Tamron 300mm F5.6 670Au

[ramcewan]

Hello kind folks,

I just purchased on fleebay a Tamron 300mm F5.6 which I believe to be the 670Au model. I literally just purchased it so I have don't have it yet

I purchased this in large part after reading the informative posts on this site about this tamron lens. I plan to use the lens on my micro four thirds olympus e-PL2 primarily on a tripod or stationary on bean bags to take wildlife photos. I have a 45-200mm zoom now and finding it is just not long enough so i wanted a 300 and saw this as a good place to start.

So my first question - the lens is coming with a m42 mount - as i understand the adaptamatic system the m42 mount can be removed. So I am wondering if I should keep the m42 mount and get an m42 to mft adapter?
or should I take the m42 mount off and get a adaptall to mft adapter?

would the adapters for adaptall II even work with the adaptamatic?
seems like the m42 adapter might have some resale value?

Thanks in advance and can't wait to share some shots

[Himself]

Welcome aboard!
Tamron 300mm F5.6 670Au is not a very sought after lens. Prone to CA. Very prone. As a rule all Tamrons are prone to CA. Even the SP ones.
Since it's coming with M42 mount buy a M42 to mft adapter.
If the mount it's an original M42 Tamron it worths more than the lens itself.
I think Orio sold one here with something around $50.

[Ymmot]

Though I would have to see a photo of the lens mount, if it is an adaptamatic, there is probably no adaptamatic to mft adapter.
So then the m42 to mft adapter is the one you need to have.

There is however some sort of transitional version that looks very much like the 670Au comes with an adaptall mount, for which (probably) you can get an mft adapter.
you probably found the tread that discussed this version in silver.

My standards may be less high than others, however I dont really share the oppinion that all Tamrons are CA prone, which is quite a bit of overgeneralisation in my view.
He is however more or less right about this lens, I found it difficult to focus and (possibly because of misfocussing on my part) a lot of images showed significant red CA. I also found the rendering gave a bit of a 'vintage' look, it has quite warm colors and is not super sharp.
I am however more of a close up / close focus kind of guy, so I havent really used the lens for a lot of distant subjects, so maybe you will have more succes with this. I would love to see what you can do with it.
However even though it is not my favorite lens, I still cant let it go somehow as the finish feels really nice on mine, it is a very well made lens.

[ramcewan]

Ymmot and Himself,

Thank you for your quick replies. I was aware that this was not the most desirable of the tamron 300mms but it was the one I could find. Luckily I got it for $68 USD which is not a bad investment given I can probably resell it for close to that if I don't like it.

As I stated in my opening post my primary use is for wildlife mounted on a tripod or monopod. Things like fixing focus on a bird feeder and then remote triggering when birds show up. CA I can probably live with given post processing capabilities.

I would be interested to hear other recommendations for a tripod collared 300mm budget lens. Tops on my list is the konica hexanon AR. I have read many mixed reviews on the Olympus OM mount 300 so I am not sure I would grab one if I could. I have seen many people say the Tair 300mm is excellent but the price seems to match except for rough examples or Kiev 88 mount versions. I see a Tair-3 for $55 on ebay but it is full of dust and I am not a lens repair person. Not sure how the Kiev 88 would work out with two adapters required.

[ramcewan]

well I just scored a second 300mm tamron f5.6, the ct-300 model, at a super low price. It should be interesting comparing the two. I've seen decent pictures from both lenses so it will be interesting to see which if any I like better. Still keeping a look out for the sp version, one was up but had fungus and that is really beyond my skill set to fix or gambling level of comfort to buy and get fixed.

[ramcewan]

what I believe to be the tamron adapt-a-matic 670Au model arrived today in pristine condition with it's original leather case in still like new condition. For some reason I was expecting it to be bigger and heavier - seems pretty manageable - my goal is still to use it with a tripod or monopod primarily but I could see hand-holding if I had something to brace against.

I don't have the m42 -> m43 adapter yet so I couldn't try it out but here are some pictures of the mount. It was easily taken off by unscrewing the silver knurled ring. Can someone identify if this is the original adapt-a-matic mount?


Adapt-a-matic? by ramcewan, on Flickr

and the aperture selector. There is also a black switch visible in this picture with M or A settings which I am assuming is for the aperature?


Tamron 300mm 670Au? by ramcewan, on Flickr

Anyways I am pretty sure from what I have read that this is the 670Au but would love expert confirmation. Hopefully my adapters will arrive for the weekend so that I can get some pictures taken with this lens.

[mo]

It certainly looks like an adaptamatic mount. I have the 135/2.8 Auto Tamron.The M/A is for Manual or Automatic setting of the Aperture.

[martinsmith99]

If it's a good as the Adaptall 2 version, I'm sure that you'll like it. CA is bad wide open though.

[declan]

I also plan to sell my zoom 65-200 and look after prime fix 300/350/400mm, prefered pentax pk mount. Any idea?

Thanks