Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens for birds and animals in the yard, the woods, and along the river. I generally shoot with aperture wide open to f11 so I can't comment on image quality at smaller apertures. Shallow DOF works for me to separate the creature from the busy wooded background. Autofocus is OK but slow although I find myself using manual focus often to get creatures lurking in tree branches and vegetation. It is possible to handhold this lens on a bright day at ISO400, but a monopod is better and a tripod is best. I have had this lens a month and run 600 -700 photos through it (certainly there were rejects, but that was due to issues other that the lens). I can't comment on how the lens will perform over the long term, but I have a Tamron 70 - 300mm that is 12 or more years old and used extensively in the field on canoe trips, camping, and hiking, and it performs as good as the day I got it.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I was initially nervous when purchasing this lens.

On my first time using it, I was able to do the following:

-Clearly identify a license plate at 600 feet
-Easily identify a street sign 1450 feet away
-Using a tripod, I was able to clearly identify a house number 1900 feet away.
-Get a clear photo of a truck on a bluff 1.5 miles away

When at a distance, it's tough to get moving objects (ie cars) clearly, but what do you expect?

I got some very good photos of birds and butterflies around the neighborhood. For fun, I took photos of my nextdoor neighbor's statues. The bokeh is very good on objects 10-30 feet away.

I took it to a daytime outdoor soccer game - it took very good photos at around 200-300 feet. I don't think it would do well during night games, even under stadium lights, as the autofocus is slow to hunt. But for the price, I can't complain

The only real downside to it is that if you want a crisp shot while above 350/400, you really need a tripod. This is probably the case with all lenses like this, though - it's just too hard to keep your hands still while shooting at distance. Even the monopod wasn't good for this range.

Also, to go from 200-500, it takes about a 3/4 turn (most lenses are 1/4-1/2) so it's tough to jump in one fluid motion - you may need to do two cranks with the hand.

Comparing to my 80-200 f/2.8 lens with 1.4x extender, this takes much better photos. I also had a chance to test this against the comparable Sigma lenses - it blows them out of the water.

For the price, you're not going to find a better telephoto lens. If you have a spare $5k-$12k lying around, then go ahead and get the 500 prime lenses.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I am very happy with my recent purchase of the Tamron lens. The zoom is amazing! And pictures stay very clear.
I will recomend this to my friends. I use this lens with 2x AF Teleconverter Tamron on a Panasonic GH2 and. Great combination.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I used it on a bright sunny day to take pics of my son's lacrosse tournament.

It captured all of the high speed action!

Can't do better for the price.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Using this for outdoor photography of birds and animals. Nice handeling. Wish a little sharper when at > 400mm. But overall it will do the trick. You will need to use a monopod or tripod.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Right out of the box this is an impressive lens,real keen to take it straight away and do some test shots with it attached to my Nikon D90 DSLR Camera, I have Fairy Wrens in the bush near my house so the best test was to photograph these little birds (mouse size birds),well,to say I was impressed would be an understatement, the lens was quick to focus and very accurate, although I took a tripod to use I didn't have time so had to do these pictures "hand held" and the lens performance was "excellent",all great, sharpe pictures.
Used this lens now for three weeks solid on all sorts of subjects, portraits, flowers, action, boating, sea birds and I can't fault it, hence the 5 star rating.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens on my D300s camera and it is a very smooth operating quality lens. Nothing negative except the obvious weight consideration for such a large lens.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Seems to be a great beast. Have used it four times so far and I am very pleased with it. Whilst it appears to be not quite as sharp as a brand name prime lens it is still very good. The actual build and quality of the two accessories are excellent.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

This is a great lens for taking pictures of wildlife.I had just got the lens and took one of the best of a hawk flying over me.
the focal length is great.It's a little heavy if you don't use a tripod.
Over all it's a great lens

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I am currently using the lens for long distance photos of our areas waterfalls and interesting structures for a coffee table book. The lens gets very close to my subject. It's more then I hoped it would be.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Some have said they had lens creep I have not seen any.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use the lens to photograph wildlife. Mostly birds in the wild. First time I've used a BIG lens, am still getting use to using it, love the quality of the photos I've gotten.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Use for wildlife photography - mostly birds.
Great thing- zoom range and price are excellent

