Tamron SP F8/500 model 55b

[mo]

Cat portrait...early morning sun,a very little contrast boost and adjusting down the brightness level a tiny amount.Taken while standing on a chair..

#1

[Attila]

Excellent!!

[DigiChromeEd]

Great shot!

[Minolfan]

Must be you like cats!

[mo]

[martinsmith99]

Nice. How far away were you for that shot?

[mo]

About 2 meters, 1.7 is the shortest distance it will cover..

[Olivier]

Some samples to show the qualities of this lens.

- Candle Light


- Twin Flowers


- Gimme Shelter...


- Light my Fire


- On Target


- Wild Cat strike


- Red ridin hood


- Pelican

[Jesito]

Thanks Mo and Olivier for sharing those nice samples. From the Oliver's set, my fav is the pelican one, it shows a nice sharpness, difficult to achieve.

From the two versions (55B and 55BB) I read somewhere that the more recent (55bb) was slightly modified by Tamron to be more accurate on macro and shorter distances, but the old one (55b) was finer on farther shots.
Anyway and according to your samples, the old one seems to be good enough in closeups.

I own a 55B and had the opportunity of swapping it by a 55BB and finally I kept the older 55b.
Your shots make me happy with such a decission

Regards,
Jes.

[Olivier]

Thank you Jes.

From adaptall-2.org, here what they say about the 55BB
Tamron SP 500mm F/8 Mirror Model 55BB: This later version SP 500mm F/8, introduced in 1983, is an optically revised version of the original model 55B lens first introduced in 1979. The major optical design change is the switch to a constant thickness meniscus main mirror in order to reduce close focusing spherical aberration. The change in the main mirror design also necessitated changes for the two smallest lenses located within the middle of the optical design. This model 55BB also discards the earlier model's detachable tripod mount and the set of four filters for B&W photography. The later model 55BB is also readily distinguished from the original model by its diamond knurled rubber focus grip and the lack of the locking screw used on the earlier model 55B's built-in rotating tripod mount ring. Thus this lens does not feature any built-in tripod mount whereas the original lens featured a detachable tripod mount.
I enjoy having the built-in hood on the 55B. I always use it. It's also an advantage to have the built-in tripod mount.
I have to stress that all above photos have been taken hand held.

Links to adaptall-2.org :
55B : http://www.adaptall-2.org/lenses/55B.html
55BB : http://www.adaptall-2.org/lenses/55BB.html

[shaky]

Here's one of the better photos I've managed with this lens (if you can see it) � a neighbour's cat lying on a shed overlooking my garden, about 25 feet �7.6m away... This lens can produce good results with the right conditions/situation and subject. Photo was taken with a pentax k5 dslr handheld, leaning tightly against a window frame, iso 200 at 1/250. Raw format, sharpened slightly in Photoshop CS5.

[Olivier]

[shaky]

Many thanks for your welcome and posting advice, Olivier.
Here's one of the better photos I've managed with this lens – a neighbour's cat lying on a shed overlooking my garden, about 25 feet (7.6m) away... This lens can produce good results with the right conditions/situation and subject. Photo was taken with a pentax k5 dslr handheld, leaning tightly against a window frame, iso 200 at 1/250. Raw format, sharpened slightly in Photoshop CS5.

[Olivier]

Yes, it shows remarkably its very good image qualities.

And mine is very easy to operate with a very smooth focusing ring. On the 5D MkII with its large and clear viewfinder, it is really great.

[Jesito]

Great sample!
This Tamron seems to be adequate for feline shooting
Jes.

[shaky]

You said it Jes. What better to photograph a cat with than a 'cat' lens?

[Orio]

The lens is really cat suited

[shaky]

Took the cat lens out yesterday to see whether it can acquit itself well with subjects other than cats.

Pictures of demoiselle gives an idea of this lens's close focus ability and image quality – the full frame and a crop. Insect was about 7.5 to 8 feet away over water.

The berries picture shows an interesting application of the donut bokeh.

And finally, a stag showing how 'close' you can get from a reasonable distance.

[Olivier]

Thank you Shaky.
What is your camera and what were your iso settings ?
It seems there's quite a lot of noise.

[fuzzywuzzy]

[Olivier]

Thank you Fuzzy.
I'm using IE9.
I have installed Kuso exif viewer but it says that activeX components can't create an object (???)

[shaky]

You got it right fuzzywuzzy. Thanks.

All photos were handheld, hence the high iso settings to enable higher shutter speeds.

I made no attempt to reduce noise in pp and think the close-up ability is quite good for a 500mm cat.

[Olivier]

Yes, close-up abilities are very interesting and this lens is compatible with the doubler 01F, wich increases macro a lot... but tripod is absolutely needed.

Picture taken with Tamron SP 500 F8 (55B) + Tamron 01F doubler, mounted on 5D MkII



Another one, without the doubler

[bhargav]

Wow that's really a sharp lens for a 500mm mirror. Nice cat portraits and wildlife shots!

[Oldhand]

Close up: