General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

[Chris Janes]

F-16 AZ ANG by Chris Janes, on Flickr

[Scott Youmans]

Long Shot

[Scott Youmans]

425th FS

[Joe Copalman]

So is Tamron paying you a commission, because that image right there just sold me on my next lens.  What was the focal length on that shot?

[Scott Youmans]

600mm. ISO 200, 1/1000th sec., f/8.  The reviews say it's at its worst at that focal length which is not surprising but the results are pretty good considering we're looking through half a mile of air!  I've had the lens hunt while focusing a couple of times but not enough to be alarming.  I'm thinking this is most likely due to dim conditions and the small aperture at 600mm (f/6.3).  The actual focusing speed is pretty fast.

It is somewhat slow in terms of light gathering (f/5 to 6.3).   The aperture at 400mm is the same as the Canon 100-400mm.  Certainly not a replacement for a Canon 200-400mm with built in 1.4x extender but on the other hand it cost $1069.00 and is a whole lot lighter.  A body with low noise at high ISO would definitely be an advantage with this lens.  Time permitting I'm going to try some tests against the Canon 500mm f/4L IS.  I'm quite certain the Canon will be sharper (it better be!) but the question is how much.  As it stands now I'm reluctant to haul the 500mm around with me unless I'm shooting out of my car.  I sold my 100-400mm a while back thinking that Canon was going to introduce a new version.  Still waiting!

[Jay Beckman]

If those are "long lens" efforts Scott, the look great here!

[Scott Youmans]

Thanks Jay. These were shot with the new Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3.  Nicely built, capable of sharp images even at 600mm. Better at 500mm. Still evaluating the lens in general and why my keeper rate was low on that particular shoot. Might have been me!

[Tower Guy]

Your examples look very clear and sharp to me Scott, for the dollar difference between the Canon 200-400 with the 1.4x. Unless you hit the lottery the Tamron sells itself. WOW.

[Joe Copalman]

Keeper rate from the tower has always seemed pretty low - like you said, you've got about a half-mile of air in between you and the subject.  I'd imagine that extra reach would only amplify minor panning errors as well.    

[Tower Guy]

I see we have a visitor on the ramp. by Tower Guy, on Flickr

[Jeff D. Welker]

EOR Ghosts v.3

[Tower Guy]

Very nice Jeff, I'm glad to see you still have more winners to post from this shoot. The colors and the sky are a great combination. Even the "ducks stripe" is visible by the strobe flashes, very cool.

[Jeff D. Welker]

Very nice Jeff, I'm glad to see you still have more winners to post from this shoot. The colors and the sky are a great combination. Even the "ducks stripe" is visible by the strobe flashes, very cool.

Thanks Harvey. Not just for the compliment, but for facilitating the opportunity. I ended-up with some interesting RAW files from that visit  

TREMORS

[Tower Guy]

Next time we have a snow day I'm coming to your house for a lesson in photo processing, great shot Jeff.

[Tower Guy]

Ready to fly, day or night by Tower Guy, on Flickr