Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VXD Lens For Sony E

OKAY 5 stars BUT I have two things that nobody seems to mention in these reviews:1.) the focus ring feels gritty... like there is some granular stuff in it. I have seen reviewers say its "cheap feeling", but nobody called out this grit/sand feel I have noticed. It's really not too bad, but I returned my first lens because I thought it was a unique defect for that particular lens. Turns out its a factor on my new replacement too, but it has not been a functional/practical issue during the infrequent moments I need to manually focus.2.) The stabilization motor makes a constant subtle noise (even when you have the stabilization "off"). I am an audiophile so it drives me a bit crazy. I have decided to live with it because 9/10 times I am using it outdoors where the ... MoreOKAY 5 stars BUT I have two things that nobody seems to mention in these reviews:1.) the focus ring feels gritty... like there is some granular stuff in it. I have seen reviewers say its "cheap feeling", but nobody called out this grit/sand feel I have noticed. It's really not too bad, but I returned my first lens because I thought it was a unique defect for that particular lens. Turns out its a factor on my new replacement too, but it has not been a functional/practical issue during the infrequent moments I need to manually focus.2.) The stabilization motor makes a constant subtle noise (even when you have the stabilization "off"). I am an audiophile so it drives me a bit crazy. I have decided to live with it because 9/10 times I am using it outdoors where the ambient noise overpowers the motor and it wont bother me.The question for me was: Am I willing to go with the fancy Sony focal range alternative (100-400 G) for an extra $1,000 to avoid these two minor issues? And the answer was "no, for 1k I would rather buy an extra lens".A third bonus critique that people do mention is the zoom ring locking mechanism. When you push the zoom ring away from the camera, it somewhat locks the ring wherever it was zoomed. Personally I don't like it. I do it too often by accident, and the lock switch is enough for the rare times I want to avoid focus drift while transporting. Unfortunately the switch only works at minimum range (150). Wish it worked at all ranges, and they did away with the ring "push" locking mechanism. But alas, I am used to it now so it really isn't a big deal. Some consider it a nice bonus feature, but my qualm is that it accidentally interferes with my expected use/operation of it regularly. A "bonus feature" should not impede expected functions, otherwise you get into the feature/bug convo.Overall it feels solid, looks great, very excited to have it in my kit.

This lens is well-built, relatively lightweight, and the photos it produces exhibit beautiful colors and plenty of detail. The stabilization is excellent and allows photos at shutter speeds slower than I thought would be possible. The autofocus is quick and tracks as good as any other lens I own. It offers a robust feature set.But there were two issues, at least for my application, that prohibit me from granting it a 5 star rating.The first issue involves the push-pull zoom ring lock. Upon using the lens on my A7III, I found it balanced well with my left hand supporting it by the zoom ring. Because of this, whenever I angled the lens upward to take a shot, it would inadvertently engage the zoom lock. I tried holding/supporting the lens in different locations -- ... MoreThis lens is well-built, relatively lightweight, and the photos it produces exhibit beautiful colors and plenty of detail. The stabilization is excellent and allows photos at shutter speeds slower than I thought would be possible. The autofocus is quick and tracks as good as any other lens I own. It offers a robust feature set.But there were two issues, at least for my application, that prohibit me from granting it a 5 star rating.The first issue involves the push-pull zoom ring lock. Upon using the lens on my A7III, I found it balanced well with my left hand supporting it by the zoom ring. Because of this, whenever I angled the lens upward to take a shot, it would inadvertently engage the zoom lock. I tried holding/supporting the lens in different locations -- both in front of the zoom ring and behind it -- but these positions felt awkward and unbalanced.The second issue was that the lens makes a continuous, slight 'whirring' noise. I switched to manual focus, turned the VC off, but nothing I tried seemed to make it stop. It's not loud, but when shooting video, the sound could be heard in the audio track.I really wanted to like this lens, and found most of its features to be top notch. But the two noted issues were enough to keep me from permanently adding it to my arsenal. Thankfully, B&H's excellent customer service authorized a return and provided a refund.

I first saw this lens at the B&H OPTIC show in Monterey, CA last fall. I also looked at the Fuji 150-600. I then rented both lenses. I really liked the internal zoom of the Fuji, but the lens was just too long to carry easily. You give up 100 mm on the long end with the Tamron, but you gain 1 F stop. Both lenses were equally sharp. The Tamron, while heavier, was easier to carry due to its shorter length. Perhaps most importantly, including the $100 included B&W filter, the Tamron was $800 less. Currently I use the lens primarily for grandkids baseball. I'm shooting shutter priority at 1/1000 sec with excellent results. I'm going to Alaska this summer, so hope to get eagle and bear shots. Just a great lens at an unbeatable price. Also you cannot beat B&H for their ... MoreI first saw this lens at the B&H OPTIC show in Monterey, CA last fall. I also looked at the Fuji 150-600. I then rented both lenses. I really liked the internal zoom of the Fuji, but the lens was just too long to carry easily. You give up 100 mm on the long end with the Tamron, but you gain 1 F stop. Both lenses were equally sharp. The Tamron, while heavier, was easier to carry due to its shorter length. Perhaps most importantly, including the $100 included B&W filter, the Tamron was $800 less. Currently I use the lens primarily for grandkids baseball. I'm shooting shutter priority at 1/1000 sec with excellent results. I'm going to Alaska this summer, so hope to get eagle and bear shots. Just a great lens at an unbeatable price. Also you cannot beat B&H for their excellent service. Payboo card saved me over $100.