This is one of my favorite lenses, and probably my favorite focal length.
Mine is tack sharp and has excellent bokeh. I also own and love an A*85/1.4
which I also judge to be most excellent, but it does have two drawbacks
compared to the K85/1.8. It's heavy, and with the hood, the A*85/1.4 is
intimidating and capable of scaring small children. I will not give up my
K85/1.8.
As to the mechanics, the problems you described are almost always easily
fixable. Expect to spend US$50-70 (�36-50) equivalent to have it
cleaned/fixed. I don't know the current going price, but the K85/1.8 was
going for around US$400 (�284) or so on ebay some time back.
This works out to: �70 + 50 (for repair) = �120. Plus the pain of finding a
good, skilled repair shop. compared to �284, it's a comparative super
bargain - assuming it is fixable. The decision is, of course yours.
Disclaimer: I haven't checked the most recent values or costs of repair and
the values given are based on prior US prices. The problems you describe are
almost always fixable, but I have no magic view into this specific lens and
therefore I can't state with absolute certainty that all can be returned to
like excellent condition.
Regards,
Bob...
From: "Jim Brooks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Yesterday I spotted the above lens for sale at �70. Optically and
> cosmetically good but two mechanical problems. With the lens off-camera
the
> aperture would not consistently open to 1.8, stopping at the half-stop
> between 1.8 and 2.8. Sometimes it worked just fine. The other problem was
> that between 1.3m and 1.2m on the focusing scale there was a noticeable
> knock in the mechanism.
>
> It's no collector lens but my questions are:
>
> how does the lens perform?
> should I buy? I have never seen one for sale anywhere else so have no
> reference for pricing.
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