| Author: | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Posts: 1,852 | | Review Date: April 8, 2021 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Solid Construction, Color rendition, depth of field | | Cons: | Soft wide open, heavy, CA | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: ME Super, MZ7, K5iis
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Got this lens sometime in the 90s for Nikon, and thanks to Adaptall switched mounts easily
Was a good lens in the MESuper closed down 1 or 2 steps.
Rugged, and well constructed, optics are good but not brilliant
Very sharp at f 8-16 not so much wide open and needs a hood to prevent flare
Color rendition is very good to my taste, quite different from Takumars and closer to Nikkors.
A good all around lens, but quite outdated now.
| | | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: May, 2015 Location: Hampshire Posts: 892 | | Review Date: June 11, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Cheap SP lens. | | Cons: | Not easy to focus by eye at 28mm. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-5
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I picked this up with M2 adapter fitted but it works well with a P-KA adapter. Thank you to Tamron for the Adaptall system.
As other reviews have suggested, it needs to be stopped down a bit to get a good sharp image. I agree it is not quite as good a lens as Tamron's 01A 35-80mm lens but it does have a wider range of focal length.
With a P-KA adapter this lens is a good alternative to the Pentax-A 28-80mm and likely to be available a bit cheaper, so if cost matters....well the chances are a Pentax lens might be almost as cheap.
My one concern with my copy is the transition from FLs 28 to 80mm (like the 01A and my Pentax 28-80mm) is maybe a little stiff. Maybe all lenses that have a barrel that extends the lens at both ends of the range has this stiff point and I must admit this Tamron is better than the other two for this.
A worthy lens that can produce good images at most but not necessarily at all apertures and focal lengths.
| | | | | New Member Registered: March, 2017 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: May 14, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Feels solid, real glass | | Cons: | Focus tricky | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Canon 450d
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I bought this lens in a job lot. Case, instructions, caps in a box - superb...at first glance. After I opened it i discovered that the front element was wobbly. I disassembled the lens completely, fixing the front element and adjusting the infinity focus to my camera.
After that the lens was just amazing, delivering good colours, reasonable sharpness with the aperture wide open, and excellent after f8. I have to admit tho, that the colours are bit dull, but after bumping the saturation on the camera I was satisfied. Focus is a bit tricky if you use the camera on modern DSLR, since there is no aperture snap, and image true viewfinder is dark. But thats a problem with every MF lens - DSLR relation.
Stable, solid glass, feels great in the hand!
PS - The first picture is a bit sharpened, but none the less - great quality to begin with!
 | | | | | Junior Member Registered: December, 2009 Posts: 25 | | Review Date: February 4, 2017 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | built, crazy sharp at f8-f11 | | Cons: | heavy, not very sharp open | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 6
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-50
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I've had this lens since the 80's on my A-1. I got another Tamron recently with the PKM mount and started using it again on my K-50. The lens is rock solid, heavy with a huge front element. It is rather soft and has a stiff zoom ring. Not great if you to capture something fast. Still it is quite nice for pseudo-macro shots on tripod , using zoom to make small adjustments and gets really sharp at f8-f11.
image:
Pentax K-50 & Tamron SP 28-80mm F/3.5-4.2 Model 27A
[1/15 - f8 - ISO 100] on a tripod, natural light
© 2017 foivosloxias
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update April 2017
Tried this lens again with the PK-A mount this time. This lens is crazy sharp at f8-f11 @80mm macro
following images are SOOC NO PP, camera K-50
  | | | | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2016 Posts: 3 | | Review Date: June 6, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, good solid build | | Cons: | aperture ring tricky, colour issues | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-3
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Boy, this lens divides opinion, doesn't it!! There must be some variability in production, or something.
Anyway, my example carries the serial number 332207.
I don't think it can be faulted in sharpness, from end to end of the focal range, even wide open. Certainly sharp enough to test the limits of the sensor on my K-3. Best zoom lens in this range I have ever used (I've never used a Pentax star lens) in terms of sharpness, and also the cheapest to buy.
Now, I found focusing a little difficult, especially at wide angle, and this may explain some people's issues, but when focus is nailed, all the resolution you'd want is there.
The real problem wide open is flare - even in tame conditions the image looks like someone spilled a thin layer skimmed milk on it. Underneath that, all the detail is there, so this can be cleared up in post. By f5.6, this is solved.
