7.5
8.5
7.8

Tamron Adaptall-2 75-250mm f/3.8-4.5 mkII

Year -
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Weight
Hood -
2009-08-05

pdeley

IQ
7.5
Build
8.5
7.8
good build quality, sharp at 250mm
prone to color fringing, 6-blade diaphragm, symbolic hood, no real closeup options

The somewhat unusual zoom range of this lens (right in between the traditional 70-200ish standard and Tamron's own 60-300) begs the question of why it exists at all, so I had to get one and find out. Positives are that it is quite sharp at the long end for a zoom, slightly more so than the 60-300 Adaptall-2 SP, and that it has a better minimum focus distance (1.2m) than the 1.9m minimum of the 60-300 out of macro mode, producing a little bit better magnification than the latter can do without using its remarkable macro mode. Compared to the various offerings in the 70-200ish zoom range its main obvious advantage is the slightly longer reach at the tele end, without noticeably sacrificing on sharpness.



On the other hand, the 75-250 has no macro mode at all, it seems prone to color fringing (more than the 60-300) and the 6-blade diaphragm produces fairly unsophisticated hexagonal out-of-focus highlights & flare patterns.

Build quality is good but the tiny built-in hood is a bit pointless in practice.