detailed, and solved most of my theoretical doubts!

I would like to respond to each one of you but i'm in a coffe-break at the office!

Thank you everyone again

Regarding laying on the ground:
I forgot to mention this - but Sean or Bryan mentioned at one point this lens support that looks like a Frisbee turned upside-down with a ball head on it. I can't for the life of me remember who made it - but it looked like it would be real easy to use laying down and slide easily. They had taken some pretty nice bird photos using it. Also, Kirk makes a lowpod that would work, although you can't slide it very well.

Ah, you're talking about the NatureScapes Skimmer. Bryan reviewed that. ;-)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...nd-Pod-II.aspx

I think i can build my own "ground-pod" :D

I am thinking again about Tamron 150-600...

I usually don't print too much pictures, and the ones that i print are MAX in A4 format or A5... At this resolution, will the image quality be so different between this "cheap" lens and the others?

Hi Jamsus.....I was able to borrow Busted Knuckles Tamron 150-600 for awhile last January. Granted, this is all on the 5DIII and not crop, but it is a sharp lens capable of taking some great pictures....a few of mine that I liked:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7404/1...7c285d59_b.jpgsmall-4786 by kayaker72, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8644/1...c912d9db_b.jpgsmall-4729 by kayaker72, on Flickr

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8635/1...08ec51a1_b.jpgsmall-4687 by kayaker72, on Flickr

Again, all of those were taken on the 5DIII.

Another thing I usually do when evaluating a lens is scroll through the Flickr Groups for that lens. For example....and this was taken with the 70D....

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/430/18...bfea5231_b.jpgRed Kite in Flight by Unintended_Keith, on Flickr

In short, I am coming around to the opinion that the new 100-400 II plus 1.4 TC and the various 150-600 lens are all good options. So it gets down to evaluating various features and cost against what you want/can afford. Bryan does a nice comparison of the options at the end of the 150-600C review.

Thank you again Kayaker.

Now i will make my decision between those, but before i have to decide between long telezoom & macro lens :)

I recently sent my Tamron off to get the VC firmware update as mentioned in the Tamron service advisory performed. $50 USD shipping for the pleasure of a free fix. They performed the needed update as well as a cleaning and "adjusting focus issues" (their words) and shipped it back to me last Thursday. Right after that they posted yet another Service Bulletin that the firmware needs to be updated so it will work with the 5Ds & 5DsR cameras.

Did they put in the most recent firmware on my camera? Or do I get to send it back yet again when I purchase the 5Ds?

This is one of the best reasons I can think of to go with the Sigma lenses, even if they were dead equal otherwise (which they seem to be). The value of being able to update the firmware on your desktop is huge. Plus, you're not without the lens for weeks on end. While Tamron's response and turnaround has been exemplary in their customer service department, my issue lies elsewhere with the company.

If I were serious about using this focal length, I'd probably consider the Canon EF 100-400 II and the TC as Kayaker72 mentions - because the results I've seen are excellent. Plus, you've got a much more manageable (and insanely sharp) lens when you don't need 600mm. I think for the added price, the performance and peace of mind will make up for that pretty quickly!

I'm interested to see just how it performs as I didn't mention anything about focus issues. As far as I knew it was fine! The dust they found (front element) was incredibly minor, it took a flashlight to see it! I really only expected them to update the firmware - and am just a little bit anxious about them taking it apart. I'm kind of a "if it ain't broke don't fix it!" type. I'll report back if I see any improvement with the lens above and beyond being able to leave the VC on while in panning mode. Or, if something is worse!

In this weekend i tried the Tamron 150-600 and the Canon EF 100-400 II with 1.4 Extender... The Tamron was a good performer but, as you just said, the 100-400 has another kind of quality < 600m, and also with the extender, the lens was a very good performer!

Coff coff, somebody has done it!

100-400 II IS USM incoming... i hope this friday!

:)

Enjoy! I got one 6 weeks ago and am having a lot of fun with it.

Stephen

I'm a huge fan of monopods for anything telephoto and beyond. I've done enough event shooting that my arm just can't keep the lens up all day, so I've bought a monopod I can enjoy and use it a lot.

As far as low shooting, several thoughts:
1: I have an "fplate.net" floor plate (now sold through B&H Photo) that I've experimented with using as a ground-level tripod.
2: My new RRS tripod gets fairly low, though probably still 9" off the ground due to the handle on the leveling base. I think they're working on a new knob to allow the leveling base to sit lower.
3: RRS has a "ground pod" (aluminum, two-section, designed to be <2" off the deck) you might consider.
4: Wimberley has some flash bracket pieces you could clamp to the lens foot and place it on a towel/beanbag (http://tripodhead.com/products/flash...other-apps.cfm).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peety3

I'm a huge fan of monopods for anything telephoto and beyond. I've done enough event shooting that my arm just can't keep the lens up all day, so I've bought a monopod I can enjoy and use it a lot.

