Sorry, I simply cannot get that out of your convoluted statement.
The Vivitar is: 1 - not the sharpest at wide apertures and low focal length 2 - sharper than the Pentax 35-70 between 70-85mm 3 - sharper than the Pentax 35-70 at any f/stop between 3.5 and 2.8 4 - at least equal at smaller f/stops
Statement one is somewhat broad and difficult to assess precisely. Statements 2 and 3 are irrelevant because the Pentax has no focal lengths above 70mm nor f/stops wider than f/3.5. Statement four, in conjunction with statement one, suggests that the Pentax is better "wide open" (at its wide open settings) than the Vivitar is at it's "wide open" settings, and otherwise they are fairly evenly matched, with one possibly nudging out the other by a small amount.
I'm not saying that one lens is better than the other as I have never used the Vivitar lens in question and simply don't know. What I am saying is that you didn't express your thoughts in a manner that would produce understanding until your clarification.
However, I've been surprised the Pentax F35-70/3.5-4.5 Macro: I picked it up because it was cheap, thought it would be fun to fool around with and have since discovered that it performs rather nicely. Perhaps you had a bad example of the F35-70/3.5-4.5? or were thinking of a different lens?
Godfrey
On May 18, 2005, at 2:24 PM, P. J. Alling wrote:
No that's not what I'm saying. In a rather convoluted way I said just the opposite. I owned both lenses at the same time and while I
didn't do any direct comparisons I still have the Vivitar, and in fact have recently purchased another to have a backup. I no longer have
the Pentax. I found the Pentax to be a singularly unsatisfying lens, which didn't improve on the *ist-D, unlike the 28-200 FA.
Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
On May 18, 2005, at 9:55 AM, P. J. Alling wrote:
... Vs the F 35-70 yes. While it isn't the sharpest at wide apertures and low focal length the Vivitar is certainly sharper than the F 35-70 at any focal length between 70 and 85mm and any f stop between 3.5 and 2.8, and at least equal anywhere below.
So what you're saying is that the F35-70 is about equal to the Vivitar at any focal length in its range, and is better wide open than the Vivitar.
I think I'd prefer the Pentax F35-70 and save the $5. Or get it free like Henri did. If I didn't prefer the A50/1.7, that is.
;-)
Godfrey
-- A man's only as old as the woman he feels. --Groucho Marx
