Christo55's reviews

  • Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD SP

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Exceptional sharpness, high build quality, good VR, fast and bright, wide open image quality excellent
    weight, size

    A very impressive lens, producing a high quality image wide open at all focal lengths. The lens appears to be a bit sharper at shorter focal lengths than at the long end, but the difference is minor. The contrast and detail is remarkable, night sky photos show very little coma, just a minor elongation of stars in the corners. Chromatic aberration is well controlled and easily eliminated when visible in lightroom. A clear winner and probably a keeper for life or until i can't lift it!

    reviewed March 28th, 2016 (purchased for $1,200)

  • Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro

    10 out of 10 points and recommended
    Great zoom range, very good image quality, small size, light weight, good build quality
    Resolution at long end of the zoom range, slow maximum aperture

    Great fun and an excellent travel lens. This lens does everything well, high image quality wide to moderate telephoto range and good close focus. The VC is good, focus speed is good, build quality is fine, zoom ring and focus rings work as they should. I use this on a Nikon D7000 and compared to my 16-85 and 70-300, this lens is not quite as sharp as those at their best but this comes close enough that I typical carry just the Tamron now unless I need additional speed and resolution. Rated a 10 for overall performance, kudos to Tamron for creating a very enjoyable lens.

    reviewed March 29th, 2016 (purchased for $600)

  • Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD SP

    9 out of 10 points and recommended
    Zoom range, high resolution, good contrast and color, good focus speed, good bokeh
    weight, size, maximum aperture

    Another impressive lens from Tamron, this is one of the lower priced options for wildlife photographers in need of a quality mega-tele zoom. It offers very good image quality wide open to about 500mm. At 600mm, f/9 to f/11 seems optimum for maximum resolution. Wide open is still acceptable for some subjects. Focus speed is very good, moving subjects can be sharply resolved with practice. Handling in general is quite easy, while heavy and long, I can hand hold the lens for several minutes. The use of a monopod or tripod is recommended for support if used for extended periods.

    Two issues reported with this lens have been minor dust accumulation on interior lens elements and intermittent focus. For the dust, the lens does extend and will move air in and out which can introduce dust. Like all photo equipment, try to keep the lens as clean as reasonably possible to mitigate the intrusion of dust. Minor dust is really more of an annoyance than an issue of for image quality. The intermittant focus seemed to have been related to the electrical contacts with the body. I returned the lens to Tamron for dust removal and check up, the lens was cleaned and it has worked flawlessly since then.

    reviewed March 29th, 2016 (purchased for $1,100)