Ken, I hope you are reading the list. May I request your assistance again? I have just received an A 50 F1.2. It was the last one that B&H (a New York retailer) had in stock. Perhaps it was the last one available online in this hemisphere. (There are probably still a few in camera stores that don't sell online.)
I notice that the lens gives a warm rendition that I like very much. What truly strikes me about the lens, though, is that it seems to give extra saturation to warmer colors--reds, browns, yellows. It is not like Velvia, but these colors are nevertheless more saturated than I see with other lenses. Overall it is a very pleasing effect. Pentax was clearly proud of this lens. There was a gold collectors' version of the K 50 F1.2 in 1981, then a silver collectors' edition of the A 50 F1.2 in 2000. Both were sold with collectors' LXs. I wondered if your inside contact has any more information on what design objectives Pentax had for this lens. The manual came with a printing date of 2000. I think that was when the lens was manufactured -- the same time as the silver A 50 F1.2 that went with the LX 2000. If Pentax manufactured with silver A 50 F1.2 in 2000, it would make sense to extend the production to make a batch of the ordinary version of the lens. I am puzzled, though, because the manual was not updated. It lists only A lenses. Also, the lens came with an older style of lens cap. And it was in a box that was intended for, I think, one of Pentax's digital cameras. (The box mentions "Digital and Film Cameras," and shows pictures of balloons and happy families.) I wondered if your inside source knows anything about these puzzles? Thanks, Ken. Joe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
