| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2022 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: February 13, 2023 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Small, cheap, sharp, actually good macro, nice bokeh, CF, flare-proof | | Cons: | Bit soft wide open at 70mm, noticeable distortions on 35mm | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Fujifilm XT-30
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The one lens i got first in the run for Adaptalls, and i cant sell it as it is awesome. Here is some lensp0rn for ya
I have compared it to both 01A 35-80 version and 40A 35-135 Adaptalls, and sold them both leaving this little one with me
The lens is super small, i wish it was any possibility to put it on X-mount without that bloody spacer that makes up to +50% more length. Very tiny and compact lens for its class indeed, it is not too bulky even on the mirrorless cameras
At my Fujifilm xt-30 lens works awesome, sharp wide open, maybe not so crispy sharp as say also owned by me Tamron 52B 90mm 2.5 macro, but still decent. It has good bokeh for a zoom, not so visible as fast fixes of the same focal length but hey, this is zoom.
Works flawlessly with the focus peaking. I found that characteristic very needed to mention, as many vintage lenses make good picture but you just cant nail that shot, it was the case with 01A Tamron and came as a disappointment, the same was with rangefinder Jupiter 8 (50mm f2) at a tremendous scale.
Bokeh, good at both ends(Pics are straight out of camera, some expo correction to match, nothing else):
35mm
And 70mm looses some sharpness but not too much, just right for a portrait
Here some daughter portraits (SOOC too, just some expo and highlights correction, no colour or styles applied)
Here i caught a strange flare, maybe a ray of light struck the lens at some angle, you cant get the same effect when just having the sun shining directly into the lens, i was unable to reproduce this flare. Still you can see thee skin structure and eyelashes.
This one is about 50-60mm focal
Wide end example
MACRO capabilities
It reaches macro level at 70mm, and it is just a tad soft wide open, f4+ will solve this for sure, or just some sharpening. I always love to make a branch test and see if i like the bokeh, seems sweet for me. SOOC images at the maximal magnification a.e. minimal focusing distance
This one is a little further, it gest sharper even without stopping down
I like the colors even those pics above were made under a cloudy grey sky conditions with no light sources added.
And some summertime but edited pics from the lens
Here how close you can get a macro at 35mm
And at 70mm
Overall little gem of a lens, cheap, i got it for about 3500 rubles, it is like 55$ now, and you can still find them this cheap or near the price. Good one for familiarizing yourself with both mf vintage lenses and macro.
CF-continuous focus is very helpful, you just keep turning the focusing ring, and it goes from 35 mm to 70mm automatically as you go deeper into macro mode, no need to switch for macro as say 40a 35-135 Tamron had. It is said extensive usage of CF kills the internal mechanisms slowly, so don't overuse this.
IMHO best buy Tamron Adaptall zoom for price/performance for now.
| | | | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2011 Posts: 9
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 15, 2018 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Cheap (free), sharp, nice creamy fall off. | | Cons: | Non yet. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K5
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I recently bought a K mount 105mm and this was in the box when it arrived. I put it to one side thinking I'd flog it as I already have three other zoom lenses of similar lengths. I saw it on my shelf today and thought I would play with it a little, and I loved it.
   | | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2015 Location: Setúbal (near Lisbon) Posts: 5 | | Review Date: October 31, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $12.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | compact, easy to focus, sharp | | Cons: | rotating front element | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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I love this lens. It's compact. It's a pleasure to use.
@3.5 ISO 6400
@f/3.5 ISO 200
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076 | | Review Date: December 21, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Build, size ... | | Cons: | Handling, but none really | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
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Bonjour,
Just acquired this 17A 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 17A looks like on the K-5 with a PKA ...
 | | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2012 Location: North Wales Posts: 2,868 | | Review Date: December 2, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $20.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | IQ, handling, macro, value | | Cons: | limited range, factor in cost of PKA mount for "A" lens capability, it's "01A lite" | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 9
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This lens replaced its predecessor, the non-constant aperture f3.5-4.5 09A, in 1982-3. The two lenses are very similar and looking at the optical diagrams their derivation from the vaunted 35-80mm f2.8 01A is pretty clear.
I have compared mine primarily to the 01A and to a tokina RMC 35-70mm that I have also reviewed.
