Joe Wilensky wrote:
The FA 50mm f/1.4 build quality seems decent for an autofocus lens, about on par with the other FA primes like the 35/2 and 28/2.8. The FA zooms that extend in length like the 28-105 f/3.2-? and the 24-90 feel flimsier, but that's because of the extended barrel. The FA powerzoom was much sturdier. If you're asking specifically about the aperture ring, it's not bad, but nowhere near a good K or M lens. Same for focus feel, although the 50/1.4 and even more so, the 35/2 FA lenses feel almost as good for manual focusing as some of the cheaper A lenses.
[...]
A few of the A lenses have decent focus feel and aperture rings, although nothing felt quite as flimsy as two examples of the A 35-70 f/4 I tried,
Mine feels much better now, after replacing the focus cam and pins! Nice and tight! B�)
keith whaley
...and the A 50/1.7 has an aperture ring that frequently deteriorates inside as some plastic piece breaks off and fouls the mechanism. The A 50/1.4 is usually decent, but the K and M lenses are nearly all superior in feel. I do have the A 24-50 f/4 zoom (bargain condition from KEH) and it feels great, nearly indistinguishable from a good M zoom.
Joe
[...]
