In praise of Tamron Adaptall SLR Lenses

Over the years I've used a few Tamron's on Olympus and Nikon bodies, mostly the 300mm 60b and the 28mm f/2.5 02b with copy work with the 90mm f/2.5 52b. A couple of the forgettable mid-tele zooms but not the really good zooms (stop tempting on the 24-48mm please).
The best was the 300mm f/2.8 60b, in the early's I used one for about a month with Olympus and then switched to Nikon. After about 3-4 months total with the lens I got a crazy good deal on a Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 (which I really wanted) and I sold the 60b to another stock shooting pro who went on to shoot many long lasting tourist type images with it. That 60b with the strongly saturated Fuji slide films of the 1980's-90's had such pop to the colors. It looked amazing on the slide table and in prints but the aging presses couldn't handle the full gamut for newsprint and the result looked like poop on the newsstand so that was a reason I was more happy with the Nikkor 300mm. The ED glass with a more balanced multicoating coupled with me going back to lower saturation Kodak slide film (EPD at 200 if you care to note) meant the presses could back off the ink and the paper's cover could look good again. As an aside; the stock photog I sold the Tamron to had her stuff printed on glossy hard stock which really could use the high saturation with the strong fuji films and those images you can still see for sale today.
 
I've long lusted over the 180mm f/2. 5 as far back as me shooting professionally with the OM system. I've tried and tested the 180 over the years and its a great lens, I've got every version of the Nikon 180 so that has been a barrier lol like I need *another* 180!
 
I've got a 28-80 SP, a 80-210 3,8-4 103A and a 35-135 and a 200-500SP I really like . However, I will warn you of a problem with the 200-500mm SP. The aluminum in the tripod mount for this lens is somewhat weak. I had the lens mounted on a tripod one day using the 1/4/20 thread mount and the threads let go. I managed to catch it before it fell and the threads were shot. I got it home and used a stainless steel "Perma-a-Coil" thread repair insert to fix the problem. I also modified a Bogen hex plate just for this lens...now the hex plate is mounted with both a 1/4-20 bolt and a 3/8-16 bolt. I doubt it will ever fail again !
 
johannielscom said:
100% crop:

20130711JNK_0306-2 by johanniels.com, on Flickr

Both shot on D600, Tamron Adaptall 28-80mm 3.5-4.2 SP. Wide open at 3.5, ISO 800, 1/250th


Anybody else got something to show from these brilliant lenses of the 1970s and 1980s??
Click to expand...

Ahh...the Tamron 28-80 f3.5-4.2 SP .... great zoom lens for its time. It was the first lens I bought for my Canon T70 whilst at university. At the time, reviews said it was the second best zoom lens in that range after a Vivitar series 1. The lens gave me some memorable pictures. I still have it in a drawer somewhere... optically it is still in perfect condition.
 
The Adaptall II mount system made me a believer in the Tamron lense and I had about a half dozen different camera mfr mounts for the Tamron lenses I used. Still a strong fan of Tamron as a result of those lenses and the ability to switch the lenses between my Oly's, Pentaxes and Minolta's.
 
johannielscom said:
For a while I had the SP 28-80mm (the macro version, right?) and it was great, I loved it. But, the stops on the focus throw have nylon bushings on them and if you rack the lens to and fro too forceful, these will crack and once they're busted the focus throw develops severe play and will focus past infinity etc.

I went in the lens (not very hard) and saw no way to get the focus mount back into shape without dismantling the whole helicoid.
I still keep mine for parts since the optical unit was clean beyond belief. I'm hoping to run into a lens that has a near-new barrel and focus mount but a scratch or haze, and I can resurrect my 28-80mm!
Click to expand...

Mine focused past infinity when I got it. I found the focus ring part with the scale was loose on the part with the grip so it's now held together with sellotape. :) Don't use it that much for this reason.

Ronnie
 
Here are a few from the Tamron 28-70mm 3.5/4.5 CF Macro...
I was lucky enough to find a Tamron Adaptall in the M42 mount recently at a thrift store...paid maybe $5 for it...
The Lantana (second shot) is cropped the other two are full frame...

27086254850_60b7e52715_b.jpg


27086260850_d885c41075_b.jpg


27086259790_06e0144def_b.jpg
 
I think I have a couple of the early Tamron mounts, one I think on a Sigma 200mm macro. Nice lens. I have several with Vivitar TX mounts. I have used them with my Fujica ST 901, and a previous Contax 139Q. The ones I had with the exception of the 80-200mm, performed in a stellar manner. I think I remember reading the Tamron Adaptal and TX mounts mated with the same lenses. I don't think I ever owned a Tamron branded lens. I seem to recall reading they were like Vivitar, depending on which company they contracted with, and whether the emphasis was on quality or if it was was on saving money, determined the worthiness of the lens. Or was Tamron one of the manufacturers Vivitar contracted with? Its been a long time so I don't recall for sure
 
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