Adaptalls and Other Interchangeable Mount Lenses

[Stan]

Other than having 4 Tamron Adaptall lenses, I think I can officially characterize myself as a "collector" since I now have 4 different types of mounts! Nikon, Minolta, Contax C/Y, and Konica. I'm certain that I'll add others along the way, but it seems to be a bit of a weird thing!

Has anyone else here collected interchangeable mount lenses and their mounts?

[Stephen]

Only in passing, as they have turned up, but we also used to sell the Tamron, and they were good lenses, only beaten by the Vivitar Series One lenses, and then only by a slight margin. Some of the Adaptors went through several models like the OMI, which was awkward to make the adaptor for, but they got them reliable in the end. The Nikon adaptor was not really up the engineering of the Nikon mount, usually a bit looser.
Stephen.

[cooltouch]

Oh, yes, I have, although I didn't do it deliberately. It all started when I decided to change systems from Canon FD to Nikon. Shortly after buying into the Nikon system, I bought an EOS outfit, ostensibly for my wife to use, so she could easily take good pics of our newborn daughter. And I slowly added to that outfit, eventually including an EOS DSLR that took the EF-S lenses. The years went by and I found that I really missed my old FD outfit, so what did I do? I bought back into Canon FD. And then there were a couple of other cameras I'd always thought were very nice, so eventually I bought them as well -- a Pentax KX and more recently a Minolta XD-11. I liked the KX so much, I added to the system, then came across a deal on an old Spotmatic with lens that I couldn't walk away from. And I added to that system. And then while all this was going on, I also picked up an old Canon rangefinder in LTM (M39) mount and added some lenses to it. And then there was this nice Bronica ETRSi outfit, which required that I outfit it with lenses as well. Most recently of all, I finally bought a camera I've been wanting for over 20 years -- a Pentax 67. Which, of course, meant that it would need some lenses, which I bought. Oh, and my most recent digital system camera now is a NEX 7. But I still have only the kit zoom that came with it. Although I've bought adapters for almost all my 35mm systems so I can use those lenses on my NEX. And like you I also own Tamrons. In fact, I think I have a pretty good assortment of Tamrons, such that with any camera that Tamron made an adaptall-2 mount for, I have a complete set of lenses for it. Most of my Tamrons are SP lenses -- the best they made -- and I consider them to be at every bit as good as OEM lenses. Having a good selection of Tamrons comes in handy when a person has so many lens mounts

So, let's see, not including Canon EOS EF-S, since it interchanges with EF, by my count I have ten different interchangeable lens systems. Funny, it doesn't seem like that many. And of course, I have lenses for each system.  Hooboy.

[gwbert]

Hi - I have the usual few drawers full of Tamrons. Vivitar TX etc.
However I have one interchangeable-mount lens which has me beat.
No mount fitted, so cannot use it. Mount is screw-on, not bayonet.

It is a beautifully made AICOMATIC 300mm f4.5. Very metal, smooth
as silk & extremely heavy. Have tried all the usual research sources
with no success. Has anyone here every come across such a mount?

Thanks,

Colin

[Stephen]

The Aicomatic almost certainly has the T2 mount, the widely established manual type adaptor, made in most camera makers mounts. If it has an Auto diaphragm, then it is the T4 series. The screw on the back of the lens is the same in both, and originally was developed by Tamron. The T2 system is still made, in popular mounts, from China.
Stephen

[Just Plain Curt]

Not sure on the mount for the Alcomatic, but probably a T mount or T2 as suggested. I have oodles of Tamron, Tamron SPII, T, T2, T4, TX as well as several other mounts. Bought a box once that has over 40 mounts that I couldn't figure out for a couple years. Turns out they're Toshiba mount used mainly in Europe but I've bought a few Tosner lenses that use this mount. An oddball bayonet but I have mounts for almost every brand of camera all in the one box. Used to think it was a score but now with prices tanking I think they're just one more thing in the basement pile, I mean collection, LOL.

[hannes]

I have 3 nice Tokina made lenses with T4 mount and an adapter for Nikon. Now I would like zu use them on my OM-2n. But I cannot find a T4 adapter for OM mount, only TX 8-(

[Rachel]

Hans, I cannot find any reference to a T4 mount for the Olympus. I don't know much about The Olympus brand but were their SLRs around in the days that the T4 mount was manufactured? A solution might be to get a T4 mount for M42 and add an M42 to Olympus adaptor. Was there an adaptor to use Nikon lenses on the Olympus? I realise that it's not good form to use two adaptors between lens and camera.

[Stephen]

I think T4/TX did cover Olympus, but it was an awkward mount to make an adaptor for as the mount flange is far forward and no other make will fit via adaptors due to the size and the large mirror. Olympus could not take Nikon lenses, or any other make, due to the mirror. A special modification was done by Williamson to fit a smaller mirror and modify the whole body to take a Nikon mount.

Adaptall had to make a very thin adaptor, with a gear box to reverse the drive for the aperture ring direction, and a T4 would have the same problems. Most accessory makers went for the easy solution, make a dedicated OM model lens.
|Adaptors do the Photographer no favours, they were merely to suit retailers, saving them stocking a huge range of dedicated lens.

Stephen

[Rachel]

Thanks Stephen, I didn't know those things about Olympus. It very odd considering that their bodies were much smaller than most other makes.

[Rachel]

Just found this on ebay Vivitar 28mm f2.5 Auto TX prime wideangle lens in Olympus OM fit . It is, though, in TX mount rather than T4. There seems to be some confusion about whether T4 and TX mounts are interchangeable with each other but I cannot fit my one TX mount onto any of my T4 lenses. I don't, at the moment, have a TX mount lens so I can't say whether the T4 mount will fit TX lenses.

Further searches show quite a lot of TX mount lenses on ebay usually with a mount included.

[yashica1943]

This made me start thinking about the Adaptall mounts that I have now. I have 3 Nikon, 2 x Rollei QBM, at least 3 Olympus OM, at least 3 Yashica/Contax. 2 Canon FD at least 2 Pentax PK...........Oh and at least one Konica.. Many are with original boxes.

[hannes]

Mar 16, 2016 5:25:40 GMT -5 Rachel said:

Just found this on ebay Vivitar 28mm f2.5 Auto TX prime wideangle lens in Olympus OM fit . It is, though, in TX mount rather than T4. There seems to be some confusion about whether T4 and TX mounts are interchangeable with each other but I cannot fit my one TX mount onto any of my T4 lenses. I don't, at the moment, have a TX mount lens so I can't say whether the T4 mount will fit TX lenses.

Further searches show quite a lot of TX mount lenses on ebay usually with a mount included.

Hi, I have seen this one too. But it is too expensive for me. With the TX adapter I cannot use my 3 T4 lenses.
I have seen a few more TX mount lenses for OM, but never a T4. T4 seems to be rare anyway compared to TX.

You can mount a T4 lens on a TX adapter but not the other way round.  In Flickr I found this photo, which made me understand why this is the case. Read the comments to the image in flickr for more info.

T4 TX T4 by Jussi, auf Flickr

Hannes