How much is a Adaptall-2 Tamron 135/2.5 worth?

[martinsmith99]

I have a chance to buy one with an OM mount on for 40GBP.

I've got 2 decent 135s already and I am wondering how well these perform wide open.

[ManualFocus-G]

I stuck one on ebay recently and it went for £70.00

Personally, I feel it's a decent lens but a touch overhyped. But it's easy to adapt to all DSLRs, including Nikon, so I suppose it is very useful in that sense.

Here's a few samples:









Maybe it's sharp at infinity? Must take it out sometime and find out...

[ManualFocus-G]

Ah, they were at f4 though

[cooltouch]

Hrm . . . Adaptall-2.com claims it has "good but not spectacular" optical performance, but does not list any of the Modern Photography test charts for it the way they often do.

Given that there are many 135/2.8s around, and that this ~1/2 stop is fairly insignificant in almost all cases, I wouldn't want to pay much more than 40 euros for it. And if you don't need the Oly mount, you can sell it and recoup probably 10 euros, maybe even a bit more.

Hey Shrek, that last photo (and its crop) was taken at f/4? A lot of blurry bokeh for f/4 it seems to me. Regardless, its bokeh do look quite nice to me, so even if the lens isn't a tack-sharp optic, it might very well be a nice lens for portraiture.

Also, I guess I'm a little surprised by the amount of CA I'm seeing in the crop of #1, especially at f/4. Adaptall-2.com states, "Off-axis coma is minimized by using a high refractive index lens element." Well, I don't think I'm seeing off-axis coma, but it appears that they neglected correcting for other forms of CA.

I'm a big fan of Tamron. I own several Tamron Adaptall-2 lenses, and I plan to acquire more. But I don't know if I would be all that eager to acquire this particular lens. I'd rather spend the extra bucks and get a Nikkor 135mm f/2.8, my personal favorite.

[martinsmith99]

Thanks for the info. I'll avoid it then and stick with my CZJ & Bokeh monster.

[LucisPictor]

I like my copy a lot. The additional stop (comp. to an f3.5 lens) might be useful sometimes.
It's pretty sharp at f/4 and has a nice bokeh.

[ManualFocus-G]

Actually, I had to do a double take with that photo as the OOF highlights looked quite round. So I checked the lens and it has quite a round shape still at f4, there's quite a few blades there.

Many people seem to have a good regard for it, so maybe I should try it again. Martin - if you bought it for £40.00 and didn't like it, you could easily sell it back on ebay and probably make a few quid in the process

[martinsmith99]

Well I guess it has to be worth a try

[Attila]

Good as any low priced 135mm lens.