Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is a perfect companion to the 18-200mm Tamron I use, and is faster at the 200mm mark.

I enjoy wildlife and outdoor photography. The crop factor gives me the equivalent of a 750mm zoom, and the eight foot minimum focusing distance lets me take some great shots of wild flowers and such.

From all I coud find when I researched the lens, to get a noticeably better lens you had to pay out several times as much money.

The only drawback to the lens is that, at least in the Minolta mount, demand exceeds supply and there is waiting list for the lens.

It is well worth waiting for, however. :)

I have a number of shots taken with this lens on a Minolta 7D.[...]

I ordered my lens for over night delivery because I was going on a trip. To my horror I discovered that I ordered it in the wrong mount! When I checked my order with Amazon it stated that my order was being prepared for shipment and could not be canceled or changed. So I clicked that "phone me" button and sure enough Amazon called in less than a minute. The lady could not change my order but she did cancel it.
I ordered the lens with the proper mount and received it the next day.
Excellent build quality.
Comes in a quality case that is well padded.
Fast focus and SHARP!
With Sony's built in image stabilizer I am able to get sharp pictures even at 500mm hand held.
Can't ask for much more than that!

I have had this lens for a few months.
The lens is great for birding and other nature shots.
I have been very pleased with this lens.
To get a better lens means spending quite a bit more cash.
It is light and I use a shoulder rig in a canoe for a lot of my work.
On the downside it takes complete sunshine to get good, sharp shots.
The color and the contrast are a little weak , but can be easily "fixed " in photoshop.
For the money this lens is a no brainer.
Just look at the pics. !
Now for an L lens !!!

I have now used this lens in several different places including the Zoo. While it is a little hard to lug around, it produces very sharp images at all ranges. If I had my wishes it would be a little faster. I now must purchase a better tripod system to go with the lens.

This lens rounds out my collection. I have an ultrawide zoom, portrait zoom, medium zoom, and now this long zoom. I thought long and hard about my options -- especially the Sony Reflex 500mm and the Sigma offerings, 50-500 and 150-500. In the end, this one had the best balance of the main factors I considered: price, size/weight, image quality, and flexibility. Its price is extremely reasonable, the size and weight are remarkable given the physical need for 500mm, and the zoom range offers the perfect compromise.

But there are a few things you have to consider: it is big and heavy compared to a typical lens. It is difficult, but by no means impossible, to use handheld. (You'll want to consider tripod use.) In addition, this is not exactly a fast lens, so you'll want to have a lot of light. And the image quality, while good, is not at a professional level. But what can you expect? To get a lens that does more you'll have to spend A LOT more money! The same is true for the build: it's not professional or weather-sealed, but it is what I would consider good for a typical lens.

Some people complain about the autofocus speed. I don't find it to be a problem. It's not super-fast, but it's faster than I expected given the complaints I've heard. I would say it's average for any zoom lens.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend this to others -- provided they know what they are getting into. If you don't really know too much about photography, you should consider another lens, with a shorter zoom, first.

I found the lens very light and easy to use in the field for Nature photography, especially birding. I'm getting excellent pictures although the auto-focus feature tends to search a little longer and with pin point focus it tends not to be so precise in those tight bird shots with many leaves. My Sony Mirror lens does a much better job when it comes to that type of focusing. Don't let the size fool you, it did me. I thought I could hand hold the camera while taking pictures and found out I could and they were very focused. I rated lower because of the speed of focus. I've used it for over a week now and found it to be rugged in the field. Other lenses I've used by other manufacturers haven't held up so well in that wildlife environment.

I have been very happy with the picture quality I have gotten with this lens. I use it for photographing birds and other wildlife. It's a little heavy but any lens this size will add weight to the camera. My camera (Sony a200) has image stabilization built in and it works great with this lens.

Tamron make a reality len that cheap for 500mm and give you a very good result. I really like it.