I hope that you have been enjoying the various articles on my web site and have been finding them useful!
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Hi Tom and John,
You mentioned not being familiar with the Sigma 150-600 C, Tom. I have owned that lens for several months now and can vouch for its image quality, almost the match of the Sport model. In fact, I can’t see the difference. My buddy has the Tammy and loves it. In our comparisons, the Sigma C is a tad bit better. But you can flip a coin, especially with the newer model of the Tamron. I handhold my Sigma all the time and get very sharp results. I have a number of the photos posted in my Pbase collection under ‘fotabug’. It is great that Tamron and Sigma have given us reasonably priced long zooms. Both are equivalent in IQ to the Nikon 200-500.
Best wishes,
fotabug
Hi Vern,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary zoom lens! The past several years has been a bonanza for affordable long zoom lenses.
Tom
Just made a small donation: thanks for keeping our site advertising free. As a Nikon 1 V3 user I have learned a lot from your blogs. Thanks again.
Thank you Kathleen!
Tom
Hello, Thomas. Very interesting and informative site. I have been following you almost from the beginning of your blog, I believe. I want to sent you a gift, because the Bible says the workman is worthy of his reward, but when I access the Donate button it defaults to $10 and I can’t find how to change it to a higher amount. $10 isn’t much of a gift these days, though they can add up if you get enough of them! Thank you. David Cloud
Hi David,
Unfortunately the plug-in requires that I preset an amount. Some readers have made multiple donations, although that may be a bit of a hassle for you.
My poster web site is down right now for maintenance and a major update, but when it is back up I could handle a larger PayPal donation through my poster web site.
Tom
I got new ideas for alternative lenses. Great reviews on Tamron
Thanks a lot
You’re welcome Bo – glad you found the reviews helpful!
Tom
Got a e-mail from “ADMIN” “southlands4405@arrl.net” and it looks bogus to me. Text says “Image data in PDF format has been attached to this email.” and a 725 byte attachment to open.
‘course I won’t touch it…..
Since yours is the only site that emails me that shows as ‘Admin’, was wondering if it came from you.
Thanks,
George
Hi George,
The spam did not come from my site. It would appear that it originated from arrl.net.
Tom
Hi Tom — first let me commend you on an excellent website. One of the most useful and practical sites on photography that I have seen. I found your review of the Tamron 150-600 lens most useful. Prior to reading this I would not have considered any 3rd party lens. I was using a Nikon 300 f4 with a 1.4 extender but it got trashed on my recent South African safari. I was considering replacing it but after reading the Tamron review I am leaning strongly to purchasing the Tamron. Would you stay with the Nikon 300 or go for the Tamron 150-600? Secondly, should I wait for the Sigma 150-600 C or is the difference between Tamron and Sigma not significant?
Thanks in advance, I plan to make reading your site a regular occurrence.
John
Hi John,
Thank you for your kind words about my website – they are most appreciated!
In terms of the telephoto lens choices you noted in your comment I don’t think that there is an easy answer as it really depends on your priorities when buying a lens and your shooting style. If your objective is maximum sharpness with your images I’d suggest that the new Nikkor 300mm f/4 would be the top lens to consider. The addition on the VR to this lens adds some functionality over the previous version, and the reduction in size and weight I image would enhance its handling. If you end up choosing that option it may be prudent to wait a little while since I have read that some early buyers are experiencing AF issues with it. You’ll lose some reach with this choice but the sharpness and overall image quality may represent a good trade-off for you.
For overall value the Tamron 150-600 is hard to beat. I own a copy of this lens and I’ve been very pleased with it. My recent articles about photographing pelicans and egrets in South Carolina both feature images taken with this lens mounted on a D800. For its focal range I find the Tamron is light enough for me to hand-hold for extended periods of time (3-5 hours) and the image quality is certainly sufficient for my needs. The lens is a bit soft when shot fully extended, wide open, but this can be adjusted to some extent in post. Stopping the lens down to f/8 does help quite a bit. I doubt that the image quality would match the new Nikkor 300mm f/4 but you’d get additional reach and the flexibility of a zoom lens if that is important to you. When I tested the Tamron I did notice that there was some focus lag when shot with older Nikon bodies. I’m not sure what camera body you are shooting with but this could be a consideration for you.
The Sigma Sport is a very nice lens. It is about 50% heavier than the Tamron, likely has better weather sealing and the build quality also appears better. The lens is a bit sharper when shot wide open than the Tamron and overall image quality may be slightly better. Again, much of the difference can be minimized in post. If you primarily shoot using a tripod or monopod this is a very good choice. Personally I found this lens too heavy to hand-hold for extended periods and I had to change my technique to accommodate this lens. My site has an article under gear reviews on the Sigma Sport. I wouldn’t choose the Sigma because of my shooting style.
I don’t have any experience at all with the Sigma Contemporary. I image that it would handle much like the Tamron since its weight is almost identical. I can’t make any comments on image quality as I have no experience with it.
Tom
Thanks for the prompt reply Tom. I’d love the new Nikon 300 f4 VR but it is a little above my budget. My choice would be the Tamron 150-600 or the OLD Nikon 300 f4. Would that change your recommendation?
John
Hi John,
Yes, on a personal basis it would. I would definitely go for the Tamron 15-600 as I’d want the extra reach and VR.
Tom