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Ultra telephoto zoom lens for sport & wildlife

Photo: Oliver Güth

In this article we are going to talk about the lens Tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD

The optical system consists of 25 lens elements, including special glasses and hybrid aspheres for correcting imaging aberrations. Despite the high imaging performance, it weighs only 1.725 kg and is astonishingly compact with a length of just 21 cm. The 150-500mm F/5- 6.7 has a fast and quiet VXD autofocus. It also reliably focuses on dynamic motifs such as athletes, fast vehicles, wild animals or birds.
The integrated VC image stabiliser enables sharp telephoto shots from the free hand. It is particularly advantageous when there is little light, for example in the evening or indoors.

 

 

If the distance is to be large in the picture, ultra-telephoto zoom lenses are required. With focal lengths of up to 500 mm, even small things can be photographed in full format. Nevertheless, the new 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD for full-frame cameras with Sony E-mount is surprisingly compact and light - and offers a range of convenient functions.

Every millisecond counts in sport. Freezing a dynamic movement at precisely the most expressive moment - this task continues to fascinate Cologne sports photographer Oliver Güth.
"The perfect sport image grabs you with its mixture of concentration, muscle tension and pure energy", he says." And the closer you are, the stronger the picture. "Every type of sport, every athlete, presents its own challenge. The conditions are rarely ideal, and the movements are never one hundred percent the same. "That brings a lot of variety and requires a high degree of spontaneity", says Oliver. "I am always prepared to adapt to a new situation in a flash. I also expect this flexibility and reliability from my camera equipment." Because he often can't photograph the athletes up close, ultra-telephoto zoom cameras are a must.


Exposed at the perfect moment: a sprinter at the start. With the 150-500mm F/5-6.7 zoom lens, sports photographer Oliver Güth was able to select the image section without changing his own location. He froze the explosive movement in great detail with a short exposure time (1/2000 sec.).

Lenses like the new Tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD are part of his standard equipment.
"The variable focal length is ideal when a person is moving towards me quickly. I can use it to follow the entire sequence of movements, and even in dynamic scenes the autofocus really sticks to the motif. Whether individual hairs, fine pores or beads of sweat - all details are perfectly frozen", explains Oliver. "And there is one more feature that I find awesome: Thanks to the rubberised sun visor, I can now simply put the camera down between two shots." For Oliver, the 150-500mm F/5-6.7 is a real game changer that makes sports photography with long telephoto focal lengths easier than ever for him: "With this lens, I can take very expressive snapshots from the free hand without much effort."

Photo stalk with light luggage

Not only sports photographers are enthusiastic about the 150-500mm F/5-6.7. Many nature photographers are happy to finally have a compact, lightweight ultra-telephoto zoom lens for wildlife photos.

Tamron ambassador Andreas Hütten went stalking through his photo district with the lens. "500mm gives me enough range to photograph smaller animals such as birds or squirrels", he says. “The VC image stabiliser is particularly advantageous as it supplements the internal stabilisation of the Sony cameras. When shooting with long focal lengths, even the smallest movements and vibrations of the camera can lead to shakes."
Depending on the motif, three stabilisation settings are available, including a "drag mode" that ensures a steady viewfinder image when tracking objects with the camera. "The stabiliser not only compensates for unwanted camera movements during exposure, but also while observing the motif", explains Andreas. “In connection with the light and compact design, it makes the 150-500mm F/5-6.7 the ideal lens for forays into nature. The advantages are obvious: I no longer have to carry heavy loads and can react spontaneously as soon as I discover a worthwhile motif."


The up to 90 cm tall bald eagle (left) is the heraldic bird of the USA and is actually native to North America. The approximately equally large sea eagle (right) is the largest bird of prey in Europe. Its wingspan is up to 2.5 m and it can live up to 40 years.


The strikingly colourful bee-eater can now be observed more often in parts of Germany. It grows to around 27 to 30 cm. As the name suggests, it feeds mainly on bees, bumblebees, wasps and larger insects.

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