Photos taken: February 10, 2022
I recently picked up a Tamron 18-300mm f/3.5 – 6.3 Di III-A VC VXD zoom lens for Sony E-mount pictures. The VC indicates the lens has optical stabilization, which pairs well with the in-body stabilization of the Sony A6600.
This post and the next will feature pictures from this lens paired with my Sony A6600. I’m trying out this lens to see if it will work for traveling; I don’t like hauling around multiple cameras and lenses but want something that will work in a wide variety of situations.
I opened the box from Adorama immediately, put on a clear lens filter and went out back to take pictures of my favorite subject for new cameras and lenses – the wood duck box (as in a box for wood ducks) in the green space behind my house that my friend and neighbor Jon maintains.
I took 5 pictures zooming in from widest to tightest. I put the camera in Aperture Priority with Automatic ISO and White Balance and clicked 5 pictures.
I then loaded the photos into Lightroom Classic and made two adjustments
- Apply the Adobe Landscape profile.
- Click the “Auto” button in the “Tone” section of the Basic develop panel.
Without these adjustments, the RAW photos would be flat. RAW files need more tweaking than out-of-the-box JPG files.
I did not crop these images. The 18-300mm range reflects that of an APS-C crop-sensor camera. The full frame (35mm) equivalent range is 27-450mm. My notes show the full-frame equivalents.
Here is the scene from our deck.
Note that the ISO goes up a step when zoomed in about ΒΌ of the zoom.
The ISO jumps a few more steps.
Big ISO jump but still in the range for a good picture with the A6600. If you zoom in you can see just the beginning of some noise. But wow! We are zoomed in tight and there is plenty of detail to see.
Jon cleaned out the box and added fresh wood shavings a few days after I took these pictures. I expect we’ll see wood ducks on our deck railing this week scoping out the refurbished digs.
The next day, Jay, John, and I headed up to Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge so I could try some Birds In Flight pictures. That’s the next post.