Off the card I have to say that most of the time I can look at pics of the same subject side by side and struggle to distinguish the 17A from the 01A. Their rendition is strikingly similar, particularly in colour and tone, and I find little discrepancy in sharpness and contrast. Both tamrons rather showed up the tokina, and I prefer their warm tone to the tokinas' cooler tone. Additionally I have to say that I would give the 17A the edge in ergonomics/mechanics. I like the raised knobs on the zoom ring, very easy to feel for, and I suspect 17A might be less prone to some of my 01A's faults: play in the mechanisms, tendency for the zoom-macro linkage to be sticky (on both these tamron lenses there is a connection between the zoom and focus. As you focus into macro, the zoom is automatically shifted from 35mm to 70/80mm to match: "There is no push button or macro ring which must be turned to enter the macro mode. The user merely has to continuously turn the focus ring in order to focus from infinity to the minimum focus distance for macro work. Tamron calls this feature "continuous focusing" or CF. While turning the focus ring, the zoom ring will automatically turn as necessary until the zoom ring is at the 80mm zoom setting." adaptall-2.com)
It is happenstance, however, that my 17A is virtually mint while a couple of my 01A's are showing their age and wear and tear.
17A is is pretty common, more so than 01A (and 09A), and can nominally be obtained for, say, half the price of 01A (both lenses vary quite a lot in price and can be acquired pretty cheaply with a bit of hunting - tenner or so in the case of 17A!). For me, since I already have PKA mounts, this lens was rock-bottom dollar.
Sample pics:
scsambrook took this.
Close focus pics with 01F 2x TC here.
sample landscape pic at 70mm here.
Test pics at 70mm: MF supertest - Castle.
I don't think I am demeaning the lens by referring to it as "01A-lite". The SP 01A is a bit larger and heavier, has f2.8 (at 35mm...), an extra 10mm zoom and 1:2.5 macro vs 1:2.8 and probably does have an edge in quality. But given the quality, availability and usual price of 17A - recommended!
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17 | | Review Date: October 15, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open, 'fast enough', well made, lovely handling,hard wearing | | Cons: | Range not that useful on digital | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
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The marketing tag-line when I bought this in the early 80's was "Sharp as a prime, and fast enough", and, except for flash photography at school plays, I agree. I hardly used my semi-auto Takumar 55mm f2.2 lens again. The 17A handles beautifully; smooth, nicely damped focus. Two touch zoom, so no problems with zoom creep.
I used the 17A initially on an S1, and then a few years later when the S1 needed a service, I bought a P30N, and bought a pair of PKA adapters for this and my 46A.
The 17A must be extremely rugged. My son took it across India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji during his gap year, and my daughter carted it around East Africa. It never had a UV filter on it, but the glass remains unscratched. The front element seemed huge when I bought it (the filter ring is 58mm, whilst my Takumar was 46mm) but although I never used a hood, flare was never a problem.
There is perceptible distortion at 35mm.
The S1 doesn't have any focusing aids; in that respect it is like today's digital SLR's. However, the 17A is parfocal, so I could focus at 70mm, and then zoom out, and this strategy works just as well on a DSLR.
The 17A is sharp wide open; as sharp as the Pentax F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5, with better contrast as well.
I bought a Pentax FA 28-90mm f3.5-5.6 to use when my son went off round the world, and I continued to use the Pentax thereafter, because I preferred the Pentax colours, the additional zoom range proved useful on film, and the additional sharpness of the 17A isn't noticeable in snaps.
At f3.5, I think the bulkier QZ-35M has an edge in sharpness, but the QZ-35M isn't parfocal, so the 17A is easier to focus accurately at wider angles. The Pentax M 35-70mm f2.8-3.5 is sharper than either, but rather bulkier (and somewhat more expensive today on eBay).
The macro mode of the QZ-35M is superior to the 17A as well.
I have reviewed the Pentax M 35-70mm f2.8-3.5, and the Tamron QZ-35M as well as this lens. I gave the QZ-35M the lowest rating of the three, but in fact today I use it the most. The reasons are, I guess, that I find:
- 35-70mm is just too restricting on APS-C; too much overlap with my faster Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
- I miss having the QZ-35M macro capability if I haven't brought it or the 72B with me
Be that as it may, I still think the 17A is a superb piece of kit. Highly recommended.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: January, 2012 Posts: 38 | | Review Date: March 31, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Really compact, good optics, nice macro, nice feeling | | Cons: | Not too fast, but hey 3.5 isn't bad | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
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I was looking for an adaptall-2 mount for P/K and got the lens for free 
It was in a gorgeous state, so just attached and took some shoots on my K-x.
Results are well above my expectancies.
Only major drawback is the lack of a SMC on Tamron's glasses 
Stefano
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: August, 2009 Posts: 417 | | Review Date: November 20, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Turns the Pentax MF way | | Cons: | none as yet | |
Quite a fast lens in comparison to the Pentax offerings and better built than the A series normal zooms I owned, this is more similar in build quality to the M series lenses from Pentax. The difference is the close focussing to about 25cm at 70mm which gives a 1:3 macro which is like the A 35-70 f4.
The main advantage and reason for getting this lens is its manual focus direction is the same as Pentax. Note not all copies are like this as Tamron reverted back to their standard half way through production.
Too soon to comment on optical quality, but a quick surf of the web reveals some please users. Will report back with more info once I've done some pixel peeping.
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