Tamron lens help

[Staciecm]

Hello! I have Canon 6d mark ii. I just got the Tamron 28-300. I have heard of the focusing issues, but I am wondering if this is normal. Bright light, I can focus at 200-300 and take a shot about 25% of the time. I really like what I can get from this lens. Is there a work around? Do I have a damaged lens? Is there a trick to using this lens? Thank you!!!!

 

[Space Face]

The title made me laugh in a childish schoolboy kinda way.

 

[Space Face]

The title made me laugh in a childish schoolboy kinda way.

Awe, someone corrected it

I do love a Fraudian slip.

 

[Original katomi]

Ah space face... must be Brit humour got the same smile you did lol
I also one has to of a certain age as well

 

[Space Face]

Ah space face... must be Brit humour got the same smile you did lol
I also one has to of a certain age as well

Yeah mate. Our Carry On film double entendre humour is probably lost on a lot of folk/non Brits. Anyhow, anything that puts as smile on our faces these dark days is welcome as far as I'm concerned.

 

[petrochemist]

Hello! I have Canon 6d mark ii. I just got the Tamron 28-300. I have heard of the focusing issues, but I am wondering if this is normal. Bright light, I can focus at 200-300 and take a shot about 25% of the time. I really like what I can get from this lens. Is there a work around? Do I have a damaged lens? Is there a trick to using this lens? Thank you!!!!

Welcome to the forum.
Long lenses are always more difficult to use, as they magnify any movement. To help find your problem we need some more specific information - what is wrong with the other 75% of the time?
I suspect camera movement, but there are many other possibilities, including a faulty lens...

I've not heard of anything specific to this lens, but in bright light it SHOULD be able to focus accurately on well isolated subjects. In some situations the camera can focus accurately on the wrong part of the image, other times a lens might consistently focus slightly to close/too far and need micro adjustment to get the focus spot on.

Sharing a resized photo (with EXIF intact) that shows the issues you're having can go a very long way in helping diagnose the problem.

 

[weepete]

Sounds like something is going on.

Try cleaning the contacts, then pick a static target with good contrast, that's well beyond the minimum focus distance of the lens and is well lit. Try and focus on that and see if it works.

You should be getting focus way more that 25%.

 

[SquarePeg]

Really need to know your focus settings and what the problem is in order to help.

 

[Strodav]

I have several Tamron lenses, but on Nikon bodies. I have not had any AF issues, especially in good light, beyond what one would expect. Carefully look at your out of focus images to see if any part of them are in focus. That might mean your AF system is locking on something you did not intend. Is your AF system locking? On Nikon's a little dot shows up in the lower left hand corner of the viewfinder when the AF system locks in on the focus point. I'm sure your Canon has something similar. If the dot flickers, or the dreaded left and right arrows appear, the camera is having trouble locking on the focus point. Is your AF system hunting? Camera phase detect AF systems perform better when they have a high contrast focus point, so it's a good idea to focus on an edge if you can find one. Your AF settings are important. When using multiple point AF modes, the AF systems tend to focus on the part of your subject that is closest to the lens, but if they lose lock, they can focus on the background. The first thing I would recommend is trying some different AF settings like go to single point AF and AF continuous. As others have mentioned, your technique is critical with long lenses. Any camera shake will cause blur, so it's a good idea to up the shutter speed to at least 1/focal length, but for testing purposes, try 1/1000 and see if that helps. Is the VC switch on your lens set to on?

I have gotten very good results with Tamron glass. I hope you get it figured out. Good luck!

 

[Original katomi]

Have you tried manual focus
If you can put a marker half way down a fence, car wall
Focus tight on the mark
Shoot lens wide open half way and full stopped down f16 whatever
See if the camera is focused on the mark and not before or behind
Can’t b e of more help as I use canon

 

[photoflyer]

Compare the results to shooting in live view. In that mode the 6D Mark II uses dual pixel auto focus and can focus with much less light. I'm not sure what this will prove except perhaps that the aperture of the lens along with the light and contrast of the subject are insufficient for the regular AF but sufficient for the dual pixel AF mode. Also, use a single AF point. I really like my 6D Mark II, would buy it again, and will keep it forever, but the AF in the R6 is what sold me on it. AF needs light which is why inherently faster lenses are better with AF.