Tamron Adaptall

[Paris Remillard]

Just to share something that I've found recently, some of the SP series Tamron Adaptall lenses are good options for SLR glass users. I have the 300mm f/2.8 and it's great. Other than being able to switch the mounts between nikon or canon or almost any other SLR mount, Les Bosher makes a PL mount conversion that is quite cheap since the construction of the adaptall mount allows for a much easier conversion. So, if one were to start out with SLR glass, and then get a set of PL mount lenses, the Tamrons could come with you for considerably less than trying to convert a standard canon or nikon mount which would require a total rebuild.

[Steve Gibby]

Interesting idea...I've had a few of the better Tamron lenses recently, and I was happy with their performance.

[Ralph Oshiro]

Aren't the Tamron Adaptall products mostly discontinued? Didn't find any pricing info on his site. Here's a quote, and a link to the Les Bosher site for those interested . . .

http://www.lesbosher.co.uk/

"We can convert most Tamron Adaptall Lenses into Mount Specific Lenses.These lenses are of very high Quality & are a Good alternative to Canon FD Lenses. Many other Makes & types of Lenses are suitable for conversion. Please feel free to contact us with your enquiries. We specialise in the manufacture of Lens Mounts & Lens Conversions, & are able to offer a very good price. We also Manufacture a range of 2 x Converters .They can be supplied in many configurations including :- Universal , Arri Bayonet - Arri Bayonet , Arri PL - Arri PL , Sony - Sony"

—Les Bosher

[b e n t o n]

So using a PL mount would do what to a 35mm Lens?
Would the image be less cropped?

[Dominic Jones]

No, no difference at all - it would just mean you could use cine and still lenses without changing the mount...

[b e n t o n]

Ah Yes Dominic,
Very good / Easy for field

[Paris Remillard]

Hey Ralph, I emailed Les and he quoted me GBP250.00 for a PL-mount for adaptall. It's a conversion that can be done by him or he says it would be easy to guide one through it on their own. For longer Canon FDs Les said,

" With long Canon FD lenses , 300mm F2.8 etc. , we replcae the rear of
the lens where the rotater for portrait/landscape is , & mount the lens
in Universal Mount .
You can then use whatever mount you require , as they are held on with
a lock ring .

However , the conversion costs GBP600.00 , & a PL Universal Mount
GBP240.00 ( These are discounted prices BTW )

50mm etc ., would cost a fortune , as they are a total re - build."

I hope it's okay to post this since it's a personal email. But, hey, it might drum him up some business so it could help everybody in the end. And that's all I'm tryin' to do.

[Walter R]

Hi all,

It has been a while since this thread had any life, so I thought I'd post a few quick notes about a Tamron SP 90mm f/2.5 macro I picked up for about $100 on ebay.

Based on using the Red 18-50 as our main working lens, I was looking for something a little longer for close-ups and also wanted some macro ability (this only goes to 1:2, but that is plenty for us). This lens had pretty good reviews and the possibility of converting it to PL relatively cheaply was an important consideration as well.

Two other considerations were that the focus throw on this lens is over 3/4 of a turn and the focus goes the same direction as cine lenses so we won't get confused when going between the Red lens and this. The only downside is that although the focus barrel doesn't move in and out while focusing, the front of the lens does (although it doesn't rotate) which means we'll need to use a clip on matte box. That said, it came with a great hood and takes 55mm filters which are cheap so wee may not use this particular lens with a mattebox - just leave the rails on to help with hand holding.

And of course the big question is how does it work? Well after firing off a few quick shots with it on my Nikon D80 yesterday (around 6:30pm and overcast) in my back yard, I would have to say I'm very pleased. Sharpness and contrast seem good and the lens handles beautifully. Because of the time of day, I shot everything wide open so I'd expect it to get even better a stop or two down. I think I manually set the iso to 320, but don't remember for sure.

Also, even with the long focus throw to help fine focus adjustments, it was a good reminder of how hard manual focus can be. If DOF is this shallow at 2.5, I don't think I'd ever really want to try to shoot anything that moves with a faster lens. For me, this also was a good warning that I don't want to try focusing a still lens with a short focus throw, unless I'm stopped down to f8 or shooting with a pretty wide angle lens.

The true photographers and lens testers out there may find faults, but this one will work for me.

Two reference samples follow ... just shot to jpgs and nothing done to them besides resizing. I was just worrying about focus so the background for the dog could be better.
http://www.bluelandmedia.com/tamron90mm/dog.jpg

http://www.bluelandmedia.com/tamron90mm/chair.jpg

If you want to see the full-sized images they are up at:
http://www.bluelandmedia.com/tamron90mm

[J. Bernard Vallon]

Evin ranked Tamron at the bottom of his list

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1122&page=4&highlight=tamron

But i've been pretty happy with my tamrons.

[Costelloe Michael]

Guys,

Tamrons are fine if you like them, but you're up against some pretty good glass out there. I much prefer PV Primo's to Zeiss Superspeeds, but for almost every job Cooke's are my favourites. That's a coincidence 'cos rumour has it they are making the lenses for someone a lot closer to home!

For me Glass and Camera is Chicken and Egg! :tongue:

Mike C

PS Les Bosher comes highly recommended in the UK! For conversion he IS the man.

[chuck colburn]

Don't know if this is one of Boshers conversions or not.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-PL-Mounted-Lens-New-Arri-Arriflex_W0QQitemZ260127524775QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4 3479QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Stephen Williams]

Don't know if this is one of Boshers conversions or not.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-PL-Mounted-Lens-New-Arri-Arriflex_W0QQitemZ260127524775QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4 3479QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hi Chuck,

I don't think it's one of Les Boshers conversions.

Stephen

[chuck colburn]

Hi Chuck,

I don't think it's one of Les Boshers conversions.

Stephen

Hi Stephen,

Yeah I think you are probally right. I took a closer look at the photos and I'm wondering about those three plunge cuts that are about to break thru the locating section of the mount itself.

Chuck

[Mick van Rossum, NSC]

Hi Chuck,

I don't think it's one of Les Boshers conversions.

Stephen

No, it's not. I had some bad experiences with adapters from the guys of xl1 productions, Les is different...

Mick van Rossum NSC

[Stephen Williams]

No, it's not. I had some bad experiences with adapters from the guys of xl1 productions, Les is different...

Mick van Rossum NSC

Hi Mick,

I bought some of their $99 adapters, and learnt you get what you pay for!

Stephen