Tamron SP 24-48mm F/3.5-3.8(13A)

Review and Photo example of the SP 24-48mm F/3.5-3.8(13A)

Gallery

Sample photo taken with the HASSELBLAD X2D.

Review

The review covers the following:

Lens overview
Usability
Differences in sensor size

1.Lens overview

The Tamron SP 24-48mm F/3.5-3.8 (13A) is a 2x zoom lens released in 1980, and is a premium lens in Tamron’s SP (Special) line. That said, 27 of the 55 Adaptall 2 lenses are SP lenses, so it’s hard to say it has a big premium.

The lens is a rotating zoom lens, and from the front of the lens, the focus ring, zoom ring, and aperture ring are arranged in that order, and the settings are changed by rotating in the following directions.

The focus ring rotates clockwise from infinity to the shortest setting.
The zoom ring rotates counterclockwise from 24mm to 48mm.
The aperture ring rotates clockwise from open to closed.

The lens I own has the appropriate torque for rotation, and there are no problems with operability.

Tamron’s proprietary interchangeable mount, Adaptol 2 mount, is used for the mount, so it can be used with a wide range of lenses, including Nikon-F, EOS, α (MINOLTA), and LEICA-R.

2.Usability

Although it is an old zoom lens, it is very convenient, with a wide-angle end starting at 24mm. Since it is an old zoom, the image is not perfect, and when shooting a straight-line object from the front, the peripheral area is quite distorted, but the center seems to be well resolved.

Also, if you use it with various focal lengths and shooting distances, you will probably see more imperfections, but it is not so noticeable if you only use it occasionally.

When shooting in backlight, ghosts may appear in the image, but the decrease in contrast is not noticeable.

The lens is easy to operate, with a wide ring on the tip of the lens that holds the focus ring. The focus ring rotates to the right, with the left end being infinity and the right end being the shortest distance.
The narrow ring on the body is the zoom ring, which rotates to the right like the focus ring, with the left end being the telephoto end at 48mm and the right end being the wide-angle end at 24mm.

The lens filter screws into the 27FH Hood, so the filter cannot be attached without the hood. The lens alone can be found second-hand, but it is often sold without the 27FH Hood.
The hood is made of plastic and is delicate, so it will likely break over time and will definitely break if dropped. Since it has been a long time since it was manufactured, there are few hoods still in existence and it will be difficult to find the hood alone.

3.Difference in sensor size

When attached to a Hasselblad X2D via the Adaptall 2 Leica R mount and Novoflex R-X mount adapter, the widest focal length of 24mm (equivalent to 19mm in 35mm format) on a digital medium format sensor (44 mm x 33mm) shows a lot of vignetting around the edges, but at the telephoto focal length of 48mm, the vignetting around the edges is not so noticeable. However, images taken using the sensor at its maximum focal length have poor peripheral imaging and blurred images at all focal lengths, so this lens should be used with a sensor setting of 3:2 for 35mm format.

When used with the 35mm full-frame sensor of an EOS-1Ds or LEICA SL, the vignetting around the edges and blurred images are not noticeable, so this is the correct way to use it. However, since it is not a digital-compatible lens, fringes can be seen on the edges of trees, etc. When used with the Pentax K20D, which has an APS-C size sensor, the center of the lens is cropped, giving the impression that the captured image is more refined. However, with a focal length of 24-48mm, this lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 36-72mm, which is the shooting range of a standard zoom lens from a generation ago.

As a lens, it is a light and compact 2x zoom with a convenient focal length, making it a convenient lens for walking around.

Specification

Items	Value	Note
Focal length(mm)	24-48
Max aperture	3.5-3.8
Min aperture	32
Lens Construction	10elements in 9groups
Leaf blade	6
Min distance(m)	0.6
Lens length(mm)	65.5	Distance from mount surface/Nikon F mount
Max diameter(mm)	64.5
Filter Size(mm)	77	Attached to hood 27FH
Weight(g)	346	Nikon F mount
Release date	1980