Customer Reviews

Tamron AF 200-500mm f/5.0-6.3 Di LD SP FEC (IF) Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This new lens, part of the Di (designed for digital) initiative from Tamron is very well built - light and balances well in hand.
It compares nicely with much more costlier Canon 100-400 L IS and compliments perfectly 70-200 type of lenses to extend telephoto reach to incredible 800mm on 1.6x crop camera.
Very sharp even wide-open from 200mm to 400mm it starts to slightly lose its edge at 500mm but still is very respectable. AF is quick and not very noisy. The lens can be hand-hold in broad daylight but is best used either with monopod or a good tripod (especially if you shoot in dusk conditions). Attaching optional 1.4x extender would allow to bring subjects up to 24 times closer compared to bare eyesight and still get a very high quality shot.
From the drawbacks there is slight lack of contrast comparing to 'L' (professional) lenses from Canon and slow F/6.3 apperture at the tele-end, making AF sometimes difficult with cameras that are not designed for AF after F/5.6 (such as 20D or Digital Rebel). Putting extender or/and Polarizer filter on lens would cut light that reaches the camera another 2-3 times, making this lens very slow and forcing Manual Focusing. So if you need the speed at such extreme reach, better consider prime (non-zoom) lenses.
The filter size is 86mm making finding an affordable quality filter for this lens a practical impossibility. But if you do manage to get a decent polarizer filter, using it would be much simplier then with any other large lenses due to included filter attachment ring. With any other lens the hood would be blocking access to the filter but thanks to this simple gadget, Tamron 200-500 can be used successfully with both filter and hood on.

I could give it a 4 stars, but I decide to add one more to offset another reviewer's 1 star, which I think is not fair. I've used this lens for several months and very happy about its performance -- Well-taken bird pictures are good enough for at least 11X14 prints.

I'm providing some technical tips here for long end (500mm) use --

* Use a (light) monopod, which could save some treasure at 1/100 sec. On the other hand, even at 1/1000 sec, monopod still could help sharpness sometimes;

* If light is ok, use f8, which is significantly better than wide open at 500mm and may reach the top of this lens;

* Make good use of the light weight and 2.5m focus distance, approach the objects -- it's the key to get great bird pictures, although 500mm is also important;

* Don't use teleconvert -- I found even 1.4X Kenko Pro 300 makes the image soft. Croping is better for this lens.

You pay $800 for this 500mm. If you use it correctly, you will get more than what you pay for.

See Nov 2008 Updates below for comparison between this lens and my new Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS

Pros:

Relatively light
Great bang for the buck
Pretty sharp at F/7.1 @ 500mm
Small size when zoomed to 200mm
Nice tripod mount that allows you to rotate the camera and lens

Cons:

Slow autofocus
No Image Stabilization
Cheap plastic build and feel
Slow max aperture especially at 500mm
Works best at long zoom settings on a tripod
Not as sharp as my Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS Zoom lens

I wanted more reach to photograph birds and the moon using my Canon 40D so I borrowed this lens for a few weeks from a friend while he borrows my Canon 70-200 F/2.8 L.

The first things you notice are it's pretty light and long especially when extended to 500mm with an even longer hood attached out past that. The hood seemed a little flimsy but attached firmly and stayed in place throughout shooting so I have no complaints about it.

My first shots were of the moon at 500mm hand held on manual mode at ISO 400 1/800th second at F/7.1. I was very pleased with how sharp and what great contrast this lens produced when I got back inside and downloaded to my Mac.

When attached to my monopod or tripod I liked the built in lens tripod mount as it easily allows you to rotate the camera and lens together easily without having to change settings on your tripod. I used this lens mainly on a monopod while shooting birds and this worked really well. I mainly used the lens at 500mm where it seemed really sharp at F/7.1 but pretty sharp wide open as well. Will try some more shots at shorter ranges and post later.

Conclusion:

If you are in the market for a 500mm lens especially one that's a zoom and in this price range and you don't need the speed of a faster lens then this may be the lens for you. I recently purchased a new Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS Zoom lens and find it much more useful especially since I am not tied to a tripod because of the freedom of the Image Stablizier. If you can afford it get the Canon 100-400 if you are on a budget and you don't mind using a tripod and having images that are softer then get the Tamron.

6-29-2008 Update

Despite being a really sharp lens, and a versatile one, there area several other things that make a lens a pleasure to use.

1. Fast auto-focus, this lens doesn't have it. After awhile of trading my Canon L lens back and forth with this one there's just too much I miss especially birds in flight. With a Canon L it's a snap.

