TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

According provided by TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A lens (black) many thanks to Yarysh Alexei, this is the third Tair-3 that Aleskey sent me to create a review.

TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

This review shows the TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A lens of the ZOMZ factory, which is very different from its counterparts assembled at the KMZ plants.

Main features of TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A:

  1. installation ring and aperture preset ring
  2. during focusing, the focus ring extends forward with the front of the lens
  3. rotatable fixed tripod socket with a latch and two types of thread for different tripod heads
  4. integrated telescopic hood
  5. interchangeable shank system (letter 'A' in name)
  6. 16 aperture blades
  7. depth of field scale and label for working in the infrared spectrum
  8. poor resistance to side and back light

The photos in the gallery below are shown without further processing.

You can download the source files in JPEG format. at this link (files in the '.JPG' format, 170 MB).

How to use with modern cameras?

'A' lenses with an interchangeable shank, such as the one in this review, are very easy to use on almost any modern digital camera (both DSLR and mirrorless), just select correct adapter. The replacement 'A' shank usually has an external M42 thread and an 'H' mount (similar to Nikon F). For use on modern cameras, the easiest way is to add the required adapter from M42 to the desired system or from Nikon F to the desired system to this shank.

 

TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

You can also read the review and watch the video about the 'MS' version - MC TAIR-3S 4,5 / 300as well as a review TAIR-3 4,5 / 300-A from the reader Radozhiva.

Catalog modern brand lenses 'Zenitar' и 'Helios' can look at this link.

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

Add a comment: Rodion

 

 

Comments: 41, on the topic: TAIR-3 4,5 / 300A

  • Vitaly S.

    Hello, I wanted to ask, can someone tell me, the question is a little too dark, - I'm going to take the Tokina 75-300 4.5-5.6 (Japan) lens. The former owner on the D90 gives out a spike during autofocus (only manually). What does this lens represent from itself - (how is it in terms of picture quality, sharpness ... (there is very little information for it) and will it focus manually on my D80 too? And how does it compare to Tamron 70-300 4.5-5.6 ( macro A17)? I'm going to photograph birds and some portraits.

    • anonym

      Vitaly S.
      Before sending a message, please check the text for spelling errors.
      Blood from the eyes went ???

      • ñ

        If it’s bad that you see mistakes from others, but you don’t even notice the mote.
        Well, seriously, to notice errors that substantially change the essence of the message is simply stupid.
        Thanks for the review!

        • ñ

          I wrote nonsense))))))), notice errors that DO NOT significantly change the essence of the message))))))))
          In a fit of anger! :)

      • Vitaly S.

        Well, I was a trishnik, well, I tried :)

        • anonym

          Try your best! And then really, the meaning escapes when you make out what exactly is written! (Effort and labor will grind everything!) :-)

      • Victor

        These are not spelling mistakes - this is illiteracy ...

    • Arkady Shapoval

      A17 will be better

    • Dmitry S

      Dear Vitali!
      The Tokina 75-300 you are interested in was somehow brought to me for repair - the lens did not work in AF mode and, moreover, the aperture value was entered incorrectly. The owner bought it without looking at the low price and brand awareness. I tried to test it on different cameras, D300, d70, D1x, f60. On the last (film) diaphragm, it was displayed accurately and the autofocus showed signs of life (the motor twitched the lens unit). But after this jerk, the battery ran out, and now you can't buy a new one for this camera, so my conclusions do not pretend to be accurate. However, I got the impression that this Tokina is not digital nikon compatible. A similar problem is found in old film Sigmas with Canon mount - at the digital they do not close the diaphragm.
      Tamron will definitely not be worse optically, although it is plastic for the most part. Sigma 70-300 apo macro is nothing too - at least for cropped matrices with a reasonable number of megapixels (6-12).

      • Vitaly S.

        Thanks for the answer, Dmitry, here Arkady advises Tamron. I thought about using Tokins in M ​​mode (saving battery), and I'm used to it. I have Helios 44-2 Minsk (not a bad glass, by the way). So I thought that Tokina should be no worse than many modern lenses, and the price of 950 grivnas was negotiated. On Monday we agreed that I would come to see. And Tamron is from 2000 grivnas. + A spread of quality. Well, anyway, someday I will take something lighter, or zoom 2.8 or the Nikor 300 / F4 fix. And I wondered if there was any sense to overpay. So Dmitry is very grateful to you and Arkady. what prompts. Well, excuse me for my illiterate speech, in childhood there was no one to give a belt to, I grew up without a father, and now there are absolutely no relatives left. Now I look at everything differently.

  • Rodion

    Well, the contrast of the T-3A is actually not the best. Although the very crappy behavior I can’t remember. Otherwise, the lens is quite successful. He really likes the picture.

  • Victor

    ... I had such a lens (from about 1979 to the mid-90s). I regularly filmed football for them. I had no particular complaints about it, except that the large stretching of the distance scale made you work intensively with your hands during focusing ... and, also, extending the heavy front part of the lens significantly increased the force on the focusing ring. In addition, the grease used by the plant in the helicoid was practically unsuitable at low temperatures, which created certain inconveniences ...

