A Review of the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 Lens

Supertelephoto lenses can be stratospheric in cost at the top levels, and unless you work in a genre that absolutely demands the best in image quality and performance, you are likely to look at alternative options, like 100-400mm and 150-600mm zoom lenses. This great video review takes a look at just such a lens, the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2.

Coming to you from Brent Hall, this excellent video review takes a look at the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens. The 150-600mm f/5-6.3 is quite affordable and offers a highly useful zoom range. I owned the first version of this lens for a few years, and while its image quality certainly did not approach that of a supertelephoto prime lens, it was versatile, offered good image quality, and was far, far cheaper. The G2 only improves on the original.

One thing to remember is that while f/6.3 seems pretty poor for a maximum aperture (and it is), it is still only a third of a stop slower than the more standard f/5.6 for supertelephoto lenses of this price level; that is only the difference between ISO 640 and 800, for example. Check out the video above for Hall's full thoughts. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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4 Comments

20 minutes is long to say he likes it for price.
He notes that his 100-400L is premier and could have done comparison w that and 1.4 TE.
I also stick Canon Native and my 100-400L is my wildlife main squeeze.. sometimes with 1.4 TE.

when i see f6.3 and i see from f5 to f6.3 i start to dig in. i bought the 200-500 f5.6 from nikon for the reason it was a good lens and f5.6 across the range. i do use tamrons 24-70 f2.8 g2 and its a good lens for the money.

I have this lens for a few years. It is definitely a great lens for the price. The images are pretty sharp. The lens is heavy but can be used handheld. ISO change is to be expected. My only concern was significant vignetting.

I've enjoyed my copy since last summer. It's a great lens. My only complaint is the buttons on the lens switch easily, and the hood can pop off pretty easily when you have the lens / camera on a sling. Solution: Gaff Tape (which I'd say is a requirement for this lens).