Advice needed choosing telephoto lens Tamron 150-600mm f/5.6 vs NIKKOR 600mm f/4

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ioulia

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Hello,
My name is Ioulia and I love to photograph wildlife - mammals and birds, large and small. For the last several years, I have been successfully using Nikon D7100 with Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 G2 lens and 1.4 TC to take pictures of wildlife. Last September my husband and I visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks for the fourth time where we saw so much wildlife and I used my telephoto Tamron lens quite extensively. Right before my trip, I found this site and Steve's books. I purchased ebooks on Nikon autofocus and wildlife, have studied them and got a lot of help and advice on how to improve my pictures. The information is absolutely invaluable and had helped me a lot.
Last October I looked through the forum and started thinking about upgrading my telephoto lens to AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4 E FL ED VR lens. It is expensive ($13K including NY tax) and heavier but after reading reviews and looking through images taken with this lens, I was ready to pull the plug on it. In addition to the lens I was going to upgrade tripod as well. I have placed the order with B&H photo store in NY last October. The lens was supposed to arrive a month later, however here we are in January 2021 and the store still don't have the lens. More, B&H's customer service is so poor, they can't tell me when for sure the lens will be available.
I need advice from anyone who will read this post on whether I should go for the lens and therefore spend more money to upgrade the rest of my gear, i.e. tripod, backpack. Looking at the images taken with the NIKKOR, it is very easy to see the difference between images taken with Tamron and Nikon lenses. However, I really would like to hear from other photographers and Steve confirming my decision on getting the lens. Is it worth waiting for this lens? It seems like the B&H store is a sole distributor for this particular lens in the US. Would it work well with my Nikon D7100 and 1.4 TC? I am grateful for everybody's time answering my post.
P.S. We will be going back to WY this September and I am anxious to take more wildlife pictures.
Thank you,
Ioulia
 
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I had the original Tamron 150-600mm and then moved to the Nikon 200-500mm because I wanted better image quality. After that I moved to the 600mm F4 and I haven't regretted it for a moment. Before I made the big move, I rented lenses. I was especially concerned about the weight and equipment upgrades in moving to the 600 F4. My thought was that a tripod upgrade would be a good investment and worthwhile no matter what lens I had, so that was the first move. I then rented the 600mm (and the 400, and the 500) to try them out and then finally pulled the trigger. Since then, the 500mm PF came out and I recommend you try it too. The f4 is nice, but the 500 PF is so light and easy to carry, I probably use it more than the 600. Its also has outstanding image quality and very responsive AF. If I'm just out exploring or checking things out, I tend to grab the 500 PF and if I have an intended target, I use the 600 for maximum reach and IQ (although the 500 is very close).
 
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Regarding B&H not being able to tell you when the 600f4 will be available, this is most likely because of Nikon and not because of B&H. Many end users have been very frustrated trying to buy Nikon gear that is highly sought after. Nikon's communication with dealers seems to be very poor and if it is an out of stock item Nikon doesn't seem to tell the dealer when more will be available. Anyone who went through the process of waiting for a D850 or 500pf can tell you that the dealers had no idea when their orders would be shipped or how many items they would receive right up until the time their shipment was shipped and/or arrived on their doorstep. So there is a very good chance that B&H has no way of finding out when your lens will arrive as it may not even be built yet.
 
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I have purchased a good many items from B&H over the years and had them shipped to Australia (when the exchange rate made sense). I’ve always found them first rate to deal with.
 
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Everyone has different needs and it's impossible to say if the 600 F/4 is a good choice. In fact, many people don't know until they use it! In some cases, something like a 500PF makes more sense if you need a lighter weight, more portable alternative.

Disclaimer out of the way, I personally own not one but TWO 600 F/4s - one Nikon, one Sony. That lens is my bread and butter for wildlife work. It's fast, takes TCs well, and provides excellent sharpness and background rendering. In addition, it's a rare day that I talk to someone who purchased one and regrets the decision. Most tell me what Charlie said - no regrets. In fact, most of the time if someone rents one and tries it, the next move is to save for one of their own.

And, in fact, that's what I'd recommend here. $13K is a lot of money for a maybe. I recommend renting one for a few days. It's not a cheap rental, but it will completely answer your question and, if you decide it's not for you, prevent a $13K mistake. Plus, LensRentals has a "keeper" program or whatever they call it. On some gear, they allow you to purchase the rental - usually at a discount.

The other advantage to renting is you have zero emotional capital in it. When you make a purchase, there's a natural tendency to justify that purchase to yourself and "talk yourself into it" as it were. With a rental, it's easier to remain objective.
 
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ioulia said:
I need advice from anyone who will read this post on whether I should go for the lens and therefore spend more money to upgrade the rest of my gear, i.e. tripod, backpack. Looking at the images taken with the NIKKOR, it is very easy to see the difference between images taken with Tamron and Nikon lenses. However, I really would like to hear from other photographers and Steve confirming my decision on getting the lens. Is it worth waiting for this lens? It seems like the B&H store is a sole distributor for this particular lens in the US.
Click to expand...

For what it is worth, a respected wildlife photographer over here in the UK with Nikon in his blood used, amongst other lenses, a Nikkor 500mm f4 for years and he produces great photographs. Not so long ago he trialed the Tamron 150-600 G2 and doing back to back comparisons (and I've seen a lot of them) he concluded that if you pixel peep the Nikkor did have the edge, but in the real world the differences were insignificant and only showed if you put images side by side. When viewed single image in normal viewing conditions nobody can identify which lens took what picture. So he sold the Nikkor!

This is a guy who gets up before dawn in Winter and goes out to take pictures for a few hours before going to work, travels extensively in the UK to get images of specific animals, birds or insects and is on first name terms with every nature reserve warden in the UK.
 
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i don’t own a 600f:4 anymore (I used to when I shot canon) and I might get one again one day when I have enough free time to shoot more than a handful of times every year. In the meantime the 500pf, especially on an APSC sensor is a perfect compromise between reach, quality, cost and portability. I also have the tamron for those times when I need flexibility but I suspect that 90% of the time i will be using the 500pf.
so like Steve said, rent first to know for sure that you want one, because once you have one you’ll need a new tripod and gimbal head, but also likely a monopod and head for that too. it is the workhorse of wildlife photography, without a doubt, but it’s not without implications.
 
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Would agree with much that has been said. Even with the new lighter weight 600mm you have to consider the weight of your system, ie. camera body, a tripod suitable for a 600mm lens, gimbal head. Is that something you will willingly walk some distance with, when the crowds in Yellowstone require that you park way up the road just to walk back to see a bear!
 
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I rented the 600mm to check it out. As soon as I picked it up I was pretty sure I would not own one unless to keep on my back deck. It is a beast for anyone, but for a small woman - it is not portable (in my opinion). I recently purchased the 500mm PF and really gave it a test last week. I shoot twice as many shots hoping to get the "keeper", but I CAN hand hold it. Being able to have it with me at all times while birding or hiking makes it al least possible to get a shot when I see it. I also own the 200-500mm, but again - if I cannot carry it when out it is does me no good. ( It is one I keep on my back deck much of the time)
 
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Do not underestimate the weight of the lens!! I sold my 500mm f4 to buy the 500PF f5.6 and have never regretted it. I also saved some money because I was able to let go of the two Sherpas I hired to carry the lens.
I'm not sure how to express this but I'll just say the PF lens is more fun to use. So, if money is not a consideration - weight should be.
 
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dabhand16 said:
For what it is worth, a respected wildlife photographer over here in the UK with Nikon in his blood used, amongst other lenses, a Nikkor 500mm f4 for years and he produces great photographs. Not so long ago he trialed the Tamron 150-600 G2 and doing back to back comparisons (and I've seen a lot of them) he concluded that if you pixel peep the Nikkor did have the edge, but in the real world the differences were insignificant and only showed if you put images side by side. When viewed single image in normal viewing conditions nobody can identify which lens took what picture. So he sold the Nikkor!

This is a guy who gets up before dawn in Winter and goes out to take pictures for a few hours before going to work, travels extensively in the UK to get images of specific animals, birds or insects and is on first name terms with every nature reserve warden in the UK.
Click to expand...
To me, this answer makes the most sense for amateur/enthusiasts. For the pros, like Steve, these expensive lenses are just part of their job and justified by their profession. After all, pros make their living and their profession demands the absolute best equipment ie most expensive. Unless the average shooter has an ego or deep pockets the secondary market offers lenses that will produce great images. OTOH, Nikon has broken the ceiling on super expensive prime telephoto lenses with the PF lens design and will more than likely come out with even longer focal lengths, using PF technology, in the future, with pricing that will be much more attractive to us amateur/enthusiasts who do not require the very best demanded by pros. I understand the desire to produce the best image possible by all photographers and there will always be those who have the means, and/or egos, to justify expending $10K on a lens but as technology progresses, and prices come down, .........................
 
