It’s hard finding the right lens. When you buy a new lens, you’re making a substantial investment. That glass ain’t cheap. This week I was invited to the Tamron photo Safari at Auckland Zoo to photograph some big animals with the new Tamron range of lenses at dusk.
My knowledge of Tamron has changed
I’ve always been a little cautious of the third party lens manufacturers. If I want a lens for my Canon camera, I should buy a Canon lens, right? But what are you to do when there are others lenses that are half the price? To be honest, I’ve never really known, I’ve never really used Tamron lenses.
Last week I received a Tamron SP45mm in the mail. This is a 45mm 1.8 prime lens that has just been released in their new range, and it’s very impressive! I used it for a corporate portrait shoot a couple of days ago and the clarity and sharpness of this lens is truly impressive. It’s solid, the switches feel like quality and the focus is smooth and quiet, it gives an all round feeling that this lens is a great thing.
The Tamron Photo Safari
When Tamron invited me to their Photo Safari in Auckland, I was super excited for a few reasons. Firstly because I was excited to see the new Tamron range of lenses and especially to have a play with the 150-600mm tele-lens. Secondly, I was excited to get to the Photo Safari because I haven’t shot much wildlife, it’s always good to have a change of scenery. And thirdly, because I love walking and talking with other photographers, meeting new friends, taking photos and sharing ideas, just like we do on my PhotoWalks.
The entire range of Tamron lenses they had available on the night for photographers to use was fantastic. The feedback from every other photographer that I spoke to was that they loved them. Smooth, quiet, fast to focus, and now that I see the images on my computer I see just how clear the images really are through the Tamron lenses, compared to some of my old/cheap (mid to bottom of the range) Canon lenses.
The 150-600mm test…
This is a bad ass lens. It’s big, fast to focus and I hope my neighbours don’t mind that I have one.
I’m not a product tester and I don’t really know how to review a lens, but here’s something really cool that I noticed with this lens. Clarity. Here, have a look at the below image in it’s un-cropped state. This is a 552mm, almost full zoom and this guy was miles away from me. I’ve fiddled with colours slightly, but not with clarity or sharpness…
I know what you’re thinking, cool story Adam, a monkey eating something. Amazing.
But when it gets really cool is when we crop the image and get in even closer…
So much detail, and all from a big hand-held zoom lens- NO TRIPOD!
Summary
Tamron lenses have come a long, long way. When they’re this good, and so much cheaper than the camera brand equivalent, I’d certainly be thinking very carefully next time I buy a lens.
With all that said, I’m not an expert on lenses, I’m just a guy that takes photos with them. If you need sound, professional advice, give the guys at NZ Camera a call and they’ll help you out with whatever you need. They always see me right.
A few of my pics from the evening…
