| Review of: Tokina 28-70mm F2.8-4.3 by piledon on Tue October 21, 2014 | Rating: 10 | View more reviews | |
Views: 55302
Reviews: 9
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A great lens and dirt cheap. I really don't use it as often as I should. It is extremely sharp. Sometimes the color rendition is not as great as it could be.
Here's my set dedicated to this lens on Flickr.
By the way, the $40 cost was including the also very good Tokina RMC doubler.
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| Review of: Tamron SP AF Di II 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 by piledon on Sun September 8, 2013 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 107397
Reviews: 18
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I've never had an extreme wide angle lens before so learning the capabilities of this lens and how to use it has been exciting. It brings a whole new range of potential to my photography. I certainly think this is a fine lens and, honestly, see no significant downsides to it. yes, focus is a bit difficult at times but that's just due to the significant DOF even wide open (and having that additional speed at f/3.5 is welcome).
I have put this lens on my PZ-1p as well, and, despite the fact that it is designed for an APS-C-sized sensor, you can certainly make it work on a full-frame Pentax (just biding my time here ...). You'd have to crop the resulting image but the 180 degree image capability is incredible (I don't have any images yet as I haven't run a roll through the PZ-1p recently).
See my Flickr set here.
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| Review of: Tamron Adaptall-2 SP (52B/52BB) 90mm F2.5 by piledon on Sat July 21, 2012 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 196473
Reviews: 36
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So this lens is incredibly sharp. I've only recently acquired it but I've used it alone (mostly), with tubes, and with the 01F 2x teleconverter (which cost another $30). I agree that it achieves optimal sharpness between f4 and f11. The build is great, but the PK/A adapter does have a bit of funk associated with it such that you have to wiggle it at times to get the aperture reading in Av mode (it's the adapter's problem; not the lens - keeping the adapter contacts clean is a big help here).
Color rendition is incredible.
The sensor reflection problem is real and is exacerbated when you point the lens into a backlit scene. This is why I give it low marks for aberrations (but it wasn't designed for use with DSLRs, so you can't fault Tamron). See below for a typical problem, as well as a serious problem caused by long exposure time. If you work around this, i.e. don't use the lens with a digital SLR for this type of photography, it's an awesome lens for the money. It's primary purpose is for macros so just use it for that! :D
The lens, particularly with the 01F teleconverter, is extremely heavy. Here are some shots:
1. With extension tubes (dandelion):
 Model for Death Star by zot0 (too busy), on Flickr
2. By itself:
 Bugs and Buds by zot0 (too busy), on Flickr
3. With 01F Teleconverter (and flash):
 Che-er-ry, Cherry Macro by zot0 (too busy), on Flickr
4. Subtle sensor reflection - note the purple in the middle of the rose (but otherwise note the beautiful color rendition):
 Ramble On Rose by zot0 (too busy), on Flickr
5. Extreme sensor reflection, long exposure:
 Extreme example of Tamron SP 90mm (52B) Sensor Reflection problem by zot0 (too busy), on Flickr
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| Review of: Tamron Adaptall ( Chinon ) (CT-200) 200mm F3.5 by piledon on Tue March 6, 2012 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 48613
Reviews: 4
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I was looking for a fast, sharp telephoto and I stumbled on this. It's, of course, wholly manual, which is fine with me - that's what I grew up with! Quite sharp even wide open, but at f8 it is unbelievable. Color is excellent as well. Some slight fringing at f3.5 but it's gone within another stop. Focus takes some getting used to; it's probably easier on a film camera (which I'll have to test it with) but it just takes a little patience.
What this has done to me is make me want to check out other Adaptall prime lenses. Here we go again!
Check out my Flickr set for this lens here. Shots like this, which consists of 19 images stitched together, may give you a sense of this lens' sharpness.
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| Review of: Sears With Macro Zone 135mm F2.8 by piledon on Sat August 20, 2011 | Rating: 8 | View more reviews | |
Views: 45622
Reviews: 11
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I just got this fully manual lens (no "A" setting on it) - dirt cheap - in near-mint physical condition with a PK mount and tested it out yesterday with my K-r. The glow at f2.8 mentioned in the previous review is, indeed, the highlight of this lens. I'd like to try taking a portrait or two with this! So far I've just experimented with knick-knacks and flowers.
Otherwise, while I think I need to work more with it, I find that even stopped down to f8 and at infinite focus what I get is not as sharp as I expect. You can see, in this picture, the lack of sharpness and the CA (which is correctable in Lightroom).
But you know, for $10 (OK, plus $13 for shipping and insurance) and the really cool macro effect, I can definitely recommend this lens for
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| Review of: Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm F1.7 by piledon on Fri June 3, 2011 | Rating: 9 | View more reviews | |
Views: 66984
Reviews: 11
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I was looking for an inexpensive 50mm f1.7 lens for my K-r. I bid on two cameras - one had this and the other the Pentax-A SMC 50mm f1.7. Unfortunately I won both. Fortunately I got this lens for dirt cheap (this, a Ricoh XR-10 and a Rikenon 35-70mm f3.5 lens was $24!). I've just started comparing them but at this point they're neck-in-neck for image quality and bokeh (which is sometimes very annoying for both, sometimes extremely interesting for both). But this one, right now, seems to be sharper fully open. And this is where more data is needed.
The four images starting here give an idea. The first is a B&W of the next; you get an idea of the bokeh in both B&W and color (bokeh in one often seems more interesting than the other), then a couple shots to compare the Rikenon with the Pentax-A. Unfortunately I blew the Pentax-A 1.7 shot and didn't realize it until too late. So there's an f3.2 shot to compare it to. I'll rectify that when I get around to it and update this review.
One potentially significant difference is that the aperture on this goes to f16; the Pentax-A to f22.
Bottom line - right now I see no reason NOT to have this lens sitting around. It appears to be a star performer for a fraction of the (relatively low) cost of the Pentax-A (or even -M) version.
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