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ioulia said:
Hello,
My name is Ioulia and I love to photograph wildlife - mammals and birds, large and small. For the last several years, I have been successfully using Nikon D7100 with Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 G2 lens and 1.4 TC to take pictures of wildlife. Last September my husband and I visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks for the fourth time where we saw so much wildlife and I used my telephoto Tamron lens quite extensively. Right before my trip, I found this site and Steve's books. I purchased ebooks on Nikon autofocus and wildlife, have studied them and got a lot of help and advice on how to improve my pictures. The information is absolutely invaluable and had helped me a lot.
Last October I looked through the forum and started thinking about upgrading my telephoto lens to AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4 E FL ED VR lens. It is expensive ($13K including NY tax) and heavier but after reading reviews and looking through images taken with this lens, I was ready to pull the plug on it. In addition to the lens I was going to upgrade tripod as well. I have placed the order with B&H photo store in NY last October. The lens was supposed to arrive a month later, however here we are in January 2021 and the store still don't have the lens. More, B&H's customer service is so poor, they can't tell me when for sure the lens will be available.
I need advice from anyone who will read this post on whether I should go for the lens and therefore spend more money to upgrade the rest of my gear, i.e. tripod, backpack. Looking at the images taken with the NIKKOR, it is very easy to see the difference between images taken with Tamron and Nikon lenses. However, I really would like to hear from other photographers and Steve confirming my decision on getting the lens. Is it worth waiting for this lens? It seems like the B&H store is a sole distributor for this particular lens in the US. Would it work well with my Nikon D7100 and 1.4 TC? I am grateful for everybody's time answering my post.
P.S. We will be going back to WY this September and I am anxious to take more wildlife pictures.
Thank you,
Ioulia
Click to expand...
I used Tamron's free service for any of their lens that is not gray market and in warranty. Sent my Nikon D500 and Tamron 150-600 G2 to Tamron and they calibrated the lens to my body ... yes the lens to the body not AF fine tuning. Cost me $35 to ship my body and 3 Tamron lenses to Tamron. They did the calibration no charge and paid the shipping back and it was very fast. On my Nikon D850 I use the Nikon 500 pf. I use the EN EL 18 c battery in the battery grip on the D850 to speed the frame rate up. I do not use a tripod 99% of the time and then for landscape or long exposure shots not wildlife. I need to be mobile and able to adjust shooting levels angles etc. quickly to fit my style of photography so a tripod does not work for me. I am a retiree and an amateur photographer so like others I want good images but it is not how I make a living. ... I have been stuck competing in the pro ranks for the last 3 years here in Idaho and have come away with first place and judges choice awards using the Tamron 150-600 G2 in contests with 3 person trained and experienced judging panels. So yes you can get good images with a Tamron 150-600 G2 but the Nikon 500 pf is a fantastic lens.
 
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Ken Miracle said:
I used Tamron's free service for any of their lens that is not gray market and in warranty. Sent my Nikon D500 and Tamron 150-600 G2 to Tamron and they calibrated the lens to my body ... yes the lens to the body not AF fine tuning. Cost me $35 to ship my body and 3 Tamron lenses to Tamron. They did the calibration no charge and paid the shipping back and it was very fast. On my Nikon D850 I use the Nikon 500 pf. I use the EN EL 18 c battery in the battery grip on the D850 to speed the frame rate up. I do not use a tripod 99% of the time and then for landscape or long exposure shots not wildlife. I need to be mobile and able to adjust shooting levels angles etc. quickly to fit my style of photography so a tripod does not work for me. I am a retiree and an amateur photographer so like others I want good images but it is not how I make a living. ... I have been stuck competing in the pro ranks for the last 3 years here in Idaho and have come away with first place and judges choice awards using the Tamron 150-600 G2 in contests with 3 person trained and experienced judging panels. So yes you can get good images with a Tamron 150-600 G2 but the Nikon 500 pf is a fantastic lens.
Click to expand...
"It's not the arrow ... It's the Indian."
 
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I'm probably the last person to give smart advice... but, for me there's reasons for both and that's why I went down the 600/4 line vs the 500pf recently. As I already had a 500/5.6 covered in the 200-500 zoom and for me the versatility it more important than the weight saving. So the combo of having a tele zoom and the big prime is ideal if it's not a financial decision.... And, I feel unless you can remove the idea of the 600/4 out of your mind you'll always wonder.

In saying all that, if you had neither I would get the zoom first for sure.
 
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Thank you for everyone who posted messages.
An update since my first posting - the B&H just charged my card and the lens will be shipping tomorrow. I was about to call B&H and cancel my order and unexpectedly my cc was charged. So, Merry Christmas, Happy b-day and Happy anniversary to me!
Now I have further questions: which is the best tripod to use with the lens? If anyone, especially those who use the lens, like Steve, could recommend the brand. I was looking at Gitzo tripod series 5 long or series 5 XL. I was also looking at WH-200 Wimberley head version II. Would these gear be ok?
Also, I need a recommendation for the back pack. Should I get a backpack just for the lens, like the one being sold on B&H (Ruggard Alpine 600 lens backpack for DSLP and 600/800mm lens)? Or should I update to something else that would carry camera (Nikon d7100), tripod and probably one more lens).
Thank you again for everyone's advice!
Ioulia
 
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ioulia said:
I was looking at Gitzo tripod series 5 long or series 5 XL. I was also looking at WH-200 Wimberley head version II. Would these gear be ok?
Click to expand...
That's my go-to setup for my 600mm f/4 G lens which is a bit heavier than the E lens. When working farther from the car I'll often swap the Wimberley head onto a Gitzo 3 series tripod and realistically it provides plenty of stability but I do like the extra strength and stability of the 5 series tripod when weight isn't as critical. I'd look at one of these or the RRS equivalents for your 600mm E lens.

Tough call on the backpack, I've tried many including dedicated long lens packs. These days I have packs for transport in the car and then packs to actually use in the field. Specifically I use a Mindshift, Moose Peterson MP-2 to transport gear including my 600mm lens (with body attached) and then use a smaller Lowepro Flipside 300 AW II out in the field. The Fliupside 300 pack is much too small to hold the 600mm f/4 but realistically the big lens is up on the tripod and carried over my shoulder and the pack is for shorter lenses, a backup body, filters and such. I have used the MP-2 to carry a full kit on shorter hikes but most of the time I want the big lens set up and ready to go and don't really want to have it in the pack on moderate hikes.

For hikes longer than a couple of miles I'll shoot with lighter lenses and leave the 600mm at home and then the Flipside 300 is perfect being big enough to carry a 200-500mm or 500mm PF along with a couple of extra lenses, tripod, food, water and some spare clothes.
 
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ioulia said:
Thank you for everyone who posted messages.
An update since my first posting - the B&H just charged my card and the lens will be shipping tomorrow. I was about to call B&H and cancel my order and unexpectedly my cc was charged. So, Merry Christmas, Happy b-day and Happy anniversary to me!
Now I have further questions: which is the best tripod to use with the lens? If anyone, especially those who use the lens, like Steve, could recommend the brand. I was looking at Gitzo tripod series 5 long or series 5 XL. I was also looking at WH-200 Wimberley head version II. Would these gear be ok?
Also, I need a recommendation for the back pack. Should I get a backpack just for the lens, like the one being sold on B&H (Ruggard Alpine 600 lens backpack for DSLP and 600/800mm lens)? Or should I update to something else that would carry camera (Nikon d7100), tripod and probably one more lens).
Thank you again for everyone's advice!
Ioulia
Click to expand...
Now your going to need to hire the sherpas Howard5252 let go :) And then upgrade you camera body .... D500, D6 who knows :)
 
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Wimberley WH200 gimbal head, Really Right Stuff for the tripod. Suggest getting a tripod taller than you feel is necessary, to allow level support when on a steep slope. As a full time RV’er room is in short supply, no backpack. If we are flying to a location I’d have our Pelican cases sent to us empty, pack them and forward to our distention. Transporting out and about in our truck, 600mm with camera attached rides in the back seat on a pillow on the floor and covered.
 
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ioulia said:
Thank you for everyone who posted messages.
An update since my first posting - the B&H just charged my card and the lens will be shipping tomorrow. I was about to call B&H and cancel my order and unexpectedly my cc was charged. So, Merry Christmas, Happy b-day and Happy anniversary to me!
Now I have further questions: which is the best tripod to use with the lens? If anyone, especially those who use the lens, like Steve, could recommend the brand. I was looking at Gitzo tripod series 5 long or series 5 XL. I was also looking at WH-200 Wimberley head version II. Would these gear be ok?
Also, I need a recommendation for the back pack. Should I get a backpack just for the lens, like the one being sold on B&H (Ruggard Alpine 600 lens backpack for DSLP and 600/800mm lens)? Or should I update to something else that would carry camera (Nikon d7100), tripod and probably one more lens).
Thank you again for everyone's advice!
Ioulia
Click to expand...
I've been very happy with the 600E on the RRS 34L MKii and the Wh-200. I used the 5 series Gitzo with the 600G but didn't feel it was necessary with the lighter "E" version. The 3 series RRS tripod legs are also slightly wider in diameter than the Gitzo 3 series, so that helps too.

For a backpack, I'm still a fan of the Kiboko 30L. You can get them from B&H. They can carry the 600 and a lot more. The biggest downside is to stay fully airline compliant, they aren't deep enough for the lens and the hood - just the lens. So, I put the hood into the checked baggage (good to have a hard suitcase). Here's a video where I show it:
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