Hi, > Another question: is the KA 35-105/3.5 either a) as good as, > b) about the same, or c) not quite as good as -- the KA 35-70/f4?
> Let the experts Now Rage Forth, far... far.... better, than > ever before. I'm not an expert any more (if I ever was one), but I'll give it a try based on personal experience of those I owned: A 20/2.8 - excellent, well built, easy to handle A 24/2.8 - excellent but some very obvious fall-off wide open A* 85/1.4 - quite large, can intimidate subjects, superb optically, excellent to handle, well built A 100/2.8 macro - superb in every way; a real pleasure to use A* 135/1.8 - same as the A* 85/1.4, but perhaps slightly less easy to handle because of its size A* 300/4 - compact, very well built, easy to handle. Some people tell me that other 300s are better optically, but I never had cause for complaint. A 400/5.6 - superb, very easy to use, excellent optical quality, best possible build quality. I used most of these with LXs. I found that with the larger lenses it was pretty much essential to have a winder on the body to get the weight distributed in a way I liked. A 35-105/3.5 very well built and optically very good, but large and heavy so not particularly easy to use. I've never used an A 35-70, but I have handled some. They are not as well built as the others I've used, and had quite a plasticky feel. In general it felt to me like a grade below the A 35-105. But - and this matters - it is much smaller and seemed a lot easier to handle, as well as being more discreet A 70-210/4 another very well built lens, with excellent optical quality and very easy to use A 35-135/3.5-4.5. Garbage. Another zoom which is worth looking out for is the A 28-135/4. I never used one, but again I've played with one and it is very well made - as good as any of the others. It is almost exactly the same size and weight as my Contax 28-85 lens - so it's big and heavy. But it's manageable, and it seems like a pretty good lens if you're only using one body, and I would like to have owned one. Another one I would like to have had is the SMC A 28-80. I only ever had a non-SMC version, which was pretty good, but the SMC one seems to be an order of magnitude better. However, I've never even seen one. Remember that some of the A lenses are the same as their M counterparts. At least according to Cecchi these are the same as the M: 28/2.8 35/2 35/2.8 50/1.7 50/2 100/2.8 100/4 macro 24-50/4 A* 300/4 -- Cheers, Bob