2. Fast aperture, F/4 maybe I could put up with but when you get above F/5.6 you are getting into really slow territory.

I thought about getting a Canon 400mm F/5.6 L but this may be just a little too slow. I think I will continue to save up for the Canon 300 F/2.8 L. I know it's in another league from this lens, but I just can't give up the even better quality, fast aperture and lightening fast auto-focus. I'll buy a 2x multiplier to get out there further.

11-5-2008 Update:

I just bought a new Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS Zoom lens and there is just no comparison, The Canon 100-400 just blows away the Tamron lens in all areas except for reach which is another 100mm on the Tamron. I compared my old tripod mounted test photos with the Canon 100-400 test photos using the same settings and the 100-400 is shaper has better contrast and most importantly has image stabilization which allows me to use a much slower shutter speed and still get great sharp photos. The auto focus on the Canon is also faster.

11-14-2008 Update:

It was a full moon the last two nights perfect for taking my best shot of the moon with my new Canon 100-400 F/4.5 - F/5.6 IS L lens. I wanted to compare the best moon shot I got with the Tamron 200-500mm with my new Canon lens. The moon was full and night clear and I took a hand held shot at 1/400s F/7.1 ISO 100 with the Canon 40D same camera I used with the Tamron test. I then downloaded and processed the Raw photo using the same settings I used for the best moon shot I ever got with the Tamron.

Results: The Canon 100-400 had enough resolving power and was sharp enough where I could actually zoom in enough on the moon shot taken with the Tamron 200-500mm at 500mm and it was slightly better. The shots at 400mm with the Tamron were a step down from the 400mm shot with the Canon 100-400.

The other thing I noticed after looking through the directory with all the daytime Tamron 200-500mm vs the Canon 100-400 was how many shots I got with the Canon 100-400 lens that would not be possible with the Tamron because the Tamron has no Image Stabilizer and the Tamron focused much more slowly. The Tamron is more of a tripod bird perched on a branch lens the Canon 100-400 I can actually do bird in flight photos!

Verdict:

If you are on a budget and don't mind shooting from a tripod at motionless or near motionless subjects the Tarmon 200-500 can do, but... if you have the money at all you need to get the Canon 100-400 you will be getting more shots and with more resolving power even though the Canon is 100mm shorter.

Lenses I currently own:

Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS Ultra sharp, great colors, great low light, poor zoom action
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Rebel XTi Kit lens Muddy, slow, pile of junk
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Fantastic colors, sharp zoomed 17 to 24mm, ultra smooth zoom action, light weight
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L Fantastic colors and contrast, sharp zoomed 40 to 70mm, zoom a little stiff at first, heavy, repair prone!
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Good budget portrait lens, light weight, disposable, sharp from F/2.5
Canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II The best portrait lens for female and children clients, buttery smooth Bokeh, heavy and expensive it shares sharpness with 135mm
Canon EF 135mm F/2.0 L The best portrait lens for males and tied with Canon 85mm F 1/.2 for sharpest lens I own, buttery smooth Bokeh
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L fantastic colors, sharp for a zoom, very versatile ego boosting and attention getting and heavy! My favorite zoom lens!!!
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L great IS, super colors, sharp for a zoom, extremely versatile, variable Bokeh, even more ego boosting and attention getting when extended and 400mm reach!!
My next lens purchase I'm saving for right now: _Canon EF 300mm F/2.8 IS L the finest lens ever

I gave this lens a try as a cheaper alternative to the Canon 100-400 L IS lens. After one outing, I returned the Tamron immediately and bought the Canon 100-400mm L IS lens.

This lens is pretty soft at anything above 400mm, and anything below f/8. If you do any kind of print work or like to do heavy cropping the softness of this lens will really bother you - there's no way you can use a 1:1 crop. If you mostly reduce your photos quite a bit for the web, this might not bother you. However, this does affect your ability to shoot in low light though, since f/5 to f/8 is almost unusable due to the softness.

CA is present at longer focal lengths as well, along with pretty poor contrast.

The lack of IS in such a long lens is also problematic - forget hand-held shots.

The one nice feature is the rotating front filter ring - you can buy a cheaper polarizing filter, which is a bonus on such a large filter.

Overall, this lens was a huge disappointment. If you want to take a chance on an off-brand lens, at least go with the Sigma 150-500 with OS. I haven't had a chance to try that lens, but at least it has OS, and the optical quality can't possibly be any worse.

