Nelcansan wrote:
Anyone have experience with the Tamron 200-500 lens and how does it compare to the Tanron 150-600 in picture quality?
The Tamron SP 200-500mm f/5.6 lens is quite old. It was introduced in 1984 and discontinued in 1992.. almost 30 years ago. It's manual focus only, Adaptall2 lens, which means it can be fitted to almost any 35mm SLR or DSLR thanks to that interchangeable mount system. Adaptall2 mounts are still being made in China, even for modern systems that didn't exist back when Tamron was building those lenses. I've got a macro lens with Adaptall mounts to use it on a half dozen different film camera systems, as well as modern Canon DSLRs and mirrorless. On most modern cameras this lens will not only be manual focus, it will also be manual aperture only. It replaced the previous 200-500mm f/6.3.
It was said to be a good lens in it's day (while I used several other Tamron Adaptall2 lenses, never this one).... But it's a good bet a modern zoom like the Tamron 150-600mm "G2" is sharper. You can rest assured the modern lens is also much, much faster to shoot with, thanks to ultrasonic drive AF and direct electronic aperture control that allows all auto exposure modes to be used.
EDIT: I just Googled and found that there also was an AF version of the Tamron 200-500mm in Canon, Nikon and Sony A-mount (Minolta). It has a variable aperture (f/5 to f/6.3). It also uses a removable lens hood, where the above manual version had a built in hood. Online reviews of the Tamron 200-500mm AF are fairly positive, though most are 12 to 15 years old.
On a DX camera like D500 a 500mm or 600mm lens is an extremely powerful telephoto. Difficult to hold steady, so image stabilization might be a real help. Still might want a tripod a lot of the time. Tamron also makes a 100-400mm that seems pretty good and is considerably smaller and lighter. It doesn't come with a tripod collar, but one is sold separately, if wanted (I'd definitely get it).
Yes, the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 is certainly worth considering, too. The image quality actually seems pretty similar comparing the Tamron 150-600mm and Nikkor 200-500mm at the focal lengths they share. See for yourself here:
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=1079&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=4&API=0&LensComp=1035&CameraComp=614&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=3&APIComp=0 Note: unfortunately, the test shots done at that site were with Canon cameras for the Tamron and, of course, Nikon cameras for the Nikkor. The 1Ds Mark III and D3X test shots should be similar, though... since they are fairly similar resolution, full frame DSLRs. On your D500 the center and midframe test shots are relevant, while the corner test shots would be cropped away by a DX camera. A few differences that might be important: The Nikkor is presently almost $200 more expensive and it comes with a 1 year warranty, where the Tamron is warranted for 6 years.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_200-500mm_f_5.6E_ED_VR_Lens_vs_Tamron_SP_150-600mm_f_5-6.3_Di_VC_USD_G2_for_Nikon_F_vs_Tamron_100-400mm_f_4.5-6.3_Di_VC_USD_Lens_for_Nikon_F/BHitems/1175034-REG_1277357-REG_1362803-REG