What is YOUR camera?

[Robin]

Great work, Pro! What camera do you use the most?

[Professional]

Great work, Pro! What camera do you use the most?

Thank you very much

For Studio: 1Ds MKII [5D is backup]
For outdoor landscapes and urban: 5D [1Ds MKII is backup]
For Sports or actions: 1D MKIIN

30D and 350D are backups, rarely used.

[Walczak Photo]

Jim,

I'm looking at adding the 70 - 300 Tamron to my equipment. I wanted to know do you like that lens? And I have heard that the front lens rotates when you zoom in and out is that true?

Thanks,

Chris

Hey CG, sorry I didn't get back to your question until now...

Yes, I have to say that all things considered, I really do love my Tamron 70-300. For the money it truly is an outstanding lens and I use it more than any of my other lenses combined. Yes, it focuses a little slow, especially in low light and yes, the focus is a little noisy...in other words, no it doesn't focus like a $1000 Canon or Nikon lens, but for the $90 I paid for this lens the quality and sharpness of the optics are unbeatable! The sharpness of the shots I get from this lens EASILY compares with that of the Canon 70-300mm...and even new, this lens is less than half the price ($179 for the Tamron vs. $549 for the Canon based on todays price at Adorama.com) although granted, it's not an IS like the Canon is.

As to the front lens rotating when you're zooming...no...it does not (I just ran downstairs and checked). It does however rotate when you're focusing...as virtually any lens in this price range would. Yes it can be a little annoying when you are using a polarizer (or something like a split color filter), and at the very least, a little more time consuming as you have to stop and re-adjust things occastionally, but that's really the only downside to it. Again though, virtually any lens in this price range is going to do that...ya learn to live with it.

Now having shot with this lens for almost a year now, I will say that I do wish it was a faster lens...that f/4-5.6 makes it really hard to use indoors without a flash and even in shade without having to bump up the ISO...an f/2.8 would be ideal. I also wish it had IS (image stabilization) considering I do much of my shooting handheld. Yes, I do wish it had a faster focusing mechanism...a faster focus would be nice for those animals I shoot that never stop moving around in their habitats. I was recently shooting a little gray fox at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History who wouldn't stop moving and with the camera's focus in "servo mode", the lens was still struggling to keep up with this little guy. A faster focus would have allowed me to walk away with more keepers (probably). Slow focusing seems to be one of the biggest pitfalls of all Tamron lenses. But again here we're talking about an "entry level" lens and not a $1000-$4000 "pro" lens here. -If- this 70-300 were an f.2.8 with IS and a really fast focus, I have no doubt that it would be at least $1000 if not considerably more...even being a Tamron. With that said though, I don't think the lens would be any sharper at all...just more convenient. As with so many things in regards to photography, this is about compromise...if you don't have $1000+ and you can live with a slower focusing lens, again these Tamrons are -sharp-...and to me, that's THE most important thing.

Honestly, most of the gripes I've seen about Tamron lenses have been from people who were expecting to get something comparable to a $1500 Canon "L" lens (or something comparable in a Nikkor) for only $200 and then were disappointed because the lens has a plastic barrel instead of metal and because the focus was slow...it's amazing how naive, petty and downright stupid people can be sometimes. People want to "have their cake and eat it too" but don't want to actually have to pay for it by the slice I guess! LOL! I have to add here that in some ways, I think those plastic bodies are actually more "rugged" than the metal bodies. Last summer I dropped my Tamron 70-300mm in the middle of a street intersection...it fell out of my coat pocket while shooting a water fountain and other than a chipped UV filter, the lens didn't suffer any damage at all. Had that of been a Canon L lens, I'm positive I would have ended up with a $1500 paper weight! LOL!!! I'd rather have a sharp...and working $90 lens than a $1500 paper weight any day!

As long as you understand these things, then YES, I whole-heartedly recommend Tamron lenses and I think you'd be really happy with the 70-300mm LD. In the sub-$500 price range, I think it's one of the very best lenses out there and certainly one of the sharpest even at several times the price!

Peace,
Jim

[Mstee4eva]

I have an Olympus SP510uz
I recently was given a brand new Olympus E510 for my Birthday it came with the 14-42 lens and 40-150 lens.

[jd tx]

Hi all..I am new and have an old Fuji 5100 that I take everywhere and a newer ..still tryin' to figure it all out Canon Rebel XT SLR..I only have the 2 lenses that came with the Canon a 75-300 zoom and the standard 18-55..I really enjoy getting close ups of things like flowers, insects, etc but am still working on clarity, "noise" ..a term I learned here..
Seems like a great place and I would like to post some pics here..I hope I don't HAVE to go to another site and download them and then come back here to post them..anyway I want to thank all of you for the great pics and tips I have seen here..

[BlackDog's]

Hello, new here too. Love the topic.

I have a few cameras (film and digital) but I probably use my Minolta Maxxum 7D the most with a KMinolta 28 - 75mm f/2.8 zoom, Minolta 100-300mm F/4.5-5.6 zoom or my newest addition a Lensbaby 3G.

[jayryser]

New here as well!

Cameras - Sony a700 & a100
Lenses - All Sigmas - 300mm f/2.8, 100-300mm f/4, 24-70 f/2.8, 17-35 f/2.8-4
Giottos tripod
Workflow in Lightroom♦

[dculp]

With the help of others in the forum, topic Alaska Trip, I just upgraded to the Canon Xsi (came in about two weeks ago) and use the Canon 100 - 400 4.5 IS, Canon 2x Extender, Tamron 28 - 300 and the 18 -55 IS that came with the new camera.

Can't wait to put it all to the test in Alaska in July!

[Stan Z.]

For me- Canon Rebel XT, Canon 18-55; Tamron 18-200; Tamron 70-300

The Tamron 18-200 is great, but a little "heavy". I use a tripod with the 70-300.

[Terry B.]

Hi. I'm new here ...
Love to shoot landscapes for fun; used to do some wedding work using Mamiya 645 ,etc., but got burned out on it and then made the leap to digital . After my boot camp Lumix SLR-like camera, which did take some very nice pics, I jumped to a Canon XTi . I got caught up in wanting L lenses and managed to acquire , on limited budget, a 17-40 and a 70-200 . After realizing that my focal length coverage wasn't perfect , for the XTi, I went back to Tamron . I always thought they had a long of bang for the buck. I used to shoot a 90mm 2.5 Tammy in the old 35mm Film days and it was superb.
I just recently sold the 17-40L and replaced with Tammy 11-18 and 28-75 2.8. Kept the Canon 70-200 L , as its outstanding, even w/o IS.
So, I've become practical, forgot about trying to be in the "L" Club as much, and am setting my sights on just shooting great pics.
I'm also a guitar player and the same holds true, its a tool and in the right hands , can be heavenly. The brand of the tool does not the player make.
Love this forum and hope to learn a lot even after shooting semi-pro for some 26 yrs.
A sample of my Tamron work...looking forward to heading out West again!
Great to meet all of you!

[gldiana]

You sold the 17-40 L ???? Noooooooo!!
That's a great lens, I hope they make an IS version soon or a f/2.8.

Jim too plays guitar (he's been quiet lately). You'll find yourself right at home here.

[gunfighter48]

I have a Nikon D60, 18-55 VR, 55-200VR, and 70-300VR lenses. Just getting started again after a 14 year break from photography.

[gldiana]

Welcome back to photography, Gunfighter, and welcome to the forum.

[kgb]

I suppose I might be considered a luddite, I use a

Mamiya 645 Pro Tl
45mm
55mm
80mm
80mm Macro
150mm

Also

EOS 3
Sigma 17-35
Sigma 28-70
Canon 70-200mm F4 L
Sigma 105mm Macro

I have various other cameras including a Nikon F70 and 50mm F1.8

[jqsphoto]

I have a couple I use regularly...
Canon 1d Mark III
Canon 5d
Canon 16-35mm f 2.8L USM
Canon 24-105mm f4 L IS USM
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM. Jerry from Sarasota, Florida