First, let's say up front that this is a BIG lens. All of the super zooms are. They all do much better with a tripod because of their weight.

Having said that, I have been able to handhold this lens in daytime and get great shots at 400-500mm. Of course, this requires a learning curve. I have found that most telephoto lenses get negative reviews, not because they are inferior lenses, but because folks don't know how to shoot with them. Your best shots will be if you can fill up a good 1/2 to 2/3 of the image with your subject. Less than that, and the camera is less likely to: 1) get true focus on the actual subject (rather than the area around the subject); and 2) get the details needed to enlarge the image without losing quality.

Back to the lens, for those who want greater reach, this lens is a wonderful option. It's biggest competition is the Sigma 50-500mm. While the "Bigma" is considered a great lens, how practical is the 50-200mm range? If you're going to shoot at that range, there are MANY other lenses that are much better in quality and much easier to carry around. At the 200-500mm range, the Tamron's reviews tend to be better than the Bigma.

If you really want one lens that will cover the most ranges, then the Bigma may be your best bet. However, it's not a walk-around lens, so you end up buying other lenses within the same range simply because you can't carry the Bigma all day every day. To me, the better option is to buy the Tamron 200-500mm for when you REALLY need the reach, and buy something else for the 50-200mm range (the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 and Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 would be a nice combo) for everyday use.

(No mention of L lenses, because if you could afford the L lens, you wouldn't bother looking at the Tamron. :) )

I have several lenses but this is my favorite. The optics are supurb and while it may be a little slow at 500mm this is commong for most lenses cousting under $4000.

The lens has a cool feature that lets you mount a polarizer filter and attach a lens hood. You can then rotate the lens hood and filter as a complete assembly. It is almost impossible to rotate a polarizer filter in other telephoto lenses with the hood attached.

The tripod mount ring has a quick release option that is perfect if you want to hand hold the lens. The lens only weighs 2.8lbs and built very solid.

[...]

I'm real impressed with this lens. I've been needing to get more reach for my wildlife photos. The Dof and Bokeh are wonderful.

I use the Tamron 200-500 with my Rebel Xt. I have very small hands, and I have NO problems hand holding this lens at all. What I do is, when it is fully extended, I just put my left hand under the end of the lens to balance, and it's as easy as that.

I only have it 3 days and I'm really enjoying it. My images are sharp!
The only thing I did was change the contrast on my camera, which had been set to HIGH, to NORMAL.....

The "sun shade" is a must in bright light, and really works well.
If I chose to mount on my tripod, I have no problems. I have a bogen-manfrotto and it's sturdy enough to hold this big lens.

I bought this lens to go with my Canon 70-200/4L. Before I bought it, I did my research and narrowed down my selection to this lens and Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma). Both of them got great reviews. Compared to Sigma, this lens is lighter, cheaper, and sharper according to most reviewers. And of course, I don't really need the 50-200mm range since I already got my Canon. Sharpness is great from 200-400mm, but does become a little soft at 500mm but still is very good. At 500mm, I did need to lock down my tripod, used mirror lockup and cable release to get a good picture. With this magnification, you have to use your best skills. I also compared this lens to Canon 70-200mm, both set at 200mm. This lens is a little bit softer than Canon at center, but much sharper at the edge. According to one review, the edge is even shaper than the center, which is rare for any lens. As noted by other reviewers, the auto focus becomes slow because of its f6.3 at its long-end. And if you add a 1.4X teleconverter, you have to use manual focus on Digital Rebel. But considering you need to spend thousands of dollars to get a Canon for this range, this lens is a great value.

I had to leave a review about this lens. I began nature photography while sailing and mostly photographing birds. I was never quite close enough.I bought this for my Canon 30D. This is a really terrific lens! I had another, smaller Tameron lens and this one is noticably faster in autofocusing. I was not expecting the extra speed. I shoot mostly handheld without a trypod and have been able to get some great shots by simply resting it on something. It is fairly light weight. Be careful near water though. It was windy the other day and the weight and length of the lens almost pulled me into the ocean! Shop around and you can find the hoodcover, filter and trypod connection built in for a very good price. www.natureliteracy.com

I'm sure one of the Canon big lenses would be sharper and faster, but this one isn't a bad lens at all. I will try, but not recommend it, with a 1.4x extender. So far, the 500mm photos do seem a little soft. But if you have your f/7 to 8 in daylight you should be good. No IS? Hey, you'd pay a lot more for that. You are going to use this on a tripod or monopod, so no IS isn't a problem at all.