Another issue is colour -- I found the lens very cool. Again, though, easy to compensate for.
Finally, the aperture ring is right near the mount, and difficult to fiddle with. Two points taken off for handling there.
I going to wager that if you want a versatile zoom, one that will keep up with the dense pixels on a 24mp APS-C, all for the price of a couple pizzas and a six-pack -- there is no competition.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2012 Location: Sunshine Coast Posts: 113 | | Review Date: August 23, 2015 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Solid build, good price (new at the time) | | Cons: | A bit soft at wider openings, something has loosened up inside my copy, the funny macro arrangement. | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 5
Value: 8
Camera Used: ME Super
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I decided to give an olde worlde review based on about 17 years use on my ME Super since I purchased it new in the early 1980's. This became my walk around lens on my ME Super in late 1983 replacing the standard Pentax M F1.7 50mm. I used it extensively, right up to the early 2000's it having traversed the tropical rainforests and deserts of Australia, the Pacific Islands, Western USA, Mexico, it took many thousands of colour and black and white prints (Mostly Kodak Kodacolour 100 and 400, or Ilford B&W (which I processed myself) and thousands of of slides (Fujichrome 100). Obviously it also was used for many local pics as well. I purchased it on the basis of previous very satisfactory performance on my 80-200 Tamron zoom and 500mm Tamron mirror lens. (Which I also still have and occasionally use)
I found that it suited the ME Super well but it was a bit heavy and unbalanced for the small ME body, I bought one of the ME winder bases which fixed this.
The colours are different to the Pentax lenses but I find that I still like them. The lens was rock solid having been used in tropical downpours, desert dust and freezing cold in northern California. It really saw a lot of use, but still contains negligible internal dust, and no fungus or haze. I found compared to the Pentax standard lens it was slightly soft in the wider openings, but quite sharp in the mid ranges. I was willing to over look its shortcomings in return for the zoom bonuses - you can't always get closer with the standard lens, or have time to change to a bigger prime! In my opinion it always was a bit of a pain to focus accurately and didn't completely suit the standard Pentax split screen microprism focusing aids although I could never figure out why. I thought that this was just me or my copy, but I see others have also said this. On my copy something has come loose inside which allows the extended section to slop back and forward slightly, although the focus and zoom rings both still turn smoothly and crisply and the lens still works OK. I have considered getting it repaired but it may not be a paying proposition given how much these cost secondhand.
It makes a excellent companion to a manual film camera and for this purpose I recommend it. Have I used it on my Kr or K5, yes I have, but on these it really doesn't seem to offer any advantage over my newer gen Pentax or Tamron zoom lenses (which are much lighter and sharper)
It does work well as a macro lens on my Q with the K-Q adapter however where the manual focus isn't an issue, but holding it is a bit difficult
Interestingly despite being almost 40 years old, the colours are closer to my modern Tamron 17-50 F2.8 than anything else. Obviously, Tamron like Pentax, strive to keep a consistent "feel" to their lenses.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: March, 2011 Location: North Carolina Posts: 35
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 9, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $30.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Solid Build, Very Cheap, Very Sharp | | Cons: | Requires practice to achieve critical focus. Not for DSLR | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax K10D, K20D, NEX5n
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This lens is underrated in my opinion. It is extremely sharp when used between f5.6 -11. The numbers published on the adaptall.org site show the lens to be very sharp and my two samples of the lens confirm the data is probably accurate.
I believe the lens appears to be soft to many users because it is difficult to achieve critical focus. I have had excellent results using this lens on my NEX5n using it's focus assist feature but the lens is very difficult to focus properly on the K10d and K20d. If focusing were not a problem I would have rated it a 10
The Tamron SP 35-80mm CF or Adaptall-2 35-70mm CF are both better manual focus choices for use on the Pentax DSLRs
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Location: Port Orchard, WA Posts: 10 | | Review Date: January 21, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $25.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Cost, consistent speed, build quality. | | Cons: | Fringing, lens flare, macro restrictions. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 10
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I am on my second copy of this lens, and I have been pleased with the results so far. I do not use it nearly as much now that I have the Pentax 18-135, but prior to getting the K-3 the 27A was my primary walk-around lens.