As far as low shooting, several thoughts:
1: I have an "fplate.net" floor plate (now sold through B&H Photo) that I've experimented with using as a ground-level tripod.
2: My new RRS tripod gets fairly low, though probably still 9" off the ground due to the handle on the leveling base. I think they're working on a new knob to allow the leveling base to sit lower.
3: RRS has a "ground pod" (aluminum, two-section, designed to be <2" off the deck) you might consider.
4: Wimberley has some flash bracket pieces you could clamp to the lens foot and place it on a towel/beanbag (http://tripodhead.com/products/flash...other-apps.cfm).

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I will probably buy a monopod soon but... for the "ground pod" i got an idea and probably i will build it myself :-p

I'm very ignorant in merit of big lenses, do you need a particular "Rail" for the tripod head to keep the 100-400 on it?

I got a ball-head which is ok for the weight, but i don't know if the tripod collar (is this the right name in english?) can be attacched on it!

It make work well attaching the camera body to the ball head but you will probably want a lens plate compatible with your ball head. This is small "rail like" piece that attaches to the lens foot which allows the ball head to clamp to it. Also it allows some forward and back adjustment to balance the whole rig.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jamsus

I'm very ignorant in merit of big lenses, do you need a particular "Rail" for the tripod head to keep the 100-400 on it?

I got a ball-head which is ok for the weight, but i don't know if the tripod collar (is this the right name in english?) can be attacched on it!

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We decided to go with the "Arca-Swiss" style of plates and clamps. A few tripod head brands use proprietary plates/clamps, and I felt that going with a standard (Arca-Swiss is used by several manufacturers) meant we'd have brand flexibility into the future. We have a mix of Markins ballheads, RRS monopod heads, Wimberley Gimbal Head, Wimberley camera and lens plates, RRS L-shaped plates on some cameras, RRS tripod, Manfrotto tripod, RRS monopods, fplate floor plate, and several RRS clamps, all of which work together. Admittedly it's EXPENSIVE when you add it all up, but the versatility is worthwhile to us.

On a related note, when we switched to the BlackRapid camera straps, I bought several RRS B2-FABN clamps and semi-permanently attached them to BlackRapid "FastenRs". To use any of our BR straps, we slide the clamp onto the camera or lens bracket/plate, tighten, and go. We find this to be much quicker than screwing/unscrewing the FastenR between every device, AND less risky, and we don't need to remove the lens plate to be able to carry the lens from its foot.

Good....so you can use an Arca Swiss compatible lens plate such as a Wimberly P40

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ase_Plate.html#!

Thank you everyone for you replies :)

At this point i'm just to excited to play with the new lens :)

I got it today... and i immediately went out for some test!

I got some birds but those are the three "first" pictures that satisfied me really a lot.

The lens is hellishsly sharp, maybe i'm not an abituee to this quality but... my 60D is giving me the high five for such a beatiful companion.

Thank you everyone of you for your suggestions.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/497/1...4ecef765_c.jpg

Butterfly, Nature by Andrea Magnelli, su Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/402/1...9f656048_c.jpg

Aricia agestis, i think! by Andrea Magnelli, su Flickr

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/520/2...d14c17fd_c.jpg

Bzzz and... his dinner! by Andrea Magnelli, su Flickr

Bump this one for asking some advice:

For shooting "STILL" subjects (birds in pose mainly), is the Canon 1.4x Teleconverter with 100-400 L II on the 60D a suggested accessory? I would like just to have some extra focal range sometimes, not pretending "magic" on autofocus.

Is this a viable solution?

The 1.4x TC will make the 400 mm f/5.6 equivalent to 560 mm f/8. From what I have seen, the 100-400 II takes the 1.4xTC very well from an optical standpoint. But, the trick is will the 60D autofocus at f/8? I do not believe the 60D will autofocus at f/8 with the Canon 1.4xTC. But I have heard that it might AF with the Kenko 1.4xTC (which fools the system).

Unless others know for sure, I would try the Kenko, but make sure you can return it in case it does not AF.

The F/8 autofocus limitation... that's phase detect only, right? Live-view contrast detect AF should work regardless of F, I think, but I haven't tried (I don't own any extenders, or lenses that accept them). Just to confuse things further, don't the 70D/7D2 have some sort of phase-detect in live-view for Movie Servo mode? I wonder what happens on those bodies?

It will not auto focus at f/8 (phase detect), but I would assume it will in live view because my 7D (Mark I) did and it was an older camera than the 60D. Best to check the manual though.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

Thank you everyone guys, i received a bad advice from a friend of mine and i would also ask about this extender here! Unlucky i'm in a period where work occupies 90% of my "awake-week" so i got no strenght to read out the internet\the manuals!

Mmm at this point maybe i will go on the Kenko extender but... i can also stay with the 100-400 II clean :)

Let's see and thank you again