| Author: | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2009 Posts: 25 | | Review Date: April 12, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | size, weight, build, price | | Cons: | not much, falls behind A103 on sharpness and accurate focus | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-50
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I wasn't even looking to buy this lens since I am more than happy with a good copy of the 103A 80-210mm. I was looking for a good price on the PK-A mount and found this combo for less than the single item. So this lens was actually a gift.
It is a well made lens, small, elegant with 49mm filter size and light. Focusing ring is not as stiff as the 103A, sharpness is adequate for web photos, bokeh is creamy. I must say that the DAL 50-200mm is sharper at 7.1.
I do not even know why i like it, maybe I am attached to the MF era.
Some photos from the 1st shooting, all SOOC except the pasta plate 
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update May 2017
Lr 6.10
 | | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892 | | Review Date: November 6, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $24.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | No zoom creep, interchangable mount facility | | Cons: | No as sharp at wide apertures compared to Pentax 75-150mm | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5
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I bought this on an auction, complete with P-K.M. adapter, case and pristine original box and leaflets. I can only surmise that the owner had bought it new. The price on the box still was £104.45 (+mount)
The lens is in lovely condition, has no zoom creep and the distance scale encompasses much of the circumference so it is easy to use. The lens needs very little effort to zoom and focus.
Having a Pentax-M 75-150mm already (in much used condition) I thought I might compare them so a few images were taken at both ends of the focal length this morning. I used green button metering on both.
My findings were that;
The Pentax-M 75-150mm was preferred for the sharper images it took.
The Tamron 70-150mm was a little faster (judging by shutter speed recorded) than the Pentax at F:4 with both F:3.5 and F:4 providing the same shutter speed! Maybe this is why it might be regarded as an F:4 lens.
The Tamron 70-150mm images were not as sharp and suffered more purple fringing in the range of F:3.5-F:8
However, I felt that the viewfinder might have been brighter with the Tamron.
(I also took the same images with the Tamron SP 70-210mm F:3.5 (with a PK-A adapter) at approximately 150mm and found the images were also better than the Tamron 70-150mm.)
While I recommend this lens, it is mainly due to the price I paid and the likelihood of other buyers being able to get one at around this price.
The Pentax 75-150mm appears to be a better lens.
The Tamron SP 70-210mm F3.5 is better too.
Update October 2020.
I purchased two Tamron adaptall lenses for $16 complete with Pentax mounts (not PK-A unfortunately), so I will call this $8, bargain! It is a 20AB model so the focus ring turns the opposite to the 20A. Not much available on the WWWeb including the Tamron adaptall site but it seems to have the same optics as the 20A.
1
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 28, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact and light, even though it is all metal and glass. | | Cons: | All the drawbacks of a manual zoom; manual focus, IS updating, green button metering | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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This lens replaced the 02A, which was itself a facelift for the QZ-150M, in the Adaptall Lens range. Compared to the older lenses (whose behaviour I find to be indistinguishable):
- It weighs a quarter less than the 02A (which is itself similar in size and weight to the 46A 70-210mm f3.8-4).
- It is 25mm shorter (about the same length as the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4)
- It is a one touch zoom rather than two, and doesn't have a Macro button; instead, it continuously focuses into Macro mode. My copy has no zoom creep. The focus feels 'light' compared with the 02A (and the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4) but it is positive, and doesn't seem out of place given the 20A's dinky-ness.
- It is slower (more like f4 than f3.5).
- It does not go as wide (it is closer to the 75 mm of the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4 than the 70mm of the 02A or the 46A)
- It does not go as long (it is very close to the 150 mm of the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4, but the 02A goes longer).
- Wide open, it is no sharper than the 02A, and thus not as good as the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4.
- Stopped down, it is able to match the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4 for sharpness at f8.
- Contrast wide open is a little better than the 02A, but is much better than the 02A when both are stopped down to f8. It still isn't as good as the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4, though.
However, I feel the 20A is better than that bald list might have you believe. I find I usually prefer otherwise identical pictures taken with the 20A to versions taken with the 02A, and sometimes I prefer the pictures taken with the 20A to those taken with the Pentax-M 75-150mm f4, even though it never surpasses the Pentax for sharpness, or matches it for contrast. Although the 02A is faster than either, I do not find the advantage that the 02A has of almost half a stop at the short end that useful.
So a solid 8 for the 20A.
| | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: January, 2008 Location: Paris, TN Posts: 3,350
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 1, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $78.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | compact, useful field range for FL and close-up | | Cons: | only 2X zoom range | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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If you have reason to use the Adaptall mount's flexibility and don't mind manual focus lenses, this is a good choice for a field lens in the moderate FL range.
