Biere Baron wrote:hi Frank
Can I confirm something with you re your post. Is your Tamron f2.8 LD IF a manual focus lens (apologies for my ignorance)? If it is the manual focus lens, you say that it works on a Sony A700?
The reason for my questions is this. I have a Tamron SP 60-300mm f/3.8-5.4 (model 23A) which I got in the late 1980s with my first SLR (Canon T70). It is one of the Adaptall 2 system lenses. I want to use it on my A700 and I've read/heard mixed opinions on the use of this lens with the A700. Some say it can be done, others not. From what you say it appears that I could possibly use the lens on the A700 in full manual mode (I assume) with the appropriate Adaptall 2 mount and an adaptall to M42 adapter. Is this the case...??
thanks for your help, and thanks to anyone else with experience with Tamron's adaptall 2 system, manual focus lenses and the A700.
cheers
alex
Welcome in the PhotoClubAlpha !,
You can use the lens with no problem in manual mode with the A700 with a basic Alpha Mount to Adaptall adapter., because the camera like the Minolta 5D -7D and Sony A100 has the ability to removed the lens presence to work in A Mode or M Mode.
But, if you want to have confirm focus information, yes the inexpensive way to do that (instead of doing my tricky modification) is to buy Adaptall to M42, and after that a M42 adapter. This is the setup i'm using for my Old Tamron 300mm F/2.8 and this work Really good.
In fact, with confirm focus adapter, you are better to use new body like the A900 (i have not tested this on A200-300-350). Because with the new system, the camera will try to turn the motor and react like if there was a real autofocus lens in front of the camera. This means that you can if you want push completely the shutter button, and the camera will take the picture only when you will be in focus. This can help for Fast action sport with a manual focus lens (yes ... with this new way of working ... this can help you to take picture not as fast as a real autofocus lens ... but if you now the good direction of your lens to go from far or near .. you can be close too ... ).
In conclusion, every adaptall can be use on your A700. I have had the chance a month ago to play with a 200mm 3.5 of Tamron. This was not a SP model, but the picture quality at full aperture was really good. Some of the old Tamron lens was really good, another was really bad. The good news, you can afford them for almost nothing now and play with it, and keep it if you like or not.
In this world of recycling minding ... why not pushing people to use more this old lens

. Some optic laws has not changed since a long time (yes there is coating, and APO stuff ..., but some design was really good for the time ).
Regards,
Frank