A Whole Lotta Lens

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>I've been keeping a watch for one of these at an affordable price for two or three years, but it's very rarely they come up for sale. It's the Tamron Adaptall-2 SP Model 51A.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>This 70-150 f/2.8 zoom seems to be mainly in the hands of collectors who know what they're holding on to. I was lucky in that it appeared on our local auction with a "Buy Now" option about a minute before I logged on, and it was merely described as " Old Tamron zoom, in good condition". One look and I couldn't have moved the mouse any quicker, and it was mine at a price more than slightly below it's global worth. I then had the rather tense wait while it found it's way to my door, but I was delighted when it came out of it's packing to reveal a very tidy example indeed.</p>

<p>Manufactured in small numbers in the early 1980's, it was not only a fast and very sharp zoom lens; it had a de-focusing capability to give variable degrees of softness. Here's a copy of the original press release.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>The lens was designed for portrait use, and some of the images I've seen are very attractive indeed. It's quite a different effect from that which one gets by imposing filters, gauze or vaseline in front of the lens, and I was interested in trying it out in the botanical work I get involved in. I was hoping I could create a variety of OOF background effects by using various combinations of apertures and degrees of de-focusing, and so far the results look interesting, though trying to recall just exactly what one did is a challenge for someone as disorganised as me. There's a lot to think about, with four rings to manipulate. The samples I'll post are really just hand-held test shots using a Canon 5D, but I think I'm making sense of it all. For a full description of the lens see the great Adaptall-2.org page:</p>

<p>http://adaptall-2.org/lenses/51A.html</p>

<p>Most of the photographs of various flora I'll post have some degree of softening, usually very slight, as the effect can become rather extreme, and there are some using the lens as a straight telephoto zoom. It's very sharp and contrasty, and I would have been delighted to find one even without the "soft" feature. I hope you find some to like.</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.2</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.3</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.4</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.5</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.6</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.7</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.8</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.9</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.10</p><div></div>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>No.11</p><div></div>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>A beauty! Nice catch! I hadn't seen that one before. Is the soft focus feature overall or just bokeh?</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Ooooh, nice!</p>

<p>Fantastic color. Great shots. </p>

<p>I've had some good luck with Tamron lenses, but this was not on my list. Thanks.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>It's kind of complicated, <strong>Louis</strong>; the Adaptall page I linked explains a little of the permutations. Basically, the whole image is softened, but the bokeh changes quite rapidly, depending on whether or not you re-focus after applying the de-focus, if that makes any sense. So far, the best results have been achieved by adding a whiff of unsharp mask during the post-processing, which restores the definition around the subject without having a great effect on the bokeh. Thanks, <strong>JDM</strong>; it's certainly something of a rarity.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Here's one from the first series I took, in the rain, with full de-focus applied. It's a little swirly for my taste, but kind of romantic.</p><div></div>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Nifty! That defocusing effect might be less swirly against any background other than foliage. Like most soft focus lenses and any fast lens used wide open, foliage tends to exaggerate the swirlies. Ditto out of focus dappled water.</p>

[subbarayan_prasanna]

<p>I guess that the OOF planes look a lot smoother with the aperture wide open. Smaller apertures tend to make the background a little harsh. Nice pictures and colour. Thanks for posting. SP.</p>

[craigd]

<p>Very nice performer. I've never been into Tamron (I think I have one Tamron Adapt-All or Adapt-All 2 zoom, but I don't recall if I've ever actually shot with it), but this one looks quite decent.</p>

<p>Even though it doesn't show the defocusing capability, I find my eye drawn to #5 -- nice composition of contrasting angles and colors.</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Wow, another great find....how do you do it?! Great colour from what I can see, and although Tamron made some just so-so consumer lenses, they also made some crackers when they really tried.<br>

This lens looks very interesting indeed, with that defocus and very fast aperture. I always thought that the only lens with that feature was the 105mm Nikkor, which is very expensive to this day.<br>

Must try thr En Zed Pinot Noir, my wife just bought a few Sav Blancs, from Marlborough I think.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Thanks for the responses. You're right, <strong>Les</strong>, it's surprisingly small for such a complex lens. Keep an eye on the Tamrons, <strong>Craig</strong>; the Adaptall 2 SP range, especially, had some innovative lenses that were up with the best. Thanks, <strong>Lex</strong> and <strong>SP</strong>, there are certainly quite a few variations on the OOF theme that the lens can produce. You're right about the prices that the 105mm Nikkor fetches, <strong>Tony</strong>; it really has become a cult item. I suspect you're shifted to my favourite part of OZ, somewhere south of Bateman's Bay? Enjoy the Sav Blanch and do try to track down a good NZ Pinot Noir, preferably from our Martinborough reigon.</p>

[tony_lockerbie]

<p>Will do Rick. We are now at Merimbula, a coastal town about 2hrs south of Bateman's Bay. Thr reason that I'm slow in getting started up is that we are fixing up and selling our old house and that has kept me away from photography unfortunately.<br>

I have yet to install a darkroom too, probably won't happen until early next year now.</p>

 

[randy_cooprider1]

<p>Rick, really like the shot with the church softly in the background also like the others but that one stands out for me. Keep it up!<br>

Randyc</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Thanks,<strong> Randy</strong>, the 135mm is a good length for images of this style. I've visited Merimbula once, <strong>Tony</strong>; sure is a pretty place. Good luck!</p>