I'd add the following to the comments above:
A pleasure to use as a utility nature-walk lens. Compact in size, reasonably fast when used with DSLR ISOs, and works well with the Tamron 140 or Pz-AF 1.4x converter.
Minor PF in high contrast situations but it's easily corrected and unlikely to be used in those circumstances anyway -it's not a "birding" lens.
I have a feeling this would be an excellent substitute for the rare Soft SP 70-150 version if used with a mild soft-effect filter for medium long portraits and it seems more available and cheaper on the used market.
Used with due consideration for lighting and with a 20-24mm extension ring, it comes close to the 90mm macro lenses for nature close-ups.
It makes a compact kit when paired with the SP 35-80, lacking only a UWA lens for all around utility, and it's nearly half the bulk of the SP 70-210 (19AH) or other 70-300 mm lenses. This lens plus a 1.4X TC, the SP 35-80 and a *istDS or DL are about as tidy a kit as you can carry for the FL coverage and it's a pleasure to use. Has an integral hood.
IMO, optically it gives up nothing (except AF) to all but one of the DA 50-200's I've used, however, I do tend to up the contrast and saturation a bit when using it.
H2
Edit: I recently had the opportunity to compare shots between the 20A and 19AH.
Used as a nature walk lens there was no practical difference in the results. Focusing precision and exposure judgement was the deciding factor in preferring one image over another.
What WAS very noticeable was convenience and handling. The 20A is half the weight, 2/3 the length, has an integral hood and uses 49mm filters versus the 62mm filters of the 19AH. A real pleasure to carry and use when directly compared to the larger lenses.
As for 'macro' capability the 20A offers 1:1.3 at 27" vs the 19AH's 1:1.26 at 33" - a negligible difference in practice and easily fixed with a 12mm extension ring if needed.
With either of the Tamron 1.4x TCs to push the FL or tighten the close-up range I feel the 20A is a competitive alternative to the 70-210 class zooms for a mid-range tele lens and nicely covers the common 90-135mm FL range of primes for nature walks.
The 20A is one of those Adaptall-2 lenses that lacks only the ED glass elements and F 2.8 used in many SP lenses (but not the 19AH) to warrant the upgraded SP classification.
H2
| | | | | | | Inactive Account Registered: June, 2009 Location: Santa Cruz Mountains Posts: 53 | | Review Date: July 11, 2009 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Compact and low cost | | Cons: | not super sharp or extra fast | |
This is a real nice budget lens. Not deluxe but somehow I find the real glass/real metal lenses of this era just a bit nicer than many of the light/all auto/ultra wide range items made since.
What's most obvious is...it is small,it's no bigger than my Pentax 100 Macro or my m42 SMC 135 Tak. It...like any adaptall..can mount to MANY bodies. To me..a big +.
I've hung onto it because it can be a great "expedition" lens. For a hiking trip,landscape/seascape,I may mostly want 35 mm,50 mm, but this adds the mild tele range and little bulk.
I won't claim this competes with a newer $300 lens,but it certainly has merit..or I'd have sold mine already
| | | | | Otis Memorial Pentaxian Registered: March, 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Posts: 42,007
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 25, 2008 | Recommended | Price: $159.95
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Compact, relatively light (for the time), good optical performance, all-metal construction, close-focus ability, adaptall-2 mount | | Cons: | PK/A Adaptall mount is hard to come by, not an SP series lens, filter ring rotates when focusing | |
I purchased this lens new in 1982 and it has been in my working kit ever since. Since my intent was to use it for outdoor photography in the back-country, size and weight were a top concern. This lens was by far the smallest amd lightest moderate tele-zoom at the time. The 1:3 close-focus capability was another plus point for flower shots. While the general performance is a little soft wide-open, the lens is quite sharp at f/5.6 - f/16. Bokeh is pleasing from my perspective.
Mechanically, this lens represents the old-school approach. Construction is all metal with all-glass elements. The one-touch zoom and focus mechanism is smooth and well-dampened and there is no zoom "creep" when the lens is pointed downward. It is interesting to note that focus is continuous at all focal lengths from infinity to the "macro" range. There is no need for a macro button or switch. Close-focus magnification ranges from 1:6 at 70mm to 1:3 at 150mm. The Tamron BBAR mult-coating is effective at reducing flare, but is not equivalent to that on the SMC Pentax lenses.
The only truly negative point I can express is related to the current scarcity of PK/A Adaptall-2 mounts. The Adaptall-2 Pentax K/M mount will work, but exposure readings may be inaccurate on the Kx0D bodies.
K10D, Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite National Park
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