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Home โ†’ Reviews โ†’ Cameras and Lenses โ†’ Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD Review

Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD Review

By Spencer Cox 54 Comments
Last Updated On July 4, 2024

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Although I showed on the previous page of this review that the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 doesn’t have any major weaknesses where sharpness is concerned, some other telephotos still resolve more detail than it. Here’s how it compares to some of the prevailing options throughout the focal length range.

150-180mm

Tamron-150-500mm-f5-6.7-MTF-Performance-150mm

Tamron-35-150mm f2-2.8-Di-III-VXD-MTF-Performance-150mm
Nikon-Z-180-600mm-f5.6-6.3-MTF-Performance-180mm-2

In the shared aperture range, these three lenses are all very close to one another in the 150-180mm range. I wouldn’t stress over any of these differences. However, if I had to rank them, the order would be:

  1. Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8
  2. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
  3. Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7

That said, I doubt that any of the differences here would be visible in real-world photos, except possibly the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8’s midframe advantage at f/5.6 specifically. The lenses are extremely close to one another at these focal lengths, and all of them are sharp.

200mm

Since there are so many lenses on the market which reach 200mm, I’m limiting the list below to lenses that also reach at least 300mm on the long end. Otherwise the comparison at this focal length would be excessively long.

Tamron-150-500mm-f5-6.7-MTF-Performance-200mm

Nikon-Z-180-600mm-f5.6-6.3-MTF-Performance-200mm-2

Nikon-Z-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-VR-S-MTF-Performance-200mm

Nikon-Z-28-400mm-f4-8-VR-MTF-Performance-200mm

Tamron-70-300mm-f4.5-6.3-MTF-Performance-200mm-New

  1. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S
  2. Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3
  3. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
  4. Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7
  5. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8

Even though the Tamron comes in fourth in this comparison, it’s very close to the Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3, to the point that it almost counts as a tie. The middle three lenses are all in the same ballpark as each other. Meanwhile, the #1 lens is clearly sharper, and the #5 lens is clearly weaker than the rest.

300mm

Tamron-150-500mm-f5-6.7-MTF-Performance-300mm

Nikon-Z-180-600mm-f5.6-6.3-MTF-Performance-300mm-2

Nikon-Z-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-VR-S-MTF-Performance-300mm

Nikon-Z-28-400mm-f4-8-VR-MTF-Performance-300mm

Tamron-70-300mm-f4.5-6.3-MTF-Performance-300mm

  1. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S
  2. Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3
  3. Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 and Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 (tie)
  4. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8

The story is pretty similar this time, although the difference between each lens is a little slimmer. Even the Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 isn’t as convincing of a winner at 300mm. And the Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 does slightly out-resolve the two lenses below it, but only at the narrower apertures of f/11 at f/16. At maximum aperture, all three of those lenses are effectively tied.

400mm

Tamron-150-500mm-f5-6.7-MTF-Performance-400mm

Nikon-Z-180-600mm-f5.6-6.3-MTF-Performance-400mm-2

Nikon-Z-100-400mm-f-4-5-5-6-VR-S-MTF-Performance-400mm

Nikon-Z-28-400mm-f4-8-VR-MTF-Performance-400mm

Nikon-Z-400mm-f4.5-VR-S-MTF-Performance-400mm

  1. Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 S
  2. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
  3. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S
  4. Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7
  5. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8

The middle three lenses at 400mm are all very similar to each other again, although the Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 takes a surprising (though slight) victory over the Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S. Technically the Tamron is a little less sharp than the other two, but you’d rarely see it in practice. Unsurprisingly, the Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 S is clearly the sharpest, and the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 is clearly the weakest.

500mm

Tamron-150-500mm-f5-6.7-MTF-Performance-500mm

Nikon-Z-180-600mm-f5.6-6.3-MTF-Performance-500mm-2

Nikon-500mm-f5.6-E-PF-ED-VR-MTF-Performance

Not nearly as lenses reach 500mm, so this comparison is a little slimmer. The Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF is clearly sharper than the two zooms, but that’s to be expected. I would rank the sharpness like this:

  1. Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF
  2. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
  3. Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7

However, it’s very close once again. The center and midframe regions are roughly tied between the Nikon and the Tamron zooms – if anything, the Tamron is a hair sharper – while only the corners show an advantage to the Nikon 180-600mm. Given that the corners will usually be out of focus at 500mm, I leave it up to you to decide how relevant these differences actually are.

Tamron 150-500mm f5-6.7 Review Sample-00015
NIKON Z 8 + TAMRON 150-500mm F/5-6.7 @ 333mm, ISO 200, 1/640, f/5.6 © Adam Sheridan
Tamron 150-500mm f5-6.7 Review Sample-00014
100% crop of the image above. Be aware that the softness on the left and right sides is due to out-of-focus blur, not lens blur!

As a whole, even though the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7 never escaped third and fourth place in these comparisons, the reality is not bad at all. It nips at the heels of the Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 throughout the zoom range – to such a degree that I think it will hardly ever be visibly worse in real-world images – while costing and weighing significantly less.

I consider this a victory for the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7, at least in the price-to-performance department. The only lenses that are clearly sharper are $2500+ and/or prime lenses.

The next page of this review sums up everything and explains the pros and cons of the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7. So, click the menu below to go to “Verdict”:

Table of Contents

  • Introduction & Build Quality
  • Optical Performance
  • Lens Comparisons
  • Verdict
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
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