Ok, plus when I go to New York Howard beach is far. If they use 31 opps I rather go to landings on rockway blvd by Costco. I also don’t live in New York, I just visited for 3 weeks in the summer. I live in Israel
Yep, currently running a 50-400 with an A7R3
Autofocus on the lens is okay. Not sure whether the missed focus is down to the body or the lens, I’m upgrading to the A7IV at some point soon so it’ll be interesting to see.
If you do buy the lens, make sure you update the firmware on it. It fixes a number of issues on the lens from release, and Tamrons update process is very easy.
Sharpness is decent, stabilisation is pretty good too. At 400mm you will need to run the lens around F/10-11 for maximum sharpness. It’s also incredibly good as a macro lens, it’ll focus from 10" away, which is better than basically everything else.
It’s well built, reasonably compact and affordable
As far as it goes, it’s a fantastic lens for the money, and the extra flexibility over the sigma 100-400 is definitely appreciated
No, I feel like I need a new lens, maybe one with more focal range, even though I’m getting fire pics
You can certainly go for a 400 but I think that’s more for doing close ups and stuff. If you’re running 400 on a crop sensor and the plane is still too small then that’s probably just too far to shoot. Also expensive, figure 500 bucks rock bottom. Probably closer to 600.
I’m also shooting shots at my high school football games
Every logo is hidden here so I don’t get doxxed
But this is from the sidelines
I don’t have much experience with that tbh so I don’t know what would be preferable
wow okay now I’m invested for this lens! sounds like a great deal for the money (and from your point of view) some pretty good sharpness! I’ll let you guys know if I eventually get this lens, perhaps this’ll unlock (better) quality Howard Beach photos from me ![]()
hi y’all, I might not be able to stretch all the way to 1500$ after all, and I’m probably staying with my M200, but I am interested in investing in a longer reach telephoto lens with an EF mount. I’ve been looking at the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary, Sigma 100-400 Contemporary, and the Canon 100-400. they’re all around the same price range (800-1000$) used on MPB.
going off the cons (as well as the price point), the Sigma 100-400 seems like the best option at the moment, but I’m afraid it won’t be enough reach for spots like Jamaica Bay or whatnot (or even in the future, heck, Vancouver lol). but because of this, I was more leaning towards the Sigma 150-600mm just because it’s actually cheaper than the Canon 100-400 and it has more reach, the only thing that is stopping me from leaning towards it further is just that it’s heavy (and might be a bit soft at 600).
(also I might do a little bird photography in the mix as well just to have some other subjects to shoot, also adding on why I was leaning on the 150-600 more).
ideas, anyone? thank you much!
oh gosh I also just remembered that the M200 is also a crop sensor, so I guess I have to keep that in mind also. 400mm becomes 640mm equivalent I think. and also the M200 is crazy light too, so the 150-600 might be really front heavy and the 960mm might just be overkill for many spots. but I also might upgrade to a full frame in the future, so theres tons of factors I want to keep in mind.
For planes, 150-600 on crop sensor is only worth if you do military. I guess it might be better than 100-400 for Canarsie specifically but you’re going to have some issues in most other places. Even TWA is a bit of a problem and don’t even think about overhead arrival spots. It isn’t THAT difficult to hold a 150-600 even on a light body but it will definitely be annoying to bring everywhere. If you get a high MP full frame later, 400mm is fine. I’m having no issues or wants with 400mm 61MP except I want maybe a little more reach for Sidewinder.
ah I see, thanks lots! if I were to buy the 150-600, I’d also have the 55-250 to use for overhead shots and TWA ramp closeups as well as my 18-45 for really low belly shots too. departures off 22 and 4 at TWA were proven a bit difficult for my 55-250 unless they were straight side on shots (I wouldn’t be able to achieve the full body side on shots with a 150-600).
a 150-600 could be used exclusively for Canarsie or the Bayswater double stack, or in the event I go to Vancouver and I go to that West Dyke Trail for the cool mountain shots I’ve seen. im just concerned that when I do come to a time where I upgrade to FF the purchase won’t be as justifiable anymore because I lose tons of reach. I see why people have multiple camera bodies now ![]()
For what it’s worth I think Terra Nova is fine with 400 on crop sensor. If you rly want the mountain scene you’re not going to be zoomed that far in anyways. I’ve never been but this is what I’ve heard.
Also regarding going from CS to FF, it can be kind of a problem if you go to a 24MP full frame. My a7iii at 400 + bigger crop felt like better quality than my D7500 at 400 + lower crop, but it’s definitely not a huge upgrade if you start factoring in max max range. With 61 MP it’s not a concern anymore
hiya, so I finally got to narrowing down and ill try to see if I could potentially get this lens soon! based on what you said it should be enough reach for most spots at JFK, and it’s super sharp at 400 based on what I read. only issue I have with this is the price, but hey I chose an expensive hobby lol
does anyone here have some experience with this lens? any pros and cons you noticed while spotting? thank ya!
I’m considering a slight upgrade, I’m weighing my options with the 5D4 and 6D2 to go along something along the lines of an EF 70-200mm F2.8 L USM. Would a pairing like this work if I want to shoot in the dark for moving aircraft?
You sure you don’t want to go mirrorless at that point?
nahh for what I’m shooting it’s not worth the extra cost rn for an RF lense
Adapting EF lenses is a great option, I use exclusively EF L glass on my r7 and there is no difference in image quality compared to my old body. I haven’t tried RF lenses but the things people often say are worse, like IQ and AF, I have had no issues with at all. For plane spotting you won’t notice the difference.