The lens is a good performer as long as you pay attention to which situations will cause lens flare and fringing. I would say the lens flare is less of an issue as long as you incorporate it as an artistic element in your shots. Both issues are decently reduced as long as you keep the lens reasonably stopped down.
The build quality of this lens, as it is with the rest of the adaptall and specifically the SP adaptall line, is top notch. The lens is almost entirely metal construction with solid markings, smooth focus and zoom, and responsive aperture. I really enjoy the solid feel of the lens and the ergonomics of the zoom, focus, and aperture rings. I do wish that more lenses incorporated this same ease of use and "feel".
Some minor issues that I have with the operation of the lens: the original lens hood is a collapsible rubber type that seats solidly on the lens, but it somewhat pointless and non-functional. I found that using a 77mm metal hood cut to length to match the 28mm focus worked much better. I also do not care for the internal stop that prevents macro focusing at 28mm. It is simply an annoyance that requires me to pay attention to my zoom a little closer.
The positives: Due to some bad press concerning the lens' performance wide open, this lens can be had for very little money. It is also widely available. It still performs better than my 18-135 with regard to eveness of focus, distortion, and CA (at most apertures).
Some samples:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/64969-knotmetoo/albums/7766-tamro...cture68754.jpg
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/members/64969-knotmetoo/albums/7766-tamro...cture68755.jpg | | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2012 Posts: 17 | | Review Date: October 6, 2013 | Not Recommended | Price: $10.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open at 28mm, sharp stopped down at longer lengths | | Cons: | Large for speed, no advantage of Pentax Consumer Zooms | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 10
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I bought this lens together with a 40A and no useful caps or mounts; the price paid quoted is half the total for the two.
The Zoom ring on my copy is rather stiff (though it has freed up a bit as I have used it) but the glass is clear.
Wide open, the 27A is nearly as good as the Pentax F 28-80 f3.5-4.5 at 28mm, and becomes obviously more inferior as the focal length increases. This deterioration makes manual focusing tricky.
Stopped down to f 8, it is comparable to the Pentax F 28-80; good (if I've got the focus right).
The only feature of the 27A that I find to be demonstrably superior to the Pentax F 28-80 is its shorter minimum focus distance.
The 27A is similar in profile to the old Tamron QZ-35M, but it is slower (the QZ-35M is notionally f2.8-3.5) takes bigger filters (67mm versus 62mm) and the QZ-35M takes better Macro shots.
Unless, like me, you are trying to collect these things, I cannot see the point in buying this lens. You can buy an Autofocus Pentax lens with identical f-stop and aperture range that isn't inferior for about the same as you would pay for this lens plus an Adaptall/Adaptall 2 PK adapter, and for much less than you'd pay for this lens plus the (not recommended, by the way) PKA adapter.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: November, 2012 Location: North Wales Posts: 2,868
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 16, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 7 |
| Pros: | Excellent wide angle performance | | Cons: | Prone to flare. Successsor to 01A, but inferior to 01A close up, at the long end, not as fast. | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 7
Camera Used: Pentax K-r
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I didn't get on with my first 27A and sold it. I have now acquired another one for the collection and had a second look. Pic shows it lined up with some of the other mid range adaptall zooms - L to R: 01A (35-80mm); 27A (28-80mm); 17A (35-70mm); 44A (28-70mm); 59A (28-70mm). It's the largest and weightiest of them, and the only one besides 01A with the SP designation.
First thing I can say is that with split prism VF screen and a 1.36x VF magnifier, focussing issues have mostly alleviated. I am not the only one reporting finding this lens to be not the easiest one to focus first time round so I think that aspect is real.
Second thing is that in unfavourable circumstances this lens is susceptible to flare. 55mm, wide open, with a basic 67mm rubber hood giving an inch+ of shade (cropped and resized but illustrates the case).
Sun was up above my left shoulder, a bit in front. Stopping down to f5.6 produced considerable improvement.
However I was even noticing significant difference in contrast with the sun behind - 100% crops from jpg, 50mm:
I would definitely be inclined to associate lack of focussing definition with lack of contrast, which goes hand in hand with flare. So I tried to get a look-see by using my M42 mount with PK adapter thus giving full manual aperture control. I have to say that I couldn't really see it by eye. There are three clicks to f5.6 and the most obvious change was the natural dimming due to closing the iris. But for a more general assessment I should swap back in the original VF screen and take off the Tenpa 1.36x....
