Tamron 150-500mm f5-6.7 Di III VXD lens for Sony E-mount

Finally, the long-awaited superzoom from Tamron.

I have been asking and asking (almost annoyingly) for a new family member for my Tamron Trinity series (17-28, 28-75, and 70-180mm lenses) and especially a little more range than my beloved 70-180mm f2.8 zoom. Now it’s here and it’s SUPER cool! 150 to 500mm, full-frame, and all handheld. It has Tamron’s super-efficient VXD engine and it works great. It has three stabilization modes, one for normal, one for panning, and one for what they call “framing”. The entire lens has the same finish and sleek surface as we know it from the Trinity series and Tamron’s other E-mount lenses. The zoom ring runs super smooth and only needs 75 degrees to travel from 150 to 500mm. Autofocus is nicely snappy, as on the other Tamron Sony lenses. Really nice!

Key Features

Below you will find some of the key features I would like to highlight on the Tamron 150-500mm f / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) for Sony’s E-mount. There are a lot of cool things about the lens, but here I have selected the most important ones.

1. Full-Frame E-Mount Lens (225-750mm on APS-C)
2. Aperture: f / 5-6.7 to f / 22-32 with 7 blades
3. Hybrid aspherical lens elements
4. VC stabilization with 3 Modes – 1: Standard, 2: pan, and 3: framing priority
5. BBAR-G2 coating that reduces glare and reflections
6. Resistant to moisture
7. Arca-Swiss tripod mount and built-in loops for straps
8. Minimum Object Distance of 0.6 m at 150mm and 1.8 m at 500mm
9. Image stabilization with up to 4 f-stops
10. The rotation angle for zoom between 150-500 mm is only 75 degrees
11. The locking mechanism on zoom as at 70-180mm
12. Weighs 1.86 kg and is 20.9 cm long (150mm) and 28.3 cm zoomed in at 500mm.

1. Tamron 150-500mm f5-6.7 Di III VC is a rather complex design with 25 elements in 16 groups including 6 special dispersion elements and 2 aspherical elements.

Time to play

I wanted to take it out to a good place and chose Klampenborg Galopbane (Racetrack with horses), which I am almost next door to. Saturday there was a race and there I was graciously allowed to enter. Had been there a few weeks earlier for a super early Sunday morning workout at 6:30 (see picture 3) The race track is a super cool place with a 150 to 500mm zoom. Further down the page, there is also a selection of photos I have shot elsewhere.

Now the race track … The weather was good, the horses were fast and it was a perfect place to play with the powerful zoom. Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD is not an light lens. But with a full 500mm range, I like to take it with me. It’s great to work with. This is the first time I have something in that class as I do not typically work with sports or bird photography, so I just had to get used to it. I’m not a great sports photographer, but this lens makes it a little easier to make cool pictures.

I have looked at Sony’s 200-600mm for a long time and have also tried it a few times (Thanks for that Camilla Hylleberg) but I think it was too big and heavy, and a bit of a hassle to transport, especially because of the size. The Tamron is almost as compact as Sony’s FE 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 GM OSS, but still has 25% more range with its 500mm versus Sony’s 400mm and then it’s significantly cheaper. Here shines the Tamron. Of course, it takes up more space than my other Tamron Trinity lenses, but heck how cool is that. The size and weight are definitely a good trade-off in relation to. what I can with 150-500mm.

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) – 500mm, 1 / 1600s, f8 and ISO800 – Klampenborg Gallopbane

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 500mm, 1 / 1250s, f6.7 and ISO500 – Klampenborg Gallopbane

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 339mm, 1 / 1600s, f7.1 and ISO640 – Klampenborg Gallopbane
What hangs behind riders and horses is not dust in the lens, it’s bad the horses kick backwards 🙂

All-round or special lens?

Tamron himself describes this lens as perfect for photography of animals, sports and nature, but I actually think I can use it really widely. As written above, I am not the typical super-zoom telephoto photographer, but such a lens can be used for other than sports and nature. For example, it is fantastic to capture details you do not normally get close to, such as the pictures of several things inside Tivoli, which are taken from the bridge over the Central Station. Just as it fatally also works really well as a “macro lens. The close limit is as written further up at 0.6 m at 150mm and 1.8 m at 500mm and it is quite impressive. The header image on this blog post was shot at mother-in-law in her garden.

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 268mm, 1 / 1250s, f5.6 and ISO200 – Tivoli, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 224mm, 1 / 1250s, f5 and ISO250 – Tivoli, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 381mm, 1 / 1000s, f6.3 and ISO800 – Stub purchase

The lens has a smart thing that Tamron calls “Flex Zoom Lock” A lock that is activated by pulling the zoom ring forward. This locks the focal length until you pull the zoom ring back into place.

In terms of aperture values, 150-500 has a variable aperture from f / 5 to f6.7. From 150mm to approx. 237mm, the display on my Sony a7RIV shows f / 5, from 238mm to 386mm it shows f / 5.6, from 387mm to 479mm it is f / 6.3, and only on the last 20mm from 480mm to 500mm does goes to aperture f / 6.7 – The numbers here are all approx.

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 295mm, 1 / 320s, f5.6 and ISO160 – Tivoli, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 500mm, 1 / 800s, f6.7 and ISO250 – Rosenborg, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 150mm, 1 / 200s, f7.1 and ISO500 – Coffee Collective, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 273mm, 1 / 400s, f6.3 and ISO2000 – Dyrehaven, Klampenborg

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 461mm, 1 / 800s, f6.3 and ISO400 – Nørreport Station, Copenhagen

Sony a7RIV, Tamron 150-500mm F / 5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057) 378mm, 1 / 1000s, f6.3 and ISO 2500 – Dyrehaven, Klampenborg

My verdict on Tamron 150-500

I really my Tamron 150-500mm. It’s definitely not something I carry with me every time I’m out, but I often bring it. I really like the finish Tamron’s lenses have and I love the pictures that come out of them. Both when I shoot stills and certainly also when I shoot video with them. Have shot video once with 150-500 and it went super well. You do not have to be a sports or game bird photographer to enjoy this lens.