Tamron 28mm F2.5 (02B)

Another one of my favourite Tamron lenses, one I kept in my search box for a long time, and then it shows up.

Page Last Edited : Sunday, 7th of September 2025.
© Dave Rowlands. All Rights Reserved.

Attached to my OM-D E-M1 II and looking the part.

This is what came with it but wasn't mentioned in the for sale description.

I had been after this lens for such a long time but never actually managed to get it for a price I was willing to pay. I was actually surprised when I opened the parcel and found all the bits and pieces inside. The lens itself is in beautiful condition, the glass is spotless, and there is only a minimum amount of dust specks floating about inside the lens.

The focus and aperture rings are super smooth, evoking memories of a time long past. As usual with a new lens to me, I let it get to room temperature, gave it a wipe and added a Tamron Adaptall 2 to Canon FD adapter, and then it is ready for attaching to one of my Olympus M43 bodies. I chose the E-M1 II for my first tests with this lens. The only markings on the front of the lens are just the maker's name, "Tamron", nothing else, no reference to max aperture, focal length and the size of the filter thread. Looking at it head-on on you would be forgiven for thinking that something is missing, that poor little lens at the front doesn't evoke any kind of wow factor. It's actually quite a plain-looking piece of photographic gear, but once you start to use it things change dramatically. One of the first shots I took with it is below, and as usual, from my front door step.

Taken at 1/320th second f5.6 ISO 200. It was just a quickie shot as it looked as though the rain was about to pour. It's a straight out of camera (SOOC) JPeg with just a bit of a touch up using the smart curve tool in IrvanView.

This is what surprised me, I looked at the image enlarged to 100% and was thrilled to see such sharpness. For a lens that is over 45 years old and designed for a totally different photographic system I was blown away.

Both Lenses Side By Side

Side by side, the 28mm lenses look as different as they perform, but work just as well. I like the results from both, but having two prime lenses of the same focal length seems, well, an indulgent that I wouldn't have allowed in my early years. They are the same but different, a couple of shots below from the f2.5 version.

After seeing the results of some of the photos I took I decided to add the Canon 2x Extender FD 2x-B and fired off a few shots, below are the results:

The shots above are SOC, and I was impressed. I do have the Tamron 01F 2x Teleconverter, but it's such a fiddly operation changing it I didn't bother, but will give it a go so I can compare the results. The Canon 2x is a beautiful piece of old technology and is only supposed to work with lenses with a focal length of 300mm or less but I have used it on my Tamron 500mm f8 mirror without any problems except for keeping it steady, well, 500mm x 2 x 2 is quite a long 2000mm lens and at only f16 it's pretty hard to focus.

Below are some shots taken with the Fotodiox Focal Reducer added to the 28mm f2.5 lens, in 35mm format it becomes a 20mm f1.8 and with the 2x crop factor of the M43 system it's basically a 40mm f1.8.

When I first saw these images, I noticed a blue tint, which is the coating on the focal reducer's lenses. It's easy enough to remove using software, but stopping the lens down a couple of stops clears it.

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