| Author: | | New Member Registered: December, 2020 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: May 24, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp adaptall 2 | | Cons: | None for me | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Olympus om1 nikon fa nikon fm2 ricoh kr5super
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I discovered this lens several years ago, found it to be reasonably sharp and, having owned both Pentax, Nikon and Olympus, overpracticed due to the Adaptall mount. Although I tried the 180mm f2.8 olympus, both the 180mm f2 8 and nikkor, I preferred the tamron to the two top of the range I had, first because half a small aperture of difference was not significant, secondly weight and dimensions argued in favor of the tamron , especially when I later found myself using it in the theatre. I had confirmation of the goodness of the optics by using it for astronomical photos. A lens that is worth all the money required for the purchase.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2021 Posts: 2
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 14, 2021 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Image quality, build quality, handling, ... | | Cons: | A bit heavy, but not really a problem... | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 9
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This Adaptall 2 telephoto lens is, in my opinion, just fantastic.
I got it for about 10 euros (in very good condition and with the original case) because it didn't perform very well... actually, the images taken with this lens were horrible, out of focus and with lots of CA. It turned out that the previous owner tried to disassemble the lens to clean some fungus inside and during reassembly... well, he placed an element backwards!! I didn't know that when i bought it... but for 10 euros i gave it a chance. After disassembling the lens, cleaning it and reassembling it correctly, i was stunned by the results.
Handling is very nice, it's all metal construction and it feels solid and built to last.
The lens is a bit heavy, but for me not too much to ever complain about it.
It's an Adaptall, so it can be mounted to almost every camera with the correct adapter.
It's very sharp even wide open, CA is very well controlled and even spherical abberration is well controlled in all the focus range (even at close focus it's just perfect corner to corner). Colors are very good, contrast is acceptable and it improves a bit when using the built in hood.
Close focus distance is actually not that bad (1.7m - 66.9"). Bokeh is very pleasing.
Overall it's a surprisingly good lens, expecially considering that it can be found for really cheap.
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | | Review Date: December 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, close focus, hood ... | | Cons: | None really ... | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Bonjour,
Just acquired this 04B and like what I have seen thus far ... only indoor test shots, since the outside weather is wet and cold ... will post samples later.
Giving a straight across "8" rating until more test and use can be done ...
Allez et salut, Jean le Green Frog
Here's a p0rn shot to see what the 04B looks like on the K-5 with a PKA ...
 | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2010 Location: North Zealand, Denmark Posts: 1,516
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 28, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Very well built; easy to handle; performs well even wide open | | Cons: | For its age and class: Not really any | |
I agree with Jon Schick: This is a lens that deserves attention.
I was lucky to get mine (in early June 2010) together with the adaptall-2 KA mount for a total of GBP 54 - so, in a sense I got the lens itself for free. In supplement to Jon Schick's endorsement I may add:
- It may not be "over-over-excessively" sharp, but it is sharp enoygh to please me, (see samples below) and I am also pleasantly surprised how well it performs even at the widest aperture.
- flare is well controlled and I haven't really found any problems with chromatic aberration / purple fringing (at least not yet).
- Focusing and aperture setting is very smooth (almost "Takumar-like")
- Focus confirmation / catch-in focus is a breeze with my K200D
- It also performs well in the AE-mode with the Tamron SP 01F 2x tele converter
All in all another little gem from the adaptall-2 days. Perhaps not fully as good as the best of the SP-series from those days - but almost!
Sample images taken with my Pentax K200D on Midsummer's Eve 2010 at Hornbaek Beach, Denmark:
Best Regards / Stone G.
| | | | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2009 Location: London Posts: 45
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 24, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $50.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Nice build, decent image quality, AE with PKA adapter | | Cons: | Nice build comes at cost of weight, some minor fringing | |
I reckon this lens deserves a review, and after picking one up for £35 including mount last weekend, I thought I'd try and do it justice.
First thing is build - typical of the older Adaptall lenses with a weighty metal construction and great focusing ring. It feels like it could have a few decades in it yet. The built in lens hood is nice, although I wonder whether it is really deep enough for an APS-C camera. The lens feels more dense than its most obvious Pentax competitor - the 200mm/4 SMC-M, and is just as well-made.
Second - image quality. I've been rather impressed so far. I've deliberately tortured the poor thing by taking a load of shots at f3.5, and been surprised at just how sharp it is. Bokeh is pleasant and undistracting too. Colours are fairly neutral so you might not like it so much if you want a lens that gives a lot of warmth and "pop". There is some purple and green fringing but it is easy to deal with (much easier than the fringing from the "legendary" 135/2.5 SMC-K) and pretty unobtrusive. Personally, I reckon this lens at least matches or possibly outperforms the 200mm/4 SMC-M that I used to own.
Conclusion - I'd seriously recommend taking a look at one of these if you can find one at a good price. They seem to be pretty cheap in the UK at least, and given that if you have an PKA adapter, you will have access to AE and all the associated modes on your camera (Av, Tv, P, etc), that makes the lens a pretty compelling alternative to the 200/4 SMC-M (which is usually also rather more expensive).
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