I was told there is a previous version of Adaptall mount from Tamron, called Adaptamatic. I am considering buying a lens, 200mm f3.5 from Tamron, and I was told the lens may require an Adaptamtic mount rather than an Adaptall mount to put in use. Is there an Adaptamatic mount for OM system SLR? How's the quality of this 200mm F3.5? TIA.

-- Lingyun Su (lysu@hotmail.com), May 11, 2000

Answers

Is this a new lens? If so, I don't see why a regular Adaptall mount would not work. Some of the early Tamron lenses use the Adaptamatic mount, but as I recall they switched to the Adaptall mount 20 or so years ago. Check at B&H Photo/Video's web site for mount information. As for the quality of the Tamron lens, well, you get what you pay for. It should be OK, but don't expect results equal to a Pentax 200/2.8 lens.

Before you jump on the Tamron you should check out keh.com. They have a Pentax 200/4 listed in Excellent Plus condition for $199.

-- Darron Spohn (dspohn@photobitstream.com), May 14, 2000.

The current Tamron mount system is the Adaptall 2. This was preceeded by the Adaptall, and prior to that the Adaptamatic. If you purchase this lens, you are purchasing a lens that is at least twenty years old, with an obsolete mount that was discarded by Tamron because of mounting problems.. While there may be an Adaptamatic OM mount out there, it will be difficult to find and not worth the trouble. There are many excellent lenses available in this range, including the Olympus 180 f:2.8, that will come with a permanent OM mount. Or purchase a tamron lens such as the 180 f:2.5 currently available on Ebay which you can match with a readily available adaptall 2 mount.

-- Eric onore (eonore@aol.com), May 15, 2000.