The title tells it all really! I took the new Tamron to Margam Park and took photos of many things, to test out this lens. Most images were taken at 500mm, although EXIF data is in the images. All images are straight from camera jpegs using the standard colour profile so that you can see the untouched (by me) output.
Why didn’t anybody tell me that these professional quality long lenses are so much better than a standard 70-300mm lens? I joke of course, I just never seen the need before, but I am SO happy that I chose this focal length over just getting a macro lens. In fact, I am more than happy with the close-up possabilities with this camera, that a macro lens is not even on my mind now.
As this was my first real outting with the camera, I did try a couple of different focus modes. Of course, the focus with the Z6ii is amazing anyway, so it was the insects that really tested the autofocus with the lens.
Up as far as the man feeding the geese, I used animal autofocus wide. This focuses when there is something in a the centre rectangle and it worked well, however, I did miss a couple of bees (expected on any camera really). I then changed to full autofocus area animal, which also opened up the oppurtunity to use my F1 button and kick in single point tracking if needed. I relied totally on the full arera autofocus for the remaing images in the set, not needing to use the tracking in these images shown (although I did take a few shots with it).
Birds in flight worked, just like the tests in the garden, although I had been using the wide-area initially as I didn’t trust the full autofocus (that I used in the second half of these images). But my worries are over, as I can fully trust this mode! As a side-note about today, it was VERY windy, so for insects, there were branches and leaves blowing everywhere which made things much harder.
As for image quality, I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best distance focus lens I have ever owned. It has really opened up a new world for me and I can’t wait to try it out on portraits at some point too. The autofocus is fast, the tracking is accurate and the output is just stunning! It is so versatile, from macro to 500mm… Why didn’t I get one of these before???
Please leave your comments below.
One Camera One Lens Photography 
While my long lens is much simpler on my Cybershot than your lens Mark, I have appreciated its versatility for years. Great macro shots from a distance are now a possibility. Happy Thursday. Allan
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Thank you Allan, much appreciated. Much appreciated. Yes, I love my macro and close-up shots, so this is going to be so handy.
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That’s right Mark, you can do a lot more with a telephoto lens than many people think. I also use my long lenses more for macro than my dedicated macro lenses – in fact, I never use my macro lenses, always telephoto. Greate shots !
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I’m stunned at the quality. I know the lens gets amazing reviews, but to see it, it’s mind blowing. No need for a macro now! Thank you very much 🙏
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