Wonderful Lens
By John
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2023-01-06
I had a too-large collection of lenses including the Sony 70-300 and got this lens to replace that as well as several primes.
On the plus side: especially after the firmware upgrade the focus is quick and spot on. The lens gives me tack sharp images through the entire focal length, although there is some vignetting which I should be taken care of by lens profiles once my lens/camera combo is available in DXO which should be any day now.
With my 16-35, 24-105 and this 50-400, I'm pretty much covered for everything with just the three lenses.
At last an affordable lens!
By Sandy
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-26
An included lens collar would have given this a 5 star because really you can't use the tele end without one. I don't need 400 mm often but this will fit the bill when I choose to. I've used it a few times and am really happy with the quality. I have a Sony and it still picks up eye focus! I like the smaller size and weight compared to the Sony 100-400. But the price sold me and having the 50-100 extra reach is a bonus
The perfect Lense
By Ricardo
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-26
I saw some reviews about this lens before I bought it and they mostly indicated that it was for outdoor photos, however I used it in a concert at my church and the result was incredible.
The pictures were taken with the Sony a7IV @ 3200 ISO - f/6.3 - 1/200 shutter. None of the pictures were retouched.
Works Fantastic with FX6 for Video, exceptional work Tamron!
By Dan
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-12-22
Once used it on two shoots (nationally airing) so far, and it's a life-changer.
Auto focus is very very accurate, and it seems to work very well with wide AF area, which can often confuse tele lenses (Sigma 150-600emount needed tap or zone, as it'd always pick the wrong thing to lock onto)
Been using it on a second camera for interviews, and it feels like a bit of a joke being able to shoot at ~50mm for lots of it, but snap in to 400mm and isolate a mouth or eyes from 8' away. It's nuts to be able to do that with one lens.
Haven't tested it's max focus speed yet, but so far it's been on 3-5/7 on the focus speed setting with FX6, and has 100% kept up.
Macro aspect is a total bonus, didn't expect to benefit from that as much as I did. Totally adds to the one lens shot options with this, makes run-and-gun doc shoots 2x as fast as having to lens swap to a macro, let alone a 400mm macro.
Optical stabilizer works amazing for hand-held, but I'm exceptionally good at it, so might not save everyone, but I was able to nail 400mm shots real-time during a scene at a barber shop without the space or time to shoot on sticks. It's way way better than on the Sigma 150-600 e-mount, as it seems to let the image float more organically, and doesn't have a sharp jerk when you reach the end of it's optical movement. Totally usable shooting whales off a 21' boat, with a little gyro stab help from Gyroflow, which wasn't usable with the 150-600mm even at the same 400mm range or less.
Biggest reason I hoped this would work so well is not having a huge risk to shoot without rails and lens support. I'd take it off when moving the camera, but it's rock solid if on sticks and only the FX6 body is on the plate. Makes run and gun use possible, without risking lens mounts and lens-contacts which are mission critical for AF to work.
I'll update with any negatives if I find them, but so far it's easily 10/10 on all the points I bought it for, and it's over delivered with lots of extras! (like the macro, and great OS)
Zero sharpness issues shooting 4K on FX6, flares are quite controlled and the hood works well, colours are great and match the sharp bright look of the Sigma 24-70/2.8 e mount very well.
(Didn't buy from B&H, as it was on rebate for less within Canada, but posting here for the review)