    • Alexander

      Good day. And what about manual optics, did you photograph dynamic scenes (running football players)? Using hyperfocal distance?

  • Alex

    "Soviet replaceable shank 'A' is the same as 'T2 Mount'." - here it should be clarified that not all T2-mount tails are the same. I do not know what dimensions the original adapter has, but those sold on eBau have an inner bore diameter that is larger than the tail diameter of the A-lens. To attach it to the lens, you will need either longer screws or a spacer (you will need to grind it on the machine). I was lucky, there were 3 screws in the system administrator's jar.

    • zengarden

      You can wrap the tail of the lens with electrical tape - only blue! :) in one layer - then the Chinese shank sits smoother and denser. Here the main “danger” is if you tighten the screws unevenly, due to the mismatch (shift) of the optical axis, you can get a kind of tild-shift.

      • Alex

        Insulating tape does not help, there are 3-4 millimeters more diameter.

        • zengarden

          You are confusing something. The Chinese T2 mount is larger than the original CP / AN, but not by 4mm. There is a groove on the tail of the lens, into which the shank mounting screws must go; they are quite enough in length, but it is difficult to install exactly in the center, because there is a significant backlash. 1-2 turns of duct tape are enough for the shank to sit tight and then secure with screws.
          Perhaps you have some kind of wrong, fake adapter :)

      • Victor

        Electrical tape is very primitive. The best option is to select a thin, brass plate ... determine the thickness using a barbell ...

        • zengarden

          Why not titanium at once? Of course, a PERFECT round metal sleeve with drilled screw holes will look beautiful and last longer :)
          But it’s easier and faster, for example, to use a piece of a bicycle camera if religion does not allow electrical tape.

    • Victor

      I used the Arsenal KP-A / N shank with this lens. Sit down well, without backlashes, was fixed with 3 screws.

    • Mihailo

      Oh, I suffered with installing one on Jupiter 37A, in the end I installed it clearly, but the screws pressed the shank already at the very end of screwing in, when there was a risk of them falling out) I unscrewed all three screws and twisted them in turn with two turns of the screwdriver))) ) I just don’t know how to check whether the village is even, without displacement. You can't see it with your eyes.

  • dragon yes not snape

    Great lens. The model is very beautiful. I really liked the photos.

  • anonym

    The Tair-3 instance is most likely tired and has a coating on the inner parts of the lenses, which is why they reflect light, transforming it into haze and fog in the photographs. After all, if the light does not directly illuminate the plaque on the lenses, then the thought does not appear.

    • Sergei Mikhailovich

      "... that's why they re-reflect the light, transforming it into haze and fog in the photographs ..."
      Tair-3 is a full-frame lens, and the pictures were taken on a D90 crop, hence we have a stream of light that fills the entire cavity of the camera and is repeatedly reflected from the matrix itself and back through the lens of the lens at different angles, so we get the effect of an overexposed frame, so to speak, “haze” ... In general, it is thankless to draw conclusions about Soviet full-frame lenses made for film (mostly with simple multi-coating) based on cropped images; for a start, at least put them on a full frame. The easiest way to increase contrast “on the crop” is to reduce the front lens area with lowering rings or use large hoods.
      Example photo (reduced front lens area from 72mm to 39mm):

      • anonym

        So you can put a reducing mask on the back of the lens, under the crop. In many lenses this is very easy to do. Though from black cardboard.

        • Sergei Mikhailovich

          “… Put a mask in the back…” will not give an effect due to simple enlightenment, a large flux of light will be re-reflected inside the lens itself, it is necessary to reduce the light flux entering the lens.

          • Sergei

            the designers didn’t guess)

          • Rodion

            By placing the rings in front of the front component, you almost certainly also apertured the lens as an aperture diaphragm. Yes, extra light will not get in. But useful too. Compare excerpts)
            And the mask on the back is the most adequate design solution in this case, because, made of a material that absorbs light, it effectively dampens multiple reflections after the rear lens, which makes a serious contribution to the drop in contrast. Reflections inside the lens unit itself can be removed only by blackening it from the inside or with the help of a selected petal hood.

  • Yar

    There is one.
    I tried portraits, flattening. I tried straight and clamping - this very haze and lack of contrast….

  • Carl Zeiss

    In short, in my opinion this “dinosaur” belongs to museums. Because personally, I just can't imagine why someone on a modern camera would need this low-contrast and lamellar iron bucket ?! Unless, in order to feel on your own skin how hard life was for photographers in the era of film cameras with such lenses, to put it mildly.
    Since it comes to that, I could still talk about something if, for all its weight and dimensions, this bucket (I cannot call it “glass”) would give a more or less interesting picture. But in fact, any of the cheapest kit, of any manufacturer, gives an image better than this lens. And what can they shoot ?! Portraits on a bright sunny day, from a distance? Any other glass will remove better. And at the same time it will be much lighter and more compact in size. And therefore, his time is irrevocably gone ...

