Chris, I agree as the photos I took were quite nice and I was extremely excited with the reach I now had and the quality of the photos - yes a bit soft at 600 but still good.
What I find troubling is the whole thing with the docking station. I still wonder whether the "big Tammy" (or comparably sized lens) will need to be "fine-tuned" as time goes by?
Sigma obviously thinks so, hence the docking station. Will Tamron owners find that their lens sharpness or ability to focus is degrading as time goes by? If so, what are the options? Is Tamron, as a regular practice going to spend their time tuning lens that are sent back? And who decides that it needs to be sent back (the owner obviously) but is Tamron going to agree with the owner that yes, you lens needs to be "tuned" or are they going to say, hey, its fine? I guess I wonder what is the "standard" to determine that the lens is, in fact out of tune?
Chris, you seem to indicate that this Sigma docking lens is also usable on other Sigma lenses? Does this mean that with my other Tamron lens, a 24-70, that I am perfectly happy with, will degrade - or is this need for a lens docking station only apply to the superlens (for lack of another term)?
cjc2 wrote:
First, Regis has had many fantastic shots taken with the Tamron so that one seems to work fine.
I was also interested in this lens after being lent one by Tamron for a short period of testing. I found it to be a bit soft at 600 but, for the price, a nice lens. When I received my copy, it failed within the first ten minutes, similar to your description, and that was on a D4s. After testing it on other bodies in the store, none of which worked, it was sent back to Tamron and I ordered a Sigma Sport, which I have had for about 5 (very cold here) months. IMHO, the Sigma Sport is head-and-shoulders better than the Tamron in all respects but, at twice the price ($ 2,000.00). Sigma will be releasing a Contemporary version mid March at a cost similar to the Tamron.
The Sigma USB dock, at $ 60, is, again IMHO, a really clever device I wish Nikon had done. While it does allow you to make micro focus adjustments right to the lens, it also allows quite a bit of other customization, and, very importantly, the ability to upgrade the lens' firmware WITHOUT having to send it back to the factory for service. To me, this is a huge advantage! That dock works with all of the newer Sigma lenses, so only needs to be purchased once.
Although I haven't had the ability, due to weather, to fully test my new Sigma, I am really looking forward to doing so. As soon as the weather warms it will be used for its original purpose of BIF (see Regis for fantastic shots with the Tamron) and also on the baseball, football, soccer, etc. field. When I do have some decent test shots, I will be posting them and I also plan to shoot with it against my 300/2.8 (similar weight) with a 1.4 and 2.0 TC for comparison. Perhaps I'll even compare with my 400/2.8, however, my real work will have to take priority.
In any case, I believe the Sigma Sport is a better lens, but that is just my opinion. Others may not agree.
First, Regis has had many fantastic shots taken wi... (
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