Well said, Bob .... I'm not trimming a word of your response just in case anyone may have missed it.
Shel > [Original Message] > From: Bob Sullivan > JCO, > > You're blowing things far out of proportion. The focus feel of the A > lenses is very similar to the M's, K's, and screw mounts, especially > when you start comparing to the higher quality A's. Your comparison > to the 50's is flawed. And focus feel is less of an issue in these > days of autofocus lenses. > > Yes, some of these cheaper A's traded plastic for metal, but I shot > for a long time with a Super A, and the lighter weight was a feature - > by design. Yes, I don't like the A28/2.8 and have fixed a copy with a > spring problem on the A setting. Yes, I don't like the plastic body > on the A50/1.7. But I really like the focus feel on my > A15/3.5, A20/2.8, A24/2.8, A50/1.4, A85/1.4, A100/2.8 macro, A135/1.8, > A200/4, A300/4, A400/5.6 and A35-105/3.5 zoom. They all feel good in > the hand. > > (I'm buying Joe's A35/2 and I sure wish I could find an A28/2.0. I've > been close to an A100/2.8 but haven't been able to acquire one and > have little interest in the A135/2.8 or A100/4 macro.) > > For 'bona fida's' on the lense issue, I own almost all the primes in > the M catalogue except the M50/4 macro. The M28/2.0 and M300/4 were > more difficult to find, but I've owned most of the rest from new. I > also own most prime lenses from the K catalogue except the K15/3.5 and > K300/4. (The K85/1.8, K30/2.8,and K200/2.5 were the toughest to find > but are sweet. I'd still like to find a K28/2.0 to compare with the > K20/4 I picked up long ago.) I've also acquired 85% of the SMC > screwmount primes, from the 300/4 on down. They have a distinct > tactile feel because of the lack of a rubber grip on the exterior. > I've also got an assortment of the Super Tak's and older Pentax lenses > that I picked up along the way. ...So I know the feel of my Pentax > lenses. > > With these lenses, I can see the evolution of Pentax lens design from > Super Takumar, to SMC, to K, to M, to A, from a Super Takumar 85/1.9 > to the SMC 85/1.8 to the K85/1.8. They are clearly a family. > > For a time, I was troubled by the move to plastic, but I see it now as > a natural transition to lighter lenses that are needed to support the > move to big range zooms. > > And yes, the pre '70's SMC screwmount lenses have a slightly different > feel in the hand. (With the metal exterior of the Limited Lenses, > that feel could be duplicated in the Limited lenses except for the > clicking of the autofocus mechanism as you focus manually.) > > In any case, it is a gross exaggeration to say the A line is not so > good. The line has some of the highest quality prime lenses that > Pentax has ever produced. > > Regards, Bob S. > > > On 1/9/07, J. C. O'Connell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Right now, I only have 3 Pentax "A" lenses, all 50mm's like in new > > condtion. > > 2 50mmf1.4As and a 50mmf2.8A Macro. I have over 35 PENTAX K and M lenses > > (but over a dozen of those are 50 and 55mm ) and about a dozen third > > party PK lenses & only four > > of those are "A" type. This is > > only PK lenses. I have a ton of Pentax & third party M42 also. > > I probably have about 80+ 35mm SLR lenses in my personal collection... > > ALL FULL FRAME and ALL PENTAX K or PENTAX screw mount. I dont > > use or have any other makes....Only good thing about this overkill > > is they have all gone up in value quite a bit in the last year or so, so > > I dont feel as bad as I should for having so many...My hobby > > has kinda turned into an investment, this year at least... -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