Not so great - Vibration reduction would be very nice - though MOST shots are tripod-mounted, the VR would be a nice convenience.
Not happy with the autofocus. Tested on a tripod using the remote control @ 1/500th sec. Found that the autofocus was FAR INFERIOR to manual focus.
For that reason, I returned it.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens with a nikon D90. Good distance with a good price

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Sweet lens - a good price but great quality. It works perfectly on my Nikon D300s and D200.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Great lens for the money. I have a Nikon D80 and the lens works great with it. Used the the lens to take pictures at an indoor skating show and i had no problems with the lens focusing and the pictures were clear and sharp.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I purchased this lens primarily for wildlife (birds mostly). I have tried it on a blue heron that was about 100 feet away. The resulting photo gave the impression that the bird was about 6 feet away as the detail was extremely good. Next test will be on birds in flight, and that should be a better test. Initially, I am satisfied.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I was a bit hesitant to purchase this lens because it doesn't autofocus with my D5000, but I've been able to take very clear,sharp pictures using manual focus. I did find that a tripod is necessary to help steady the camera with the extra weight. Photography is a hobby with me, so there was no way I could justify a more expensive lens. This one meets my needs for wildlife photograhy.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I bought this lens for my Nikon D5000 specfifically to photograph the final space shuttle launch knowing I would have to watch it from a distance. At twelve miles, it did a great job. It's a little heavy (48 oz) and difficult to wield on fast moving subjects (i.e. birds in flight), but if you want to reach out and take pictures of animals that would otherwise bolt at your presence, then this is the lense for you. The camera case is excellent and the tripod collar is versatile and easy to use. Compared to the competition or the more expensive Nikon lenses, this is a good buy and I look forward to using it to photograph wild life.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Used for African Safari. Plenty of light to shoot at f-8. Best of all it is light weight

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens for birds and animals in the yard, the woods, and along the river. I generally shoot with aperture wide open to f11 so I can't comment on image quality at smaller apertures. Shallow DOF works for me to separate the creature from the busy wooded background. Autofocus is OK but slow although I find myself using manual focus often to get creatures lurking in tree branches and vegetation. It is possible to handhold this lens on a bright day at ISO400, but a monopod is better and a tripod is best. I have had this lens a month and run 600 -700 photos through it (certainly there were rejects, but that was due to issues other that the lens). I can't comment on how the lens will perform over the long term, but I have a Tamron 70 - 300mm that is 12 or more years old and used extensively in the field on canoe trips, camping, and hiking, and it performs as good as the day I got it.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I was initially nervous when purchasing this lens.

On my first time using it, I was able to do the following:

-Clearly identify a license plate at 600 feet
-Easily identify a street sign 1450 feet away
-Using a tripod, I was able to clearly identify a house number 1900 feet away.
-Get a clear photo of a truck on a bluff 1.5 miles away

When at a distance, it's tough to get moving objects (ie cars) clearly, but what do you expect?

I got some very good photos of birds and butterflies around the neighborhood. For fun, I took photos of my nextdoor neighbor's statues. The bokeh is very good on objects 10-30 feet away.

I took it to a daytime outdoor soccer game - it took very good photos at around 200-300 feet. I don't think it would do well during night games, even under stadium lights, as the autofocus is slow to hunt. But for the price, I can't complain

The only real downside to it is that if you want a crisp shot while above 350/400, you really need a tripod. This is probably the case with all lenses like this, though - it's just too hard to keep your hands still while shooting at distance. Even the monopod wasn't good for this range.

Also, to go from 200-500, it takes about a 3/4 turn (most lenses are 1/4-1/2) so it's tough to jump in one fluid motion - you may need to do two cranks with the hand.

Comparing to my 80-200 f/2.8 lens with 1.4x extender, this takes much better photos. I also had a chance to test this against the comparable Sigma lenses - it blows them out of the water.

