On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Peter Jordan wrote: > I have just received the 85mm f/1.4 A* that I picked up from a UK retailer. > What a beauty!!! Can hardly wait to start using it. > > Playing with the lens on a camera body, the focus ring seems to move very > easily and lightly. Looking at another A lens, my 20 f/2.8 also seems to > glide around much more easily. You could almost, but not quite call them > loose. > > However my M and K primes require a little more effort to move the focus > ring and have a slightly more positive feel to them. > > Is this just my two A lenses being a little on the loose side or can others > feel the difference between A and M lenses?
Over the years the focus feel has gotten a lot lighter. The screw mount takumars are gorgeously built but that combined with their metal barrel exteriors and small barrel sizes means that they are slow focusers--distracingly so in my experience trying to shoot action with them. My "M" lenses were a little faster focusing than my "K" lenses, although it could simply have been wear. My "M" 50/2.0 is pretty fast and smooth to focus but not as fast and smooth as my well-worn Nikkor AI/AIS lenses. My "A*" lenses were REALLY fast and loose in focus feel (300/4, 135/1.8, 85/1.4, 300/2.8, 200/2.8). The 135, 200, and 300/4 were much faster and nicer to focus than the equivalent Nikkor lenses (or anything else I have experienced), as were my 50/1.7 and 35/2.0 A lenses. The 85/1.4 was a little stiffer but still perhaps a bit faster/looser than the 85/1.4 AIS Nikkor. The 300/2.8 was plenty fast and loose, but as a used lens was not all that smooth and was not as fast and smooth as my 300/2.8 AIS Nikkor (was--now it's worse!). On the other hand, I had a lot of problems with the helicoid of the 135/1.8. DJE
