Does anyone have experience with the Tamron Adaptall 2 system for Leica R mount?

[smcmason]

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I was reading through an old thread today and learned about the Adaptall 2 system. I’d never heard of it before. For others who may not have heard of it before today - the Adaptall lenses from Tamron do not connect directly to any camera body. You choose from a variety of rings that fit these ‘generic’ lenses to your camera mount. It just so happens to be offered in Leica R.
 

I shoot with an R6.2 and SL 601 (generally R lenses on both) and was curious to learn more. It seems like some of the lenses in this system are quite well regarded. After going pretty far down the rabbit hole this afternoon, I picked up an R mount adapter and a bunch of lenses to try out:

17mm f3.5

28mm f2.5

35-70mm f3.5-4.5

90mm f2.5

60-300mm f3.8-5.4

From what I read today, the 17 and 90 are considered the top of the heap for the system. The 35-70 sounds like a decent performer too, and the others cost about as much as a roll of 35mm Portra these days, so I figured why not. 
 

I was surprised I’d never heard of this option. Can anyone share their experience with any lenses in this system? I’m happy to share my results once I get my hands on this stuff but wanted to see what folks had to say since there didn’t seem to be much history on it within the forum.

Thanks all 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by smcmason

[hepcat]

They were interesting, if not exactly an elegant solution; sort of a one-size-fits-all affair.  Recognizing that your R6.2 had a list price of $3450 in 1994 most of the folks who could afford one weren't terribly interested in "budget" lenses, even though the performance of the Tamron lenses were, on the whole, quite good.  They saw better sales with some of their other Adaptall mounts like Pentax K, Konica AR, Nikon and Canon.

There was Adaptall, Adaptall II, and I believe both were available in R mount, but I don't recall off the top of my head any more what exactly the "improvement" was to the second series.

You'll enjoy the lenses, and it's great that they have another life.

Edited December 7, 2022 by hepcat

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[earleygallery]

I use some Tamron lenses on my R3. 

The 24mm has a particularly nice rendering and I also have an SP tele zoom. Always fancied trying the 17mm too.

Tamron make some very fine lenses, not really a ‘budget’ range in terms of quality!

[smcmason]

@earleygallery I'll be sure to report back on the 17mm performance, thanks. I certainly don't expect them to match the output of my R glass, but everything I am hearing seems quite positive!

[smcmason]

@cbass is there any reason to think these would be compatible with the 2x APO extender? 

[Pyrogallol]

I wanted one for my original Leicaflex body but apparently the ones for the Leicaflex and Leicaflex SL are uncommon and expensive. Ones that fit later R cameras are more common but do not fit the early ‘Flex bodies. I have a Tamron 35-80mm macro zoom lens I was going to use.

[nitroplait]

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You'll find quite detailed write-ups on all the lenses here:

http://www.adaptall-2.com

I use the 28/2.5 on my R3 and the results rivals my Nikkor 28/2.8 AiS which is widely considered excellent. Don't have a Leitz 28mm to compare with.

I also have an SP 35-80 2.8/3.8 Zoom which is highly regarded, but ergonomically doesn't agree with me. I haven't used it enough to have formed an opinion on it's optical qualities.

The Tamron lenses introduced in the late 70's early 80's are mostly extremely well made. And the handling feels every bit as assuring as the camera manufacturers own lenses. Lenses introduced later became more plasticky.

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Edited December 8, 2022 by nitroplait

[David Weber]

I am using the 17mm 3.5 with my R5 quite often. I have the first version with built-in Filters. For it's age, i think it's quite good. It has very little distortion and less vignetting than the 21mm Leica-R. Only flares can be a Problem.

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[David Weber]

After being quite happy with the 17mm. I have also bought the 24mm and 28mm 2.5 Tamron lenses. But I haven't used them quite often yet. I do like the bokeh of both lenses wide open. But compared to the Leica-R 24 and 28, they are bit softer wide open. The second hand prices for both lensens where about 5-10% of the prices that I have paid for the Leica-R 28 and 24. For this price they are really good lenses. I have also tested the transmission against the Leica-R lenses with a Sony A7.. (I wanted to know, if they are relay 2.5 and not just 2.8 lenses). And yes they where 1/3 stop brighter wide open, than the Leica lenses.

But I have also some bad experiences with Adaptal2 lenses on Leica R. The 28mm had an adapter, that was a bit sticky (slow). This lens has killed the depth of field lever of my Leica R7. The entire mechanism needs a bit more force to close the iris than the original lenses. Because of that Tamron officially has only supported the R3 - R6 not he R7! I wasn't aware of that, until my camera was broken. After that I have put some drops of medicinal petrol on the adapter mechnism and it is a good as new again.

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Leica R4, Tamron 24mm and / or 28mm, Kodak Gold 200

Edited December 10, 2022 by David Weber

[smcmason]

@David Weber Thanks for the insight! I like these examples. Will be sure to take some shots with my SL and post the results of different lenses once they arrive over the next few days. 

[spydrxx]

I entered the Leica R system with an R3 and a series of Tamron Adaptall II SP lenses, including most of those mentioned above. I later obtained the adapter to use them on my Leicaflex SL2, and eventually used them on my R8. Now, years later, having left the R system, I kept the 17, the 24, and the 35-28 and 90. I also used the 500 and two of the medium telephoto zooms. The best one was just too heavy for me. Optically I found the keepers to match many of the better lenses of other manufacturers of the era. I did prefer the Leica 90 and 135s over the Tamrons. If you have good copies, you will probably find that they are keepers, even if yyou eventually trade up to equivalent Leicas.

[smcmason]

I've been receiving a steady stream of Adaptall 2 lenses in the mail. The sun finally peeked out for a moment here in the western US, so I took the opportunity to grab a photo of this flower in our kitchen. This is SOOC on my Leica SL 601 at f2.5 (click for higher res). I will admit that I am kind of blown away by the contrast. If the sun ever comes out again, I'll try it stopped down and start pixel peeping. For less than $150 USD, I am happy. 

We'll see how the 300mm f2.8 does once it arrives on Saturday...🙂

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Edited December 16, 2022 by smcmason

[smcmason]

Checking in with another update on my Tamron Adaptall adventure. I didn't find the 17mm to be as wonderful as internet reviews led me to believe. It's certainly possible I just got an unimpressive copy, but I did return that one. The 28mm on the other hand, I thought was absolutely serviceable. The 60-300mm zoom I wound up with was sharp enough, although the images were extremely flat and low contrast.

Two of the lenses are absolute stars: the 90mm f2.5 and the 300mm f2.8. The dreary winter (non) lighting didn't make for any stunners, but here are a few around-the-house shots I took with the 300 on my SL 601 (unedited and resized for forum sharing). They are all at 2.8, and the one of our dog with his head on the floor is with the 2X APO extended attached. The images have great detail as can be seen in the totem fellow below, and the depth of field is razor thin if you want it to be (the ridges on the right side of the water bottle cap are a good example, I think). For a 300mm f2.8 with a 112mm(!) filter thread size, it's not that big. Ultimately, I think the Adaptall system can be a great way to fill in the wide and long ends of the spectrum where R lenses can get quite spendy. Obviously, there are some less expensive long-range R lenses, but I think this 300mm is more desirable based on my experience. It's close to the great Leica 350mm R that I have, but I may sell that 350mm now just because the Tamron is smaller and half the price. This has been a neat learning experience for me!

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[smcmason]

@cbass Thanks - that all sounds right to me. I don't have anything in my R lineup between 70 and 135 but have heard the 90 Summicron is outstanding. I suppose my takeaway is that the Adaptall lenses definitely have a place if you're trying to round out a lineup on a budget. I see what you meant about the mechanical operation of them though. Some have been what I'd call mildly janky feeling compared to my Leica R lenses  Still a great value, though!

[spydrxx]

I've had to disassemble, clean, relube, and adjust a few, but overall very pleased with them. Like any lens, one does need to experiment a little to settle in on each lens' sweet spot.

[TMorita]

I have a few Adaptall-2 lenses, although I haven't shot with them in a while.

Here's a shot with the Tamron SP 28-80mm f/3.4-4.2 (27A) albeit on a Sony NEX-6.

 

 

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[pierovitch]

I made my own adaptor from a Leica R mount and an Amazon Tamron adaptor for a 35-70 3.5 zoom and an SP 60-300mm. (The former has a remarkable likeness to the Leica Japanese lens) Using Rollei ATP manual stop down of a couple of stops is not a problem. I have used The R lenses and R4-R7 professionally for decades of scientific photography and found no practical difference with other high quality pro lenses. The irony is the High prices for R lenses are now driven by their rendering for low resolution cinematic applications.