Tamron 18-400 on Nikon D7100(first photos): I just received the lens from B&H. I am somewhat happy with the early photos. Not surprisingly, it seems a little soft at 400mm. The dog is...

deanfl Loc: Georgia

I just received the lens from B&H. I am somewhat happy with the early photos. Not surprisingly, it seems a little soft at 400mm.
The dog is my neighbor's dog showing the original raw file and converted to JPEG. Then I cropped and finished in Photoshop Elements.
The flower was shot outside in a local park.

(Download)

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Looks fine to me. The flat light and low contrast always make things look soft. I didn't look at the EXIF info but if you're hand holding at 400, that would soften things up too. Plus, not having the aperture at the lens's "sweet spot" would be an issue.

deanfl Loc: Georgia

gvarner wrote:

Looks fine to me. The flat light and low contrast always make things look soft. I didn't look at the EXIF info but if you're hand holding at 400, that would soften things up too. Plus, not having the aperture at the lens's "sweet spot" would be an issue.

All good points. Thanks for your feedback.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Very nice. It certainly covers a large focal range.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

Both are a touch soft. Probably to slow shutter speed for the focal length. Even a slight breeze will reduce sharpness. Happens to me all the time.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

deanfl wrote:

I just received the lens from B&H. I am somewhat happy with the early photos. Not surprisingly, it seems a little soft at 400mm.
The dog is my neighbor's dog showing the original raw file and converted to JPEG. Then I cropped and finished in Photoshop Elements.
The flower was shot outside in a local park.

I think they look pretty good actually. Always AF Fine tune any long lens, the shallow depth of field they yield always benefits from tuning when the camera body is capable of it, as your is.

deanfl Loc: Georgia

MT Shooter wrote:

I think they look pretty good actually. Always AF Fine tune any long lens, the shallow depth of field they yield always benefits from tuning when the camera body is capable of it, as your is.

Thank you for the tip and feedback. I will look into doing that. I see Steve Perry has a video on that.

docshark Loc: Millersville, PA

Saw this lens and wondered if that should be my next purchase and leave most of my lenses at home.
-Doc

deanfl Loc: Georgia

docshark wrote:

Saw this lens and wondered if that should be my next purchase and leave most of my lenses at home.
-Doc

I'm still trying to decide how happy I will be with this lens. It is pretty light(for what it is) and fun to use. I was shooting butterflies at 10-15 feet away. Attached is one of the photos. As mentioned earlier, AF fine tuning may help. My Nikon 18-200 seems sharper. It probably depends on your needs, wants, and how picky you are.

(Download)

MT native Loc: Big Sky Country — Montana

Look pretty good to me. I have the the 18-300 and am enjoying it. Thanks for sharing.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

For a lens valued at $649, I think you made a fine investment. Although, I most likely won't purchase it, because my 70-300mm is sufficient for now on a crop sensor Nikon. And I have other zoom lenses covering various ranges down to 18mm. Enjoy your new lens. I think it will be a winner, for those who don't want to bring along two or more lenses on a trip.

bigwolf40 Loc: Effort, Pa.

deanfl wrote:

I just received the lens from B&H. I am somewhat happy with the early photos. Not surprisingly, it seems a little soft at 400mm.
The dog is my neighbor's dog showing the original raw file and converted to JPEG. Then I cropped and finished in Photoshop Elements.
The flower was shot outside in a local park.

These photos look good to me. Maybe a little noise in the dog photos but other then that I like the results....Rich

JBruce Loc: Northern MN

MT Shooter wrote:

I think they look pretty good actually. Always AF Fine tune any long lens, the shallow depth of field they yield always benefits from tuning when the camera body is capable of it, as your is.

MT, Obviously you are very familiar with this lens, but your comment seems to imply that this lens can be tuned to the camera. Do you mean that the Nikon software is able to do this, or do you still need the Tamron Tap-in console? I shoot Canon 80d, so would I need the Tamron device for AFMA tuning?
John

phlash46 Loc: Westchester County, New York

Pretty darn good! A Shih Tzu?

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

JBruce wrote:

MT, Obviously you are very familiar with this lens, but your comment seems to imply that this lens can be tuned to the camera. Do you mean that the Nikon software is able to do this, or do you still need the Tamron Tap-in console? I shoot Canon 80d, so would I need the Tamron device for AFMA tuning?
John

Tuning CAN be done in camera except in entry level models. The Tap-in USB Dock allows for many more settings than the camera does. But in camera tuning does make a noticeable difference, most especially at the long end.