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Tamron Adaptall-2 135mm 2.5 and 200mm 3.5 (03B and 04B)
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 9:09 pm    Post subject: Tamron Adaptall-2 135mm 2.5 and 200mm 3.5 (03B and 04B) Reply with quote

Cut through I found in a manual (in French)

03B by The lens profile, on Flickr

04B by The lens profile, on Flickr

May come in handy if someone ever wants to open them up. You can see the dual focus helicoid in the 200mm. The rear element of the 135m doesn't look to do much. Almost flat.


PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 12:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you.
I am sure that these will be useful
Tom


PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the 04B, it's a very nice lens.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 6:42 am    Post subject: Re: Tamron Adaptall-2 135mm 2.5 and 200mm 3.5 (03B and 04B) Reply with quote

Thanks for sharing the diagrams, D1N0.

Tamron labelled both the 03B and 04B lenses as "Close Focus". I'd agree that the 135mm 03B with a minimum focus distance of 1.2m is a close focuser. But the 200mm 04B with a MFD of 1.7m strikes me as being okay, but not really "close". I guess I've been spoiled by the excellent 1.2m MFD of the Vivitar Series 1 200mm.

Anyway, I was interested when I found an item in an old issue of Popular Photography magazine (U.S.) about the announcement of an "SP" 200 f/3.5.
From the June, 1978 Pop Photo, here are some excerpts from a report on the April, 1978 Photo Marketing Association show in Chicago:


#1



A 94cm MFD? Now that's what I'd call Close Focus! That SP 200 sounds entirely different from the 04B http://www.adaptall-2.com/lenses/04B.html
I wonder if the SP 200 was ever produced..?




D1N0 wrote:
. . .
The rear element of the 135m doesn't look to do much. Almost flat.


Since I have too much spare time, I took the rear element out of my 03B 135mm to see what difference it would make. Smile
The answer is: That little piece of glass makes a big difference!

With the rear element out, focus went far beyond infinity and magnification increased significantly. I had to add several extension tubes to get near the original MFD of 1.2m. And with the added extension, maximum focus distance was about 1.6m.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 12:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info! I think Tamron may have concluded there wasn't a market for a SP 200mm because of the rise of zooms and they made the SP 70-210mm 1:3.5 (19AH) instead. (focuses up to .85m 1:2.8 magnification). I find that most 200mm's were simple designs aimed at mass market customers. So an expensive SP version may not have fared very well. I don't think the Vivitar 200mm 3.0 sold very well. I didn't know about until I stumbled over one and snapped it up. Both lenses (Viv S1 and 19AH) are pretty glowy wide open in sunny conditions.

Tamron called the 04B close focus because most cheaper 200mm lenses at the time had a CFD of 2.5m or so it says in the manual.


PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2020 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

D1N0 wrote:
Thanks for the info! I think Tamron may have concluded there wasn't a market for a SP 200mm because of the rise of zooms and they made the SP 70-210mm 1:3.5 (19AH) instead...


You're welcome. And I agree with the points you made, alas.
Zooms are wonderfully convenient, but apart from a couple I really like, they don't appeal to me the way primes do.

One of my lens fantasies is to have Samyang make a fast 200mm with the same build as the original Vivitar Series 1 200, but with modern, low aberration optics.
Dream on! Wink


PostPosted: Thu May 21, 2020 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just got a second copy of this lens. The first one didn't impress me too much as I was disappointed with the term "close focus". The minumum focus distance is always labeled 1.2m. So I didn't really try many test shots. This second copy, I had more time working on it. The actual minumum focus distance is more like 0.9m, as seen from the following photo. The center of the DOF scale is actually past 1.2m (smaller).



It is quite sharp at f2.5. The things that impress me are the vivid color and contrast. It also has some 3D pop effect. Definitely a lens that lives up to its reputation. I shall make a comparion between this lens and the Vivitar series 1 135mm f/2.3 some day.




#1


#2


#3


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vivaldibow wrote:
The actual minumum focus distance is more like 0.9m, as seen from the following photo. The center of the DOF scale is actually past 1.2m (smaller).



A lens distance scale is logarithmic so that little space is likely the difference between 1,2 en 1,19


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

D1N0 wrote:
A lens distance scale is logarithmic so that little space is likely the difference between 1,2 en 1,19


Ah, you are right! I don't know what I was thinking. Before I posted it, I actually tried focusing between 1.2m to the center of the DOF scale mark, the lens barrel only extends a little bit. No way it was 0.3m.

Since it is 1.2m, it could still be justified as most 135mm focus at 1.5m?


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1.2 is nice. It increases the versatility of the lens. I checked out my 135mm lenses. The Takumar Bayonet 135mm 1:2.5 goes to 1.2 as well and the Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 (Zebra version) goes to 1 meter.


PostPosted: Fri May 22, 2020 4:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

D1N0 wrote:
1.2 is nice. It increases the versatility of the lens. I checked out my 135mm lenses. The Takumar Bayonet 135mm 1:2.5 goes to 1.2 as well and the Carl Zeiss Jena 135mm 1:3.5 (Zebra version) goes to 1 meter.


My 135mms are all in some boxes and I can't check right now. I remember vivitar 135mm/2.3 goes to 0.9m. That is why initially I wonder why this Tamron is called CF or Close Focus. When I got my first copy, I was trying to see if there is any switch or anything that can even extend the lens barrel. I was expecting a similar lens as Vivitar 135mm f/2.8 Close Focusing lens. Anyway, it is still a very decent performer. I especially like the color and contrast.