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Shoot-out between Tamron 01A and 52B with 01F converter
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 3:33 pm    Post subject: Shoot-out between Tamron 01A and 52B with 01F converter Reply with quote

Both the Tamron Adaptall 01A 35-80mm /2.8-3.8 and the 052B 90mm 2.5 bear the designation "macro". They have two reproduction ratio scales on the barrel: one for the bare lens, and one for the lens with 2x teleconverter.
The 01A's 35-80mm's reproduction range goes from 1:10 to 1:1.25 without, and from 1:5 to 1:2.5 with teleconverter. For the 90 mm 052B these figures are resp. from 1:10 to 1:2 and from 1:5 to 1:1.
Since I recently picked up the 01F Adaptall teleconverter, it seemed like a logical move to see what the combination of these two lenses + adapter brings.

So I took out both lenses for a morning walk. I took shots at infinity focus, around 5 m, at close quarters (ca. 1 m), and in the close-up / macro range - but not to the full 1:1,25 (01A) or 1:1 (052B) ratio, since focusing that close on a windy day was beyond my capabilities. Most shots were taken more or less against the sun, with the exception of the almost-macro photos. Aperture in most case was 4 to 5,6 - effectively 8 to 11, since the converter gobbles up two stops.

1: 35-80mm 01A with 01F (FL=160 mm) teleconverter at infinity


2: Ditto for the 90mm /2.5 52B (FL=180 mm)


3: 35-80mm 01A with 01F, FL=160 mm focusing distance ca. 5 m


4: 052B 90mm /2.5 with 01F, FL=180mm, focusing distance ca. 5 m


5: 35-80mm 01A + 01F a close quarters (ca. 1m)


6: Ditto for the 90mm 052B + 01F


7: 35-80mm macro 01A plus 01F very close (focusing distance ca. 30 cm, reproduction ratio ca. 1:2


8: 90mm /2.5 52B + 01F in macro (focusing distance ca. 42 cm, reproduction ratio between 1:1 and 1:1.5

My impressions from this exercise ("test" is too big a word) are:

1: The 90mm 2.5 52B fares better a bit better with the 01F then the 35-80mm 01A. Both suffer from substantial loss of contrast, but sharpness at infinity with the 52B is less compromised than with the 01A.

2: The closer you get,the smaller the differences become. At 5 m the 52B with 01F teleconverter is still sharper than the 01A / 01F combo, but thedifference is less pronounced than at infinity.

3: At close quarters, ir becomes hard to see which photo is made with which combo, although there might stillbe asmall advantage for the 52B plus 01F.

4: In the genuine macro range, the difference in reproduction ratio is almost greater than the difference in sharpness an detail rendering. In this range, shooting technique might very well be more important than the quality diffeenrces between the two lens combo's.




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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2017 2:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Based on your photos, I would agree with your conclusions. I own both lenses. The 52A 90mm macro I've owned for over 25 years and it is one of my sharpest lenses and always does a superior job when called upon for macro work. I know less about the 35-80. It's a recent acquisition and I haven't used it much yet. Just yesterday I decided to do some tests on it to see if mine measures up to the fantastic photos I've seen that were taken with this lens. Early indications are that my copy may not be as good as what is typical for this lens. Quite a bit of CA and not very sharp. But I was shooting hand-held, so I've dragged out my big tripod and I'm in the middle of taking a series of shots with it again. Early indications are that, when using my tripod, sharpness has increased a lot.

I'm doing sort of a loose comparison between the Tamron and the Canon nFD 35-105mm f/3.5. I'm thinking the Tamron should out-do the Canon, but we'll see.