Hy everybody !

I'm desperatly searching for any informations about Tamron 35-80/2.8-3.8 SP CF lens. It seems to be quite a mysterious lens or at least I couldn't find any user comments or test reports about it on the net. It's briefly described on " Third party cult classic" web site as a very good lens with incredible close focusing performance and great overall sharpness, but I need to know much more about the lens if I'm choosing it over other lens alternative, which includes Zeiss 35-70/3.4 (I'm a Contax user but I don't own any Zeiss lenses for the moment - only Yashica ML 21/3.5, Yashica ML 24/2.8 and Tamron 80-200/2.8 SP LD). I wish I could get Vivitar 35-85/2.8 Series1 Varifocal, but to my knowledge it was never manufactured in Contax/Yashica mount. I do a landscape photography almost exclusively and I always use at least one filter, so the f2.8 max aperture is very important to me (brightness). I'm planning to start with writing articles for the popular travel/hiking magazine, so my lenses don't need to be that razor sharp wide open like Zeiss lenses (I rarely shoot below f8), but they must have a very good contrast and color rendition. The question is, would that Tamron qualify as an excellent choice for my present and future ambitions in photography or I better start building an all Zeiss outfit with the 35-70/3.4 Zeiss if I want to get serious about photography ?

My regards

Sebastian

-- Bostjan Kravcar (kravcar@iskratel.si), May 02, 2000

Answers

Go with the Zeiss. The advantage to Zeiss glass is you _know_ you're getting an excellent lens. The price is high, but part of that is because the quality control is high. Why take a chance on an off-brand lens when you have access to that wonderful Zeiss glass?

As for the Vivitar Series 1, I've used about a dozen of them over the years. Half of them were good lenses. The other half were dogs. When I was working as a photojournalist in Texas one of my friends had a Vivitar Series 1 which was good. Another friend bought an identical lens and could never get a sharp photo out of it. I shot a roll with both lenses on my F1 (not at the same time of course) as a test. We could pick out which lens I used without a loupe.

Along with the Zeiss build quality you'll get a ruggedness you just won't see in third-party lenses. You get what you pay for here.

Think Zeiss.

-- Darron Spohn (dspohn@photobitstream.com), May 03, 2000.

I own this lens. I'm familiar with the "Third Party Cult Classics" reference, but the reason I sought this lens precedes the Internet. In an issue of "Modern Photography" magazine that's at least fifteen years old (and maybe more), Herbert Keppler wrote an article about the close focusing ability of this lens. As I recall, he compared it with other standard zooms that focused close and it was greatly superior in sharpness. He also compared it with a real macro (I think it was the highly regarded 50mm Nikon) and it came very near to it in sharpness up close. My personal experience is that it is a very well made lens that I use mainly for landscape photography, with the added bonus of being able shoot close-up without sacrificing quality. As you probably know, it comes with the Tamron Adaptall interchangable mount system. I don't know whether Adaptall mounts were made for the Contax/Yashica, or if they were, whether they are still available in stores. If they are available, you may have to buy the lens with whatever mount is on it and replace it with one that fits your camera. When available, the lens goes for $125-150 US from stores handling used equipment. You may want to start following E-Bay if you can determine that an Adaptall mount was made for your camera. That's your best place to find the mount if it was made and is no longer sold in stores, and also to see pricing for the lens from private owners. When I changed from Pentax screw mount to Canon EOS bodies, the Adaptall EOS mount was no longer available. I found an EOS Adaptall mount on E-Bay to continue using this lens on my Canon. The Tamron lens is an excellent, versatile piece of equipment. You'll have to determine whether searching for the lens and an adapter is worth the effort in relation to the ease of buying the Zeiss lens in a store. Good luck.

-- Neil Walden (mia-neil@juno.com), May 07, 2000.