Hin's Photo Corner

I was having a bad day in photos as I have mounted a Tamron 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 adaptall-2 (104a), a cheapo zoom, and I naively mounted the Tamron 2x TC adaptall-2 (01f) on it while hiking in the weekend. The combo is an absolute DOG in shooting birds due to slow speed, lost of light with little contrast, and CA is apparent everywhere.

I was supposed to try out the 2x cheapo 150-500mm zoom on birds and all birds were not close enough but rather way out in the sea. And the sunset with low clouds lured me to try sky shots instead. But the rig at hand was not matching for landscape shots. I should have dismounted the TC to shoot at 75mm to 135mm with the zoom. A big mistakes on my part as the scene is much more dramatic than I shot at. In some of the shooting, I changed to BW with Infrared filter in Pentax K-x to hide the CA/PF.

I noted the sunset with spectacular sun rays streaming through the low clouds in the stormy weekend weather. In keeping pace with my family, I only managed to take few shots and not having time for the proper setup. I shot all in the shortest focal length in 150mm.










Sometime, life presents me those precious moments that I am not prepared for. In hindsight, I should have brought in another lens and TC back home.


Notes

• The zoom lens does fine to outstanding without TC. With the Tamron 01F 2x TC mounted, it is quite poor in CA/purple fringing especially in the long end.
  
• The combo is pretty much hand-holdable but very difficult to get focus on moving objects. I changed from AF-A to AF-C to by-pass the catch-in focus and it is still difficult to handle as I can't have quickness and precision at the same time.
  
• Contrast is poor in the combo, maybe something wrong with the 2x TC.
  
• I should have tried Pentax-F 1.7x TC at another time

Related:

• Tamron 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 adaptall-2 (104A) and K-x
• Pentax K-x White
• Tamron 2x TC adaptall-2 (01F)
• Purple Fringing Keeps Coming (mostly Tamron)
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

I have way too many zoom lens and I am picking some of my zooms and decide which one to keep and the lesser candidates to go. The problem that I have is that I am cheapo getting various < $100 lens and I am not picky and I actually like most of them as if they will turn diamond some day. It is a shame that I fall in love with my gear so easily

Though the hassle with the extra Tamron adaptall-2 P/KA adapter to mount, I like quality of many of the adaptall-2 SP zoom lens and primes. One cheapo zoom that that I like to share with you is Tamron 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 adaptall-2 104A. It is not a relatively small lens if you consider the extra reach 250mm. And in terms of weight, it is very similar and perhaps lighter when compared to other 70-210mm zooms. Filter size is 62mm and it is easy to hand-hold the lens.

Impressions & Notes

• It is difficult for me to trim this zoom as it is quite sharp and with good color
• The zoom starts out at 250mm end and zoom to 75mm and I like it starting at a zoom position that I use more often.
• Sharpness seem better at 200mm than 250mm
• PF is unfortunately found in shots with contrasty area. Not as bad as the Tamron 70-300mm Di LD macro
• Absolutely no zoom creep
• Bokeh is quite decent with the zoom.
  
• Focusing ring a joy to use for quick and precise manual focusing
  
• Internal lens hood is nice but not deep enough to be effective.
  
• Easy to obtain focus in Pentax K-x
• Works well with Tamron adaptall-2 PK/A adapter but I observe more PF/CA in the long end when 01F 2x TC is mounted.
  

Related:

• Tamron SP 35-80mm f/2.8-3.8 adaptall-2 01A
• Tamron 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 adaptall-2 104A
• Tamron adaptall-2 P/KA adapter
• Tamron SP 70-210mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 19AH
• Tamron SP 80-200mm f/2.8 adaptall-2 30A
• Hin's Camera Gear
  

What attracts me to try out this adaptall-2 lens with 104A that is a non-SP version of adaptall-2 lenses is the extra focal range that goes to 250mm and the lighter weight. I can't yet figure out as part of the lens barrel is made of plastic though the material is of heavy duty and I still feel strongly that the Tamron adaptall-2 lens is of unusual build quality that are up in par with the other SP adaptall-2 lens that I have a chance to try out. The lens surprises me with positive impressions as it is not well talked about in adaptall-2.org site and which noted it as above average performer. Specifically, I get lured into this with the comment about its lightweight. Speed is quite good in the range of f/3.8 to f/4.5. And guess what, it closely resemble the range in Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4.0 and it is not too far off in the speed.

Its close focus ratio is 1:3.4 which comes in handy for this zoom. When combined with Tamron SP 01F 2x Teleconverter, it can reach 1:1.7 in magnification ratio in minimum focusing distance of 1.2m or 4 feet. I like the lens starting from 250mm in the push-pull one touch zoom design that goes from 250mm to 75mm and it goes with clear scale of zoom position in 75mm, 90mm, 105mm, 135mm, 180mm and 250mm. All happen to be the critical focal point that will work well with the SR focal length setup on my Pentax K20D.














Initial Impressions & Notes

• Too early to draw conclusions but I am very impressed in its lightweight and wide open aperture performance
• Ease of use and the extra reach to 250mm gets the most attention from me especially when its speed is so close to Pentax DA* 60-250mm f/4.0.
• As said, speed in f/3.8 -4.5 is plenty for this zoom
• I have not tested its close up in 1:3.4 magnification setting
• I find it a charming lens to use in panning car movement at night as it is lightweight and its Tamron adaptall-2 focusing ring wins my heart again in manual focusing that is precise, smooth and allow fast focusing in reaction to scene -- top notch in manual focusing
• Use with 2x adapter does has the problem in losing too much light making it difficult to obtain focus at night. I will re-test the use of 01F TC in day time to draw conclusion
• 500mm test pictures with 01F 2x TC are reasonable but heavy cropping from 250mm test shots yield about similar and close results. I don't have trained eyes to see the advantage. But one thing is for sure, with the 2x TC mounted, you feel more excited in taking the pictures of the moon filling the frame way better than without the TC mounted
• A value lens for sure to be paid attention. My copy is in mint condition.

Related

• Pentax K-x and Tamron 104A
  
• Tamron 104A with Pentax K-x On Clouds and Sun Rays
  
• All adaptall-2 related articles
• Tamron SP 70-210mm f/3.5 adaptall-2 19AH in Gilroy Garden
• Tamron SP 80-200mm f/2.8 adaptall-2 30A
  
• Tamron adaptall-2 p/ka adapter
• Hin's Camera Gear