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Tamron expands supertelephoto range with 150-600mm zoom

When it ships, the new lens will offer long-range sports and wildlife shooters some new competition, but it's not as fast a supertele as some rivals.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
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Tamron's SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A011) supertelephoto zoom lens
Tamron's SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD (Model A011) supertelephoto zoom lens Tamron

Tamron announced a new 150-600mm lens Thursday, a supertelephoto that will bring a broad 4x zoom range to sports and wildlife photographers.

The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is designed for Canon, Nikon, and Sony full-frame SLRs, the Japanese lensmaker said. The company will continue to sell its SP AF200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di LD IF, which has a narrower zoom range than the new model and lacks its vibration compensation (VC) technology to counteract camera shake.

The company didn't say when it would ship or how much the 150-600mm model would cost, but doubtless it will be more expensive than the 200-500mm model, which costs less than $1,000, and cheaper than one versatile, high-profile new arrival, the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4X. That lens costs a whopping $11,800, but it brings a faster f4 aperture for its 200-400mm range and faster f5.6 aperture for its 280-560mm range.

The 150-600mm lens has optical coatings to suppress ghosting and flare when shooting into bright light sources; a nine-blade circular aperture; three low-dispersion glass elements to counteract chromatic aberration; and a tripod mount. It weighs 1,951g (68.8 ounces), is 25.8cm long (10.1 inches) without a lens hood, and has a close-focus distance of 2.7m (106.3 inches, or 8.9 feet).

Tamron is showing the lens at a French photo show, le Salon de la Photo.

Via Photography Blog