    • Sergei

      whale? Well, you made fun!

    • Rodion

      I’m not convinced that he will lose 70-300 to everyone. On the birds a great car for photo hunting. For astrophoto it is good enough and even for visual observations.

    • Maria

      If I understood the point correctly, and having looked at a lot of pictures:
      - the problem with modern telephoto cameras is precisely in the manufacturers' excessive enthusiasm for the sharpness of what is in focus. It is because of this that, especially in full-length portraits with a telephoto lens, an unpleasant flattening effect. When I watch how young photographers on the forums fap on such pictures, I somehow feel uncomfortable.

      The old simple optics just have a more natural picture in this regard, for which many appreciate it.

      The fact of the matter is that old lenses in their philosophy are more like expensive mechanical devices. Or analog recordings, which with the advent of special techniques for playing them only become more valuable. This is not a camera that washes completely out of date.

    • weaves

      I've tried a lot of lenses and I know what I'm talking about. Tair-3 is a favorite tool for field work. Real, honest glass. Thousands of pictures on it. Moderately sharp at 5.6, with a chic scenic transition into the blur zone, with a pronounced character, massive, reliable, comfortable. Obscenely cheap for its exhaust. Indestructible cocked diaphragm with 16 blades. Immortal optical design for only three lenses. Huge 72mm pupil. There are only two minuses - the size (you get tired out of habit), and the grease thickens in the cold (it's hard to focus). And yes, he veils. But this is not always a minus.
      But it’s pointless to explain all this to a person who can say that “any cheapest kit, of any manufacturer, gives an image better than this lens” and not die of shame afterwards)))

      • Rodion

        You are probably talking about the version for the photo sniper. In general, there is a feeling that the quality of lenses is a little floating, especially when it comes to samples from the 1970s and newer: Taira are quite demanding on build quality, the positioning accuracy of the third lens greatly affects.
        As for the rest, I agree - so far very few 300 mm lenses have given better image quality and a better picture than Tahir. To some extent, we can compare the Sonnar 4/300 “zebra” with it - it will even be better due to the lack of HA.

  • Maria

    Please tell me, I got a model of another 58 years in one "archive". Without the letter A in the title. In the lists, it is listed as a rangefinder, i.e. M39 thread is declared, the tail is not removable (like, as I understand it).
    Will he even focus with the M39 adapter? Or everything is sad, and as in the article about rangefinder optics, only flowers can be useful. Thanks.

    • B. R. P.

      300mm rangefinder? Unlikely, except with an optional viewfinder.

      • Maria

        Thank you very much for the comment! All figured out. Too lazy to search and laziness. Everything is fine. For DSLRs, all its modifications. And it focuses through M39 / M42 + M42 normally. And quite sharp with 4.5.

        But!

        When he tried to put through M39 / M42 to M42 with a Brussels lens, he gave such a round smooth vignette terrible as when the crop lens mistakenly put on ff (my crooked hands had such an experience).

        I can’t conclude so far: help me find out:
        1) is it from crooked hands, is something wrong in the settings, or is it a direct consequence of installing the additional lens?

        It’s easier, of course, not to ask, but to buy an adapter without a lens today, what am I doing, just suddenly someone had similar problems with selecting adapters?

        Thank you!

        PS Helios with the same thread through the same bunch normally photographs, without this dark end-circle

      • Maria

        I compare the schemes of working with Helios with a threaded 39. Helios through two adapters works the same way on ff and crop.

        Tair 39M put it on crop - it works fine, with the expected quality for D90, without vignetting and yellowness.

        On ff D800 - it behaves like DX (with a round sharp vignette and slightly yellows) through the same adapter circuit 39-42 and 42 with a lens.

        Apparently, this is a feature of my Tahir, and maybe the curvature of the hands.

        I wonder if it is possible to move the lens and eliminate this drawback?

        • weaves

          hm. I think it's the adapter with the lens. it's not so obvious. despite the same working lengths, the characteristics of the optical flow will be different at the exit from lenses of different lengths. You can easily see this if you try to use them with rings.
          look. on conditional 50mm you will get a pronounced “crop” effect - the more rings, the more the result on the matrix will increase. this is understandable, the rings are then needed. but! at 300mm, the situation will suddenly be completely different. the minimum focusing distance will also decrease (and naturally infinity will disappear), but contrary to expectations, there will be almost no “crop”!
          Simple adapters with lenses are not particularly chasing quality. And the quality of any lens will fall from the center to the edges. on the crop you never see the edges. but you can see it on ff. apparently, this is where this vignetting comes from in tair, imperceptible on helios. there is only one correct way out - to mechanically shorten the tail of the tair (replace the mount).

  • Vladislav

    Hello, tell me, suddenly there was a similar situation with this Tair - my copy had a diaphragm setting ring spinning with very great effort, sometimes it seems that it does not scroll at all, but it can still be very tight.
    Google helped find only someone's case of parsing a lens without step-by-step instructions, so I didn't risk it, but in theory it turns out what went wrong inside? Is the grease thickened?

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