GAS - A Dangerous game

Do you want to be talked into buying or out of buying?

I tried to find some of your pictures, but you did not share pictures the last 12 months and your Zenfolio seems no longer active. How much do you use the Tamron 150-600G2?

Some food for thought. Did you consider picking up the A7m4? Especially if you're a birder, the AF might have a bigger influence - This is the experience of Aarif. It also has the advantage it will drive all your A-mount lenses with the LA-EA5 - both SSM/SAM and screw drive. You could sell the A77m2 and A7iii with full A-mount and E-mount support remaining.

Apart from that, in general, native lenses are better. The 200-600 has as advantage full support on Sony cameras: higher frame rates on selected cameras and full teleconverter support. But the Tamron is a good option and might more handable (is that a word?). But then, you already checked all the reviews!

Don't know if this helps. If you're happy with the results of the status quo, there is no reason at all to buy anything new. Just go out and take pictures and share them here

ps before the current unpleasantness I might have said: go travelling.

Edited by addy landzaat - 27 December 2021 at 08:47

addy landzaat wrote: Apart from that, in general, native lenses are better. The 200-600 has as advantage full support on Sony cameras: higher frame rates on selected cameras and full teleconverter support. But the Tamron is a good option and might more handable (is that a word?). But then, you already checked all the reviews!

Pretty much all this. For anything on E-mount, native lenses focus faster and better. Some A-mount lenses with an adapter are quite good, and even almost as good, but a native lens always has the edge.

You've obviously considered the tradeoffs with the Tamron 150-500 and Sony 200-600, so it will depend on your preferences. In the end I went with the lower priced and smaller sized Tamron as I considered a max 500mm 'good enough' for my purposes. I can handhold the Tamron. I'm not sure I could with the Sony. Also, the Tamron fits in my dry cabinet and the Sony would not...

OTOH, I did give up the longer reach of the Sony and the chance to use teleconverters.

I'll throw in a third contender. What do you think of the sigma 150-600mm with E-mount? Very good specs. Fast AF and very good optics. These specs can surely compete with the tamron and sony. Price (in Holland €1399) is lower than the sony and a little bit higher than the tamron.
One negative thing about the sony 200-600mm is the heavy focus breathing at mfd at 600mm. So at mfd 600mm isn't 600mm.
Good luck with your choice

Wētāpunga wrote: For anything on E-mount, native lenses focus faster and better. Some A-mount lenses with an adapter are quite good, and even almost as good, but a native lens always has the edge.

I'm not sure this is entirely true. I have the impression that for fast/long lenses (those with a large entrance pupil) a dedicated PDAF like that in A-mount cameras and the LA-EA4 determine the direction of misfocus more accurately and quicker than OSPDAF. However that needs to be balanced against the fact that in-lens AF motors are usually a lot quicker through the whole focus range than screw-drive.

You have probably already bought the lens, but I’d vote for the 200-600 Sony, personally

Jozioau wrote: So the gas attack has dissipated.

For now