What lens should I get: I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as...

Goodcatholic2

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

Decide which is more important to you, shooting flowers or birds, then choose the lens for that purpose.

schaut

Since you like Tamron, why not get an 18-400mm all around lens?

stan0301 Loc: Colorado

just personally I pair Tamron's 8-16 with their 16-300, which on a D500 works our to a 450mm equivalent, and there isn't much it can't handle - I make 20-30's all the time

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Goodcatholic2 wrote:

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

Do you have a full frame or a crop-frame camera, and if crop, what's the crop factor?

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Flowers can be done with a wide variety of lenses. Birds generally require a long reach. It's up to you but if you already have shorter focal lengths I would go with the 150-600mm.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Goodcatholic2 wrote:

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

Mike, Welcome aboard. I would suggest pair Tamron's 8-16 with their 16-300 assuming your budget would allow it.Stan

slcarn Loc: Draper, Utah USA

Goodcatholic2 wrote:

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

Mike,
In case you are not aware, using a long telephoto to take pictures of flowers works very well. You have to stand beyond the minimum focus length of the lens and you end up with the flower filling the frame. The attached photo was taken with a D850 using a 300mm lens and 1.4 TC. (420mm total length)

You can buy the 150-600mm and photograph flowers and birds.

Steve

(Download)

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Goodcatholic2 wrote:

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

You seem to be presenting us with a non existent problem for you. Both lenses you ask about are for completely different types of photographs. We have no idea what is most important to you. Buy both of them and then post photos for us to admire.

Dennis

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

slcarn wrote:

Mike,
In case you are not aware, using a long telephoto to take pictures of flowers works very well. You have to stand beyond the minimum focus length of the lens and you end up with the flower filling the frame. The attached photo was taken with a D850 using a 300mm lens and 1.4 TC. (420mm total length)

You can buy the 150-600mm and photograph flowers and birds.

Steve

I can’t argue with your results. I have a 100mm f/2.8 macro for flowers & other close work. I also have a Tamron 150-600 for wildlife work. Both are very good for what I use them for. If your budget won’t allow both, stick with the 150-600.

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Goodcatholic2 wrote:

I love my Tamron lenses and tore between the 15 to 30 mm and the 150to 600mm I love flowers and landscapes but I also would like to get into bird photography as I think they are an amazing creature of God. What are y’all‘s thoughts thanks in advance.

Mike

I get great flowers with a telephoto as well⭐⭐⭐

fetzler Loc: North West PA

stan0301 wrote:

just personally I pair Tamron's 8-16 with their 16-300, which on a D500 works our to a 450mm equivalent, and there isn't much it can't handle - I make 20-30's all the time

Mike has already made better choices. Wide range zooms do nothing well. I would not think of using one except if I needed focal length flexibility in an extremely dusty environment where changing lenses is undesirable and 2 bodies are not possible.

The 150 -600mm would a be rather good choice. I do, however, have a couple of pictures of birds taken with a wide angle lens. I have pictures of flowers taken with fish-eye to about 300mm.

lowkick Loc: Connecticut

nicksr1125 wrote:

I can’t argue with your results. I have a 100mm f/2.8 macro for flowers & other close work. I also have a Tamron 150-600 for wildlife work. Both are very good for what I use them for. If your budget won’t allow both, stick with the 150-600.

Yes, you can get nice results of flower photos with either lens, but they are very different results. A long lens like the 150-600 will flatten the photo, making the rear elements of the composition appear closer to the focal point of the picture. You are looking at an f/5.6 aperture for a 150-600mm vs. f/2.8 to f/4 on a wide angle so it will not give you the bokeh that a macro or wide angle will achieve. In addition, due to the much longer minimum focusing distance, the long lens will restrict the perspective of the shot, frequently causing you to have to take shots from more of a side angle of the flower rather than looking down into it.

Best bet is to buy a lens for a specific purpose. If you want to take pictures of flowers more than birds, buy the wide angle or a moderate macro lens. Then save up for the long lens as your next purchase.

Goodcatholic2

I have a Z6 and a D 610 full frame and have a D300 cropped. Thanks

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

lowkick wrote:

Yes, you can get nice results of flower photos wit... (show quote)

I certainly agree with your comments about using a telephoto to shoot flowers especially about bokeh. I don’t recall ever shooting flowers with my 150-600 but, it can be done. I’ve posted several series of cactus blossoms recently shot with a Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro.