70-200: Return to the Lake District

This weekend I found myself back in Ambleside, where I spent three fantastic years studying Outdoor Education in the heart of the Lake District, and where I met my wife.  Although I was there for non-photographic purposes, it didn’t seem right not to take the camera along.

Although a 70-200mm lens isn’t the first choice of landscape tools for most people, it does allow you to avoid taken certain clichéd shots, and look for photographs that may not otherwise take. I’d forgotten the therapeutic effect of simply watching the interplay between the shadows and the relief of Loughrigg on a day of broken cloud.

The lens picked out all the details admirably, with no hint of chromatic abberations spoiling the finer nuances. And because it’s a fast telephoto, I was able to ignore the usual rules of landscape photography: namely the one where everything should be in focus throughout the shot.

I’m still undecided on how well the following shot works, but the Rhododendrons around the Victorian college buildings were too striking a feature to pass up.

Similarly, the view from the stairwell of the inn we stayed in was textbook Lake District: sash windows; condensation on the inside; rain on the outside, and a vantage point for one of the nicest churches in the country.

70-200 Extension tubes and teleconverters

So I’ll admit it, I bit the bullet. In this post I talked about the problems with attaching my Nikon teleconverter to the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD. Well this week, I could resist no longer, and filed a certain metal tab from the mount of my Nikon converter. Today I’m going to share some of the resuslts.

The first thing I should say is that this is not recommended. I made a calculated risk in doing this, based on the length of time I’ve had the converter, and a genuine interest in knowing if it would work or not. I’ve done this so that no-one else has to.

The good news is that it has in no way affected the 70-200. It still works. Big sigh of relief from me. However, the combination doesn’t work perfectly together. Oddly, the Vibration Compensation feature works brilliantly with the teleconverter attached. In fact, it works better with the Tamron than it does with the Nikon. What you do lose is smart EXIF data communication, and autofocus.

There is no updating of the change in effective aperture, and no way of reading the EXIF data to tell if a converter has been used. That’s not a deal-breaker. However, the lack of autofocus is a more difficult issue for me, as my eyesight can’t be relied on to ensure perfect foucs. So if you want to buy the Tamron lens, you’re going to have to stick to third-party converters.

On the bright side, that optical quality remains very high. Here’s a couple of shots taken of the same subject and more-or-less the same distance, the first without a converter and the second with:

Both are the full, un-cropped images, and while they have different characteristics, I would call both acceptable images.

With that out of the way, I started to experiment by adding extension tubes as well.

In all cases, I was really happy with the results. It’s unlikely that I will use the lens like this every time, but it’ s good to know that it can deliver if required.

70-200: Owls

The autofocus on this lens is wonderful. ‘Nuff said…

 

70-200: Animal attractions

This week my wife and I took advantage of the good weather and took a trip to Twycross Zoo. This gave me a great opportunity to use the Tamron 70-200 in one of the most popular circumstances for a lens of this type.
The beauty of using a telephoto lens in a situation like this becomes apparent the instant you start to shoot through a wire fence. As long as the light is coming from the right direction, the fast aperture and minimal depth of field allows you to make a fence disappear entirely from shot. The high quality glass takes care of the rest, picking out pin sharp detail. Similarly, dirty glass goes from being a distraction from the main subject, to a contrast-reducing soft-focus filter, as in this shot of a female bonobo.

I’ve always quite enjoyed using a 70-200 when visiting zoos. The ability to zoom is a real bonus when composing an image, as you are often limited in where you can stand and how much you can move around your subjects. I was able to focus on an area of interest which allowed me to highlight the behaviour of the elephant, and not just the enclosed nature of its surroundings.

On the day we went to Twycross, there wasn’t much need for the Vibration Compensation system. The shutter speeds I used were all sufficiently high not to require it, although there was no impairment on image quality from leaving it on. Later in the week, the weather changed considerably. When shooting this red tailed hawk in the middle of a downpour, I was able to use the VC to reduce my shutter speed to capture streaks of rain, making a more interesting backdrop for the photograph without the need for a tripod.

I’m finding the VC to be quite serviceable. It works differently to other systems I’ve used in a lens of this length. It can’t lock on quite so well as the Nikon system, but once it’s activated, it works consistently until you release the shutter button, without resetting itself and jumping back to a central position. I see this as a plus, as it’s a little more predictable in its operation than my existing 70-200. My ability to hold a lens steady has been honed by excessive use of high magnification macro shooting, so this way of working suits me better. Others may feel differently. Either way, its inclusion in this lens does allow me to be more flexible with my settings.

70-200: It was all going so well…

So I have to say, now that I’ve got used to the focus ring being in a different place on the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD, I love it. The handling is absolutely marvellous, and the balance is perfect on my D300 (with a grip).

I’ve not been out as much as I’d like over the last week or so, but that happens sometimes when you work shifts. Some weeks are better than others. But it’s a good time of year for birds at my local hotspots, so I thought I’d give that a go. Then I hit a hurdle.

As you may be aware, most of my gear is Nikon branded. A few years ago I sold my Kenko 2x teleconverter for the far superior Nikon 1.7 TC. A focal length of 200mm is pretty modest for bird photography, so I usually take this piece of kit with me when I want to shoot anything like that. This week however, I found that there’s a bit of an issue with compatibility btween my 1.7 TC and the Tamron 70-200mm.

The Nikon TC has elements which protrude inside the bodies of their larger lenses, which tend to have quite a gap between the rear elements and the lens mount. To make sure that users aren’t tempted to use it with lenses that it could damage, they appear to have varied the mount slightly. Normally the Nikon mount is made up of three tabs. If you look at the mount of the 1.7 TC, you can see a small, fourth metal tab. It’s this little intrusion that has caused me to miss some shots I’d normally be able to get this week.

There is no reason I can see to limit the use of this teleconverter with the Tamron lens. The protruding elements of the Nikon TC would have enough clearance within the Tamron lens to sit safely in there. Now, it’s hard to say who is at fault here. Nikon have clearly got the patents on the mounts, and as such can restrict third party manufacturers in some respects, effectively boosting their own sales. But I’m inclined to think that Tamron have missed a trick here, as they are making their lenses to Nikon specifications.

The issue is, even at this early stage, I can see real benefits to swapping my Nikon lens for the Tamron model. The dimensions are a bit more favourable, and as I keep saying, the handling is noticeably better. However, I’m very aware that I’d also have to change my teleconverter. And it wasn’t exactly cheap. If I had more than one lens to use it with, I’d certainly not be prepared to do this.

In short, not allowing a cut-out for this little tab means that I’m not getting the reach I’m used too. Which is why I’m unhappy with the in-flight shots of herons that I took the other day. I’d strongly urge Tamron to consider making that change, as it will allow users to broaden their options. Now I realise I may not be getting the whole picture, as there’s also some eletrical communication between lenses and converters, and I’m not qualified to say whether or not those connections are the reason for this, but it’s certainly worth being aware of if you have a lens to replace and also own a Nikon converter. It was a bit of a disappointment. But at least it will make me work on my fieldcraft!

It’s not all bad though. I had about three seconds to react to this tern flying overhead, and the focus snapped into focus almost immediately. That was pretty impressive.

70-200: Tropical Butterfly House

For my first outing with the Tamron 70-200mm F/2.8 SP Di VC USD, I headed straight to my nearest wildlife park. One of the first things I noticed was how quiet the lens was, both in terms of focusing and the Vibration Control system. It’s not unusual for a lens to be described as “silent”, and this one was no exception, but this is the first lens I’ve used where the built in stabilizer genuinely warrants the term. I actually had to check it was working by taking my finger off the shutter for a few seconds to wait for it to shut off. It really is quite remarkable. This may be of note to users of DSLR video. Placing an ear to the camera body does reveal some sound transmission, but it is considerably better than most image stabilizers.

The lens resolved fine details well, and the focus appears to be very fast and precise, even going from one extreme to the other. It’s worth pointing out that several of the photos on this page have been taken through glass, and even this didn’t pose a problem. Constrasty lighting wasn’t a problem for it either, yielding results with a good dynamic range even under strong sunlight.

One of the reasons for choosing this particular location was the presence of a butterfly farm on location. This obviously comes with a very humid environment, and one with the occasional simulated shower. I’m happy to say that the lens acclimatised very quickly, with no internal fogging.

Bokeh is pleasing. It’s not quite the smoothest I’ve seen in the areas immediately outside optimum focus, but I think that’s nit-picking. Backgrounds are beautiful. I do feel that the Tamron may be slightly less sharp than my Nikon in the centre, but the edge sharpness is generally better. This gives a consistency across the frame which I have to admit is more appealing to me than a razor-sharp central area. That only applies to  shots at the widest aperture ranges anyway, and at 200mm. Practically, stopping down slightly or using other focal lengths makes image quality differences negligible.

I did make a few mistakes when trying to adjust focus manually, turning the zoom ring instead. Mostly I feel that this just comes down to a lack of familiarity with the lens, and its difference to my other lens. However, for a first outing, I’m really pleased with the results, which at the end of the day is the most important thing to me.

One major advantage of the Tamron didn’t occur to me until much later: the more compact dimensions of this lens meant that the centre of gravity is much closer to the camera. I was out for several hours, and found that my arm didn’t tire nearly as quickly with the Tamron as it has in the past with my comparable Nikon lens. In the long run, this will mean more comfort and longer shoots. It seems that one inch can make a significant difference!

Images taken at the limit of the lens’s close focusing abilities lose none of their crispness.  This is a quality that is quite important to me, given my preference for images of this type.

So what’s new?

I’ve not been resting on my laurels for the last year. After the end of my last project, I got a promotion at work, and I’ve married a wonderful woman whom my regular readers will have seen before. I took a break from photography for a few months, in order to unwind from the pressures of taking daily photographs with a large volume of people watching.

When Tamron asked me if I’d be interested in taking up another review project, I said that I’d be happy to, as long as it didn’t feel like a challenge. This time around, I’m looking to embrace the enjoyment of photography again. I simply don’t have the time that I did when I started the 18-270mm 365 challenge.

So this time around, I’m to trial a selection of lenses, with a new one showing up every few months. Blogs entries will be posted a little less frequently, and with varied formats. Sometimes you may get a range of shots with an article; sometimes you may just get an image or two and you can check the results for yourself. I’m basically going to go out and shoot when the desire takes me, using whatever lens I happen to have at the time. I’m starting with the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 SP Di VC USD, so for the next few months, you can expect to see plenty of wildlife shots.

Now, to be honest, I was hoping to start last week. However, there was a bit of a delay because of auto-focus failure in the first lens I was sent. It simply wouldn’t work. So it was sent back, and Intro 2020 supplied me with a new copy (very quickly, I might add). Now I don’t want this to put anyone off, because the report from the servicing department was that it was such a rare fault that it’s been sent to Germany for a complete and thorough inspection. Basically, they don’t know what’s gone wrong. But the new lens has arrived, and appears to be in perfect working order. So here goes…

I do already own a 70-200mm lens. My existing one is the Nikon VR II. This means that there are some obvious comparisons to be made, although I should point out that my existing lens is now outdated. Straight out of the box, the Tamron is slightly shorter and stockier than the Nikon model, with a much larger tripod foot. This comes attached to a completely removable collar, which gives it a much cleaner profile than the Nikon lens when it’s removed. The knob which is used to do this is a lot more tactile and manageable than on the Nikon lens, which is a bonus. Straight away, I felt that the lens had a better balance than the Nikon model, although I gather that this has been addressed by the current version, which means that there isn’t much to separate them here.

The biggest difference here is that the focus ring and the zoom ring are in opposite positions to every other lens I own. I’m fairly sure that this will take some getting used to, particularly as I tend to pick a focal length before shooting. However, I’ll reserve judgment for later when I’m more used to the layout.