600mm is a long lens, once the preserve of super-telephotos that cost as much as a small car, the market sector for big zooms is filling up fast. The Tamron 150-600mm is joined by 2 different versions of the Sigma 150-600mm and the just released Nikon 200-500mm.

Having had a couple of outings with the Tamron, shooting it back to back with the Nikon 80-400mm AF-S I also own, I’d like to give my very quick initial impressions.

Good

• Sharpness – it is almost distinguishable from the Nikon. Some sharpness drops off at 600mm, which is to be expected.
• Build – everything feels nice and smooth, with no sloppiness.
• Price – under £800 for a zoom which can reach 600mm, with more than reasonable image quality – that is a bargain
• Decent lens foot – a very solidly built lens foot comes as standard, unlike the Nikon where you are forced to spend £150 on 3rd party accessory, as the Nikon item is woefully unfit for purpose
• VC – Vibration Control works well, allowing hand held shots at low shutter speeds (for the focal length)

Honey badger – shot hand held at 600mm

Bad

• Size – it is a big beast, even when compared to the Nikon 80-400mm
• Weight – all that glass means it is a fair weight, and can give you arm ache if carried for a long period of time

Tamron 150-600 (bottom) vs Nikon 80-400 (top)

At the moment, I cannot really find anything too bad to say about it, and I have a sneaky feeling that it will replace the 80-400mm as my go-to long lens. I have a forthcoming trip to Sri Lanka, where amongst other things I will be looking for the elusive Leopard, and giving this lens a workout on both the wildlife, as well as the landscapes. I will then decide which lens is coming to South Africa for a month.

I got mine here – Tamron 150-600mm on Amazon