7D does not play well with Tammy 150-600mm

I got my Tammy about a month ago. I am not pleased with it. I use it on my 7D. The AF is inconsistent. Even when it does hit the AF, the pics are soft.
I was at a friends house today who has a 60D. I tried my lens on his camera

Wow, suddenly sharp pics???? It is frustrating to me. I have gone through the micro adjust process. Of course, the 60D has no such functionality, and his camera has great pics with my lens.

Have any of you who have a 7D and Tamron 150-600 been experiencing these problems?

I have the same combination and no Problems. Tamron also works well with 1D and 5D.

I have the same combination and im able to get pretty spot on pics without any microadjustment. If i do get soft pics its usually my fault..

There was an update on some of the earlier 150-600 lenses when used with the 7D and Mark IV. I'd be calling Tamron right now for more information if I were you.

hi - ok I have the 7 d and a new tam 150 -600 lens and yes I do get some soft shots but that's mainly me I reckon its not an easy combo to use easy to miss or jump the af off its target ; very narrow dof and hard to keep steady but every now and then the good shots are pretty good but not as good as my 100 - 400 which is a very sharp one

as a consequence I intend to try another 150 - 600 on my 7 d when my camera shop next get some in to see if any improvement is available with a different lens (my 7d is a pretty temperamental cam re af in my experience) so been waiting a couple of months for that to happen now - up to you but id try it with another tam 150 - 600 if I was you and see if any difference

cheer rob

ps if the lens is only month old and a new one then the af lens update for canon should have been done

patrol50 wrote in post #17151259
ps if the lens is only month old and a new one then the af lens update for canon should have been done

So you are assuming the update has been done?

"Assumption is the mother of all f-ups", Die Hard 1998.

shutterbug guy wrote in post #17151558
So you are assuming the update has been done?

"Assumption is the mother of all f-ups", Die Hard 1998.

I waited for 3 months to get this lens, and the talk of updates happening was back in Feb (I think), and mine didn't arrive until August. So yes, I am assuming that it is updated.

Rehype,
Those are fantastic shots. I am envious.

Give tamron a call and ask to talk to a tech guy about your AF issues. They are pretty friendly and they have been helpful for me. They told me mine was most likely needing a firmware upgrade based on the serial number. I sent mine in and I am waiting for its return.

guntoter wrote in post #17151888
Rehype,
Those are fantastic shots. I am envious.

Thanks joel I just posted to show your combo is just as capable it may be your lens just needs to be updated. I have yet to update mine because i havent had any issues so i figured if it aint broke dont fix it..

DOF is really quite small at 600mm, I just calculated it for f8 and a subject distance of 20ft, DOF is 0.15 ft for example. (1.8 inches, 4.572 cm) When I took it out the first time I got some nice and sharp ones, some fuzzy ones, and some with motion blurr. It's not easy to hold this beast steady at 600mm. You can get a feel for it with apps like SetMyCamera or other apps that give you a live view of the field of view at 600mm. I have pretty steady hands, but even on the iphone the image jiggles, and that weighs a lot less.

There was an update to the firmware up to a certain serial number, I'd call Tamron and give them your S/N. Also play with a test target, stuffed animal or something, camera on tripod and all that, see what you get. It's definitely a challenging lens for me to use, but it's a lot of fun

ETA: maybe invite your friend over and do a controlled test with his and your camera?

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice.

shutterbug guy wrote in post #17151558
So you are assuming the update has been done?

"Assumption is the mother of all f-ups", Die Hard 1998.

yep I think that s reasonable assumption seeing the op waited for 3 month to get the lens and it arrived in august -the longer delays on this lens was I understand because of the need for an update for canons - I also waited for 3 months for mine which arrived in august and it is updated

but oh yea of course a world shattering quote from a movie called diehard would unquestionable be right silly me - sorry !!!

guntoter. It looks like the longest lens you had before the Tamron 150-600 arrived was a 70-200. Give yourself some time to learn long lens technique. What was said above about camera steadiness and shallow depth of field are the keys to learning a long lens. I got mine a month ago as well and it is pretty sharp. Give it some time and if you are still having problems you can try sending it back to Tamron for calibration but judging from my own learning experiences with long lenses, it is probably you at this point and not the lens.

I have had great results with this lens and my 7D. I have found that keeping the shutter speed up is critical, as you are talking a 960mm equivalent focal length. For birds I start out at f/8 and 1/1000 sec, with Auto ISO limited to ISO 3200. I drop the shutter speed as necessary as dictated by the light. When I drop the shutter speed to 1/800 or 1/640, I have to be very careful to avoid motion blur.

I did MFA the lens using Dot Tune, and found a -6 adjustment was needed. That made a big difference initially.