Thanks for the reminder - forgot to add: both lenses are black and unmarked.

I know you should never sell these lenses, but I increasingly find myself drawn to the highly portable DA Ltds and don't see myself making a transition to full frame any time soon.

Both are mint. Both boxed and with all the original caps, pouches, etc. The 77 was bought secondhand from LCE but in superb shape. I have owned the 31 from new and it is literally "as new".

I have already been offered sensible trade in prices from SRS so will be going there next Friday unless somebody here wants to get in first.

For the FA77 I am looking for £500 including insured postage within the UK.

For the FA31 I am looking for £700 including insured postage within the UK.

Please PM me if you are interested, and I will be happy to post images if somebody here is looking for these.

Jon

Tamron 180 sold - thanks for looking

PM replied

More information and reviews of this lens can be found via the following link. The price is an absolute steal for such a great lens so snap it up quickly before I stick it on EBay!

link

I don't know if you are in the market currently, but in the classifieds at the moment I am advertising an Adaptall 180SP f2.5. This is a legendary lens built as a limited edition that would give the 200mm DA* a close run for its money. Possibly the sharpest lens Tamron ever made.

I am not an expert on all things Tamron but other lenses that are generally very highly thought of include:

(1) 90mm SP macro lens - especially the original all-metal version, which is built like a tank and can still hold its own against modern lenses.

(2) 500mm SP mirror lens - if mirror lenses are your thing (they have their pro's and con's) this one is generally readily available, and about as good as they get.

As a general rule, the "SP" lenses were supposed to be of higher quality than the rest of the Adaptall range, and were at their time considered to be of high quality - closer to the camera manufacturer's standards than some other third party manufacturers.

Should add that the prices mentioned above also include a Hoya Pro 1 77mm UV filter - which has been on the lens since I bought it, and is worth quite a lot by itself!

Have just booked some flights for a family trip next year and think I may need to prune my lens collection a little more in order to pay for them....

This lens is a stunner and will work in all the AE modes if you have a PKA adapter. Rumoured to be possibly the sharpest lens Tamron ever made, it's a real collectors item as only 3,500 were ever made.

Build quality is absolutely top-notch - all metal - and the lens comes with its original hood, caps and case.

In excellent condition, and everything working as it should. It shows very minor signs of wear but I don't think you'd find a better one unless it had basically sat in a cupboard.

The last one of these on Ebay went for nearly £500, but that seems a little excessive to me. I'd be looking for £325 for the lens, or £375 including a PKA adapter. Prices are for bank transfer and exclude PayPal fees and postage (it is not that light, so I would anticipate postage being the region of £10-£15).

I can add or send photos if people are interested. Let me know.

Jon

After reading this lot earlier, I thought I'd have a play tonight and compare my 18-55 WR with various older primes. I might try and do more over the weekend but from a first go through (using tripod, remote release and SR off), my initial impressions are:

Compared to SMCM 20mm f4

At f4, the kit is sharper in the centre but the SMCM is better around the borders, and the SMCM has less purple fringing
At f5.6 the SMCM is sharper everywhere and has less fringing, but the kit lens is fine
At f8 that old prime is stunning!

Conclusion - although it is pretty decent, the widest angles are not the strongest card in the kit lens' hand - so if you take lots of pictures at the wide end, espeically wide open, you may want to investigate other options

Compared to Tamron 24mm f2.5

At f4 the kit lens is sharper around the borders (and much better than the results at 20mm) but has more purple fringing. Sharpness in the centre is very similar for both lenses
At f5.6 and f8 the Tamron is sharper in the centre and has less fringing, but there is a notable drop off in performance around the borders - the kit lens is more consistent

Conclusion - very close and the Tamron does not provide a very convincing reason to "upgrade" from the kit lens.

Compared to SMCM 35 f2.8

As for the other lenses, the prime has less purple fringing than the kit
At f4, performance between the two lenses is almost indistinguishable
At f5.6, the SMCM is sharper in the centre
At f8, the prime is superb, but the kit is also very good

Conclusion - the 35mm SMCM is a bit of a sleeper amongst older Pentax lenses but actually performs very well indeed. A nice "standard prime" and goes to f2.8 if you need it - worth adding to the kit bag as a cheap option to the 35mm FA - nicely made standard lens if you can find one at the right price. However, the kit lens is more than holding its own at this kind of focal length.

Compared to SMCA 50 f1.4

At f5.6 the prime is a little better than the kit, but you'd have to look quite hard to notice much difference by f8. And the kit seems to perform better at longer focal lengths in any case, with its weaker spots being at wide angle.

Conclusion - don't buy a 50mm prime if you rarely venture to faster apertures than f8. The reason to buy one is to have fun at the apertures that don't feature on the kit!

Final conclusions - the kit lens performs very nicely. The main issues with mine are purple fringing (and stopping down does not seem to get rid of it) and less than convincing picture quality at the widest angles, especially around the borders at wide apertures. Given that most wide angle shots are likely to be shot at smaller apertures in any case, this is hardly a major downside.

Based upon this messing around today, I would see the arguments in favour of more expensive or prime lenses being more about faster apertures than anything else. If you don't need f2.8 or faster on a regular basis, the kit lens will do very well indeed.

Buying a cheap alternative to my Ultron was never going to work!!!!

Seriously though, I would be tempted to write a very polite note to the seller and explain the problem - and give them the option of either taking the lens back or offering you a discount. If he splits the cost with you, then you could have a go at getting it sorted.

If the fungus is very minor, you might get away with leaving it outside on a really sunny day - apparently the UV can kill it off. This also happens to be the limit of my technical ability to deal with fungus!

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Jon