For the price, you're not going to find a better telephoto lens. If you have a spare $5k-$12k lying around, then go ahead and get the 500 prime lenses.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I am very happy with my recent purchase of the Tamron lens. The zoom is amazing! And pictures stay very clear.
I will recomend this to my friends. I use this lens with 2x AF Teleconverter Tamron on a Panasonic GH2 and. Great combination.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I used it on a bright sunny day to take pics of my son's lacrosse tournament.

It captured all of the high speed action!

Can't do better for the price.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Using this for outdoor photography of birds and animals. Nice handeling. Wish a little sharper when at > 400mm. But overall it will do the trick. You will need to use a monopod or tripod.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Right out of the box this is an impressive lens,real keen to take it straight away and do some test shots with it attached to my Nikon D90 DSLR Camera, I have Fairy Wrens in the bush near my house so the best test was to photograph these little birds (mouse size birds),well,to say I was impressed would be an understatement, the lens was quick to focus and very accurate, although I took a tripod to use I didn't have time so had to do these pictures "hand held" and the lens performance was "excellent",all great, sharpe pictures.
Used this lens now for three weeks solid on all sorts of subjects, portraits, flowers, action, boating, sea birds and I can't fault it, hence the 5 star rating.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens on my D300s camera and it is a very smooth operating quality lens. Nothing negative except the obvious weight consideration for such a large lens.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Seems to be a great beast. Have used it four times so far and I am very pleased with it. Whilst it appears to be not quite as sharp as a brand name prime lens it is still very good. The actual build and quality of the two accessories are excellent.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

This is a great lens for taking pictures of wildlife.I had just got the lens and took one of the best of a hawk flying over me.
the focal length is great.It's a little heavy if you don't use a tripod.
Over all it's a great lens

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I am currently using the lens for long distance photos of our areas waterfalls and interesting structures for a coffee table book. The lens gets very close to my subject. It's more then I hoped it would be.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Some have said they had lens creep I have not seen any.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use the lens to photograph wildlife. Mostly birds in the wild. First time I've used a BIG lens, am still getting use to using it, love the quality of the photos I've gotten.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Use for wildlife photography - mostly birds.
Great thing- zoom range and price are excellent

Not so great - Vibration reduction would be very nice - though MOST shots are tripod-mounted, the VR would be a nice convenience.
Not happy with the autofocus. Tested on a tripod using the remote control @ 1/500th sec. Found that the autofocus was FAR INFERIOR to manual focus.
For that reason, I returned it.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I use this lens with a nikon D90. Good distance with a good price

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Sweet lens - a good price but great quality. It works perfectly on my Nikon D300s and D200.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Great lens for the money. I have a Nikon D80 and the lens works great with it. Used the the lens to take pictures at an indoor skating show and i had no problems with the lens focusing and the pictures were clear and sharp.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I purchased this lens primarily for wildlife (birds mostly). I have tried it on a blue heron that was about 100 feet away. The resulting photo gave the impression that the bird was about 6 feet away as the detail was extremely good. Next test will be on birds in flight, and that should be a better test. Initially, I am satisfied.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I was a bit hesitant to purchase this lens because it doesn't autofocus with my D5000, but I've been able to take very clear,sharp pictures using manual focus. I did find that a tripod is necessary to help steady the camera with the extra weight. Photography is a hobby with me, so there was no way I could justify a more expensive lens. This one meets my needs for wildlife photograhy.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

I bought this lens for my Nikon D5000 specfifically to photograph the final space shuttle launch knowing I would have to watch it from a distance. At twelve miles, it did a great job. It's a little heavy (48 oz) and difficult to wield on fast moving subjects (i.e. birds in flight), but if you want to reach out and take pictures of animals that would otherwise bolt at your presence, then this is the lense for you. The camera case is excellent and the tripod collar is versatile and easy to use. Compared to the competition or the more expensive Nikon lenses, this is a good buy and I look forward to using it to photograph wild life.

Comments about Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3 SP AF Di LD (IF) Lens for Nikon:

Used for African Safari. Plenty of light to shoot at f-8. Best of all it is light weight