Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III VC VXD Review: 500mm in a Lens You Can Hand-Hold All Day
The Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III VC VXD is the lightweight answer to the big 600mm zooms. Tamron announced it for Sony E-mount in April 2021 at $1,399, then added Nikon Z and Fujifilm X versions. It weighs 1,725 grams without its tripod foot, about 400 grams less than the Sony FE 200-600mm G.
Wildlife rarely waits for you to set up a tripod. A boar crossing the edge of a wood, a deer in a clearing, a bird that lands for ten seconds: a lens you can carry and raise quickly gets the shot.
Photo: Media Instances
On an APS-C body like the Sony A6700, it frames like a 225-750mm lens, a lot of reach for its size.
Video review: Christopher Frost
Why wildlife shooters like it
Size and weight first. Photography Life, Dustin Abbott, Lenstip and DCW all highlighted how much easier it is to carry than the 600mm class. It’s 210 millimeters long at 150mm.
Tamron’s VXD linear motor focuses fast and quietly. Optical stabilization has three modes, including one for panning. The detachable tripod foot is Arca-Swiss compatible, so it drops straight into most tripod heads. The build is moisture resistant with a fluorine-coated front element.
It’s sharp across the zoom range, and it focuses close: 60 centimeters at 150mm, which makes it useful for flowers, butterflies and frogs as well as distant animals.
What you give up
Reach and light. 500mm is shorter than the 600mm of Sony’s and Nikon’s own zooms, and f/6.7 is slower at the long end.
It doesn’t work with teleconverters. On some Sony sports bodies, third-party lenses are limited to slower burst rates. It extends as you zoom, and Photography Life found the zoom lock easy to engage by accident. There’s no focus-hold button.
Who should buy it
Hikers, travelers and anyone who wants to photograph wildlife without a heavy kit. It’s especially good on APS-C bodies, where the crop adds reach for free.
If you need 600mm and use a tripod or hide, the Sony FE 200-600mm or the Nikon Z 180-600mm are the alternatives. If you want more flexibility at the short end, Tamron’s own 50-400mm is lighter still. Our Sony wildlife lens guide compares them all.