If you examine the aperture ring you will notice there is actually an extra click below f3.5. F3.5 is marked with a dot, the ring can be moved one more notch adjacent to "3.5" and if you inspect the iris it is opening up a bit more. However testing for change in exposure at 28mm produced no change. It is common for an iris to open up bit more as a zoom is extended to higher focal lengths to reduce the variation in f-stop. When zoomed with wide open aperture, the shutter speed was only significantly dropping at around 60mm. The f stop on this lens is probably constant up to around 50mm+.
Third, that this lens is impressive at 28mm. Sharp from the off, test pics shot at f3.5 - f11 showed consistently good resolution. At f3.5 this lens comfortably bested my Tokina RMC and Sigma Miniwide II 28mm primes at f2.8, and yielded little in IQ at equal f stops. At the wide end this lens deserves its "SP".
Fourth is that it's not quite so good at the longer focal lengths. Softness creeps in at the wide open apertures and even down a stop, I thought that eg the cheapo plastic late adaptall 28-70mm 59A was edging it in some comparison shots. But IQ continues to improve down to f11. The test crops in the linked review in the description above are, IMO, very representative. These crops f5.6 OtC jpg's (80mm and 70mm).
 
Fifth I wasn't overly impressed with 27A close up. It was decent but in a comparison I did it didn't keep up with 01A or 17A, or (again) even 59A. However it does have the advantage of close focus capability over just about all of its focal range, unlike 01A and 17A whose mechanisms will push the focal length towards the long end as you focus into macro. It's a bit odd, though, the stop at ~33mm, have to get used to it and remember to move off 28mm to get the CF ability. And I did like the colours - lots of brightness off the card, very true.
It's actually a pretty good lens IMO, with wide angle performance a notable highlight (sharpness ratings: 9 at wide angle, 7 at long end, average 8). Also better than many adaptalls IME re fringing/CA. I think it's just a bit disappointing that as the successor to the vaunted 01A, it is in many respects a bit of a backward step, not an advance. Certainly not to be preferred to 01A, but in some respects it can complement it. Price cited reflects typical ebay price UK (in fact if you bide your time there's plenty of these around and one can be picked up for peanuts) - you get more than enough lens and overall, I think, more than a sufficiency of performance for that money.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: February, 2009 Location: Ireland Posts: 31 | | Review Date: September 4, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $15.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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I don't know where the neg opinions on this lens are coming from - I've had no problems with this at all, but then again, I dont' shoot at wide apertures, as almost without exception, any budget lens will be less than stellar around there. It's just a habit I got into years ago when I started out with scale focusing and just kept doing the deeper DOF thing. I'm not really all that precious about the IQ - the pic is the thing and the content is what counts, not whether, omg, some edge has a purple fringe.
Anyway, to show you what I mean, here's a few...
Bakery kid by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
Two smiles by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
It was this big by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
Kilkenny Redcoat by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
Three amigos by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
Boatstrand harbour1 by Lensosaurus, on Flickr
ps, these were all taken on a Canon 10D of 6Mp and the third one was fairly well cropped, so make of that what you will.
Make up your own mind and go out, get one of these and try it for yourself.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2011 Location: Lost in translation ... Posts: 18,076
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 26, 2013 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | AD-2 construction, Close focus ... | | Cons: | Rotating front element + .... ? | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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Bonjour,
Just picked up a very good condition thrift store copy of this lens ( ... super cheap thus no entry of price to distort the average price of this lens ... I paid about 4 dollars for it!)
From my initial tests, I do not see why it has received such negative reviews here. I have only shot indoors, but from what I have seen this far, the 27A is a decent performer ...
Here's what the review says on Adaptall-2.org :
Tamron SP 28-80mm F/3.5-4.2 Model 27A: This lens definitely is an above average performer within its class even when compared to OEM lenses of the same era. Optimal optical performance is F/8 to F/11 at all zoom settings, and at these apertures this lens is very sharp. Macro performance is good between F/8 and F/22, but with a moderate drop of contrast in fine details towards the edges of the film plane. This is a very versatile lens which nicely covers the wide angle to slight telephoto zoom range, and which features decent built-in macro performance at the 80mm zoom position when using smaller apertures.
I will admit that is seems harder to take a "good" photo with the 27A, because I get a few OOF images ... I think that it's my changing middle-aged eyesight more than anything else ... but, I did get a super portrait of my youngest daughter in which one can count the eyelashes easily. (at about 80mm and f11 with on-board flash at it's lowest power level and using a PKA mount).
So, for the moment I'm going to give it a "7" rating across the board and I'll further test outdoors once the weather gets more agreeable, i.e. no rain mostly.
EDIT : I have upped my rating to an "8" and it's really better than that ... I have had it on the K110D for a month and have gotten some great snaps with it ... it IS a "very versatile lens" !
Allez et salut, John le Frog
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: May, 2010 Posts: 48 | | Review Date: July 14, 2011 | Not Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 5 |
| Pros: | Very sharp at small apertures | | Cons: | Heavy, low contrast, CA | |
I am comparing this lens mostly to today's DA 18-55 kit lens.
At small apertures (f5.6 and above), this lens is really sharper than the kit lens. That is pretty much where this lens is better. The following photo was shot at f8, but had some Photoshop sharpening done.
Color however, was a disappointment to me. It has a very purplish tint for me. The contrast is weak and CA is high. It has macro functions, but the DA18-55 beats that too. Also, it has a big filter size (67mm) which is another bummer.
For an SP Adaptall, I think it is quite disappointing. I have an Adaptall 35-70mm f3.5 and it is better than this lens, in all aspects including macro, except that the range is not as wide or long.
| | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2009 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: December 7, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $40.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | solid build, cheap, can produce excelnt results | | Cons: | picky IQ, PF and CA | |
The Tamron SP 28-80mm 3.5-4.2 Is a very good lens. This was my walk around lens until I decided to replace it with a pentax A 35-70mm f4 for its superior IQ. The 28-80 can provide very sharp results, but it tend to be kind of picky, only performing its best in the very middle of the aperture range, and towards the long end of the zoom range, this could be a problem with just my specific copy, as adaptall-2.org disagrees with my findings http://www.adaptall-2.org/lenses/27A.html. I find this lens also has a relatively high amount of CA (primarily green-magenta too). In my opinion the lens also is a little low on contrast. Macro performance is sub par in my opinion. Given the right set of circumstances this can be a very sharp lens. This lens also provides really nice out of focus areas due to its 8 aperture blade. Build quality is very good, all metal and glass, the lens is kind of heavy for its size giving an impression of density. On my copy the rubber ring around the zoom control has stated to come lose, it doesn’t affect performance, but it is still kind of a pain. One thing worth noting is that the zoom ring and focus ring both turn in the direction counter to pentax standers, this can make going form this lens to a pentax zoom kind of awkward. The 67mm diameter filters are kind of pain in my opinion, as they don’t pack well and cost more than smaller sizes, and it is my only lens with this size. The lens has halve stops, so this will creat problems if you have your DSLR set to third stop increments and then you attempt to use this lens manually on it, or you can just buy the P-KA adaptall mount and then it will operate as any A series lens. All in all it is a good lens, but not the best I own
| | | | | New Member Registered: October, 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 3
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: September 15, 2010 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Solid Build, Quick zoom range, Bright | | Cons: | Not Constant f3.5, goes to F4.2 at 80mm | |
I love this lens as a walk-around lens, especially if I know I'll be in close quarters with others. The IQ stays quite impressive even zoomed out at 80mm. And getting in close at 14 inches is a treat. The apertures are smooth, as is zooming in and out. I really like the solid feel of this lens. Watchout any would-be thief; this baby WILL leave a dent in your forehead. Then again, so would I 
This was a gift from a friend after she found out I had lost most of my equipment after I had stored them in a faulty photo equipment case. So my Pentax 67 was gone, most of my minolta equipment gone, Spotmatic gone and too many more to list. Good thing I keep my Takumar SMC 15mm f3.5 near me at all times. Got that one for $25 at a garage sale. I think it's the one with "4" marked on it, thus making it of higher quality glass.
Anyway, if you can find this Tamron 28-80mm f3.5-4.2 lens at a reasonable price, snatch one up cause it's a workhorse.
Happy Shooting,
Vincent.
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