Tamron SP 28-135mm on Sigma SD1 Merrill

diddy · Joined: 28 Mar 2012 Posts: 288

Hi,

My latest addition to my shrinking manual lens collection: The Tamron SP 28-135mm.

Summary:
- nice color rendition
- reasonably sharp for an old zoom lens
- solid construction
- compact size for such a long zoom
- adaptall-2 mount
- flare handling quite good even without lens hood on

My impression from the first two days of using this lens is that it is quite good for an old zoom. I was mainly interested in the performance at 28mm and here it delivers good performance. There is softness in the corners visible: This effect seems to be more visible with further away objects than close-by ones. I would even say that it fares quite on bar with some of the better 28mm prime lenses I had in the past. The only other zoom lens of similar range I can compare it to is the Sigma AF 28-105mm f2.8-4 non DG version and at 28mm the Sigma lens is worse. The Sigma lens is about 15 years younger, but not of the EX line.

Another good advantage for Sigma SD1 Merrill users is that this lens does not create green corners like many other non recent Sigma lenses (this is because the Foveon sensor works best with telecentric lenses).

Enough said now, here some non creative testing pics:

drjs · Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Posts: 484 Location: USA

Very nice images! The lens seem to do fairly well under bright sun. Other SP lens tend to have issues with flaring. What are your aperture settings?

diddy · Joined: 28 Mar 2012 Posts: 288

Some more:

diddy · Joined: 28 Mar 2012 Posts: 288

Thanks a lot! I think all of them were shot at f8.

Here a pic taken against the sun (note I didn't focus this one properly, I was just interested to test the flare behaviour of this lens):

This is pretty good flare handling for an old lens.

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

That's a lens that slips under the radar I think, it's a great walkabout focal length. I shall be looking for one of these after seeing these excellent pictures. I'm on a bit of a Tamron kick at the moment as well. Cool

drjs · Joined: 25 Feb 2013 Posts: 484 Location: USA

Lloydy · Expire: 2022-01-01

I sort of know a local photographer that has a huge collection of Tamrons, over 100 lenses I think, and I remember him saying to me a few years ago that if he wanted to sell them it wouldn't be worth the hassle for what he'd get for them. But you're right, they have regained the respect of photographers. At yesterdays camera fair common Tamrons were at the front of the stalls, with high prices on them.

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

Good results..and I'll always disagree with members who say "old zooms are crap" as I've proved to myself (on a film camera) that I can't see the difference from my favourite zoom bought for £4 to a CZJ Sonnar prime both at 135mm.... ON a computer screen or 8X10 print.
......and have compared a zoom at 28mm with decent consumer 28mm primes and also can't see the difference either (on a computer screen).
...... and even took a test shot of a brick wall comparing a consumer 28mm with a Pentax 24mm-35mm (at 28mm) and if there was distortion I couldn't see the difference.
.......and even taken test shots of my prime 200mm lenses and my favourite zoom at 200mm and the primes do win when the crop is equivalent of a 6ft wide poster.....well would accept the zoom would be beaten long before then Wink

So if anyone is just going to take shots and just post them here at 1000px, they are going to have to use Orio's expensive lenses to beat a very good old zoom at its "sweet spot" to show the difference and it would probably be for more 3d effect (pop).

Oldhand · Posted: Wed May 01, 2013 7:45 am Post subject:

Excalibur · Expire: 2014-04-21

ljherrero · Joined: 25 Jun 2014 Posts: 30 Location: Madrid (EspaÃ±a)

Hi,

Wear time researching and looking for ways to correct the problem of "green corners" presented at the Sigma SD1 camera to use with old lenses; I posted a listing on https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B84jes-9EdQyeDRFS1k1VnZSYTg/edit?usp=sharing several Adaptall mount lenses and M42 with differing severity-in my experience-mentioned problem of .

Specifically, the Tamron SP 28-135 is one that presents the problem in an atypical way: instead of "green corners" has to "magenta corners" (with green in the middle), and only in the large-angle (28-35) of its focal stroke. I have resorted to limiting the exit pupil 25mm (30mm. Having) and the problem seems to have alleviated almost nothing.

I would like to contrast my experience with someone to try it.

Sorry my bad English (Google translator is to blame Wink

)

regards,

Luis

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

apologize for being a tad negative here, but am i the only one who finds the sky color distinctively purple-hued and not natural looking?