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- Produced Tamron Co., Ltd., Japan
- Mount Adaptall 2
- Focal length 90mm
- Aperture range f2.5-32
- Focal range 1.3′ (.39m) to infinity
- Filter thread 52mm
- Elements 10 in 9 groups
- Weight 14.3oz (405.4g)
- Aperture blades 6
- macro to 1:2
- MC
Overview
Outstanding portrait lens from Tamron in Adaptall 2 mount. For more info on Adaptall-2 see my Adaptall-2 page. The idea is basically that Tamron made mountless lenses that would accept “Adaptall Custom Mount” fittings that were camera-mount-specific, for example the pictured Nikon AI adapter. The adapter becomes functionally part of the lens and works basically as an OEM lens would, with a few caveats. SP stands for “Super Performance” and is Tamron’s high-end lens line. Construction and performance of this lens is indeed top-notch.
Funny story about this lens: I did a backyard portrait session of my kids, and after we had pared down the results to 3-4 top choices and distributed them to the appropriate friends and relatives, I tried to remember which camera and sharp portrait lens I took them with… was it the FM2 with the Tamron 90mm or the Konica T3 using the Jupiter-9 with an M42 adapter? For the life of me I couldn’t remember, I had used both very recently. So I went back and found the envelopes containing the negs, and luckily I had written (out of habit) the equipment on the envelopes when I dropped them off. I had used both, and one of the portraits was with one, one was with the other, and the third portrait was — I had forgotten — on a different day altogether and taken with our Canon Sure Shot 120. All three next to each other looked like they were taken at the same time with the same camera. Wait… now the point of the story escapes me… Except to say that it reassured me that my selection process for good lenses has worked out pretty well!
In general I don’t use portrait lenses that often; I tend to do portraits with normal lenses, and environmental pictures with either normal or slightly wide angle lenses (35-40mm). To use a portrait lens I have to be doing a formal sitting where I know I want a semi-close-up portrait, and my forte is casual portraits where to me a normal lens is more useful. That said, I wish I had occasion to use this particular lens more, it’s quite nice.
Usage
As with all Adaptall-2 lenses, open up to maximum aperture prior to mounting or unmounting the adapter.
Related Links
- Great overview of the different Adaptall mounts