JCO, You're blowing things far out of proportion. The focus feel of the A lenses is very similar to the M's, K's, and screw mounts, especially when you start comparing to the higher quality A's. Your comparison to the 50's is flawed. And focus feel is less of an issue in these days of autofocus lenses.
Yes, some of these cheaper A's traded plastic for metal, but I shot for a long time with a Super A, and the lighter weight was a feature - by design. Yes, I don't like the A28/2.8 and have fixed a copy with a spring problem on the A setting. Yes, I don't like the plastic body on the A50/1.7. But I really like the focus feel on my A15/3.5, A20/2.8, A24/2.8, A50/1.4, A85/1.4, A100/2.8 macro, A135/1.8, A200/4, A300/4, A400/5.6 and A35-105/3.5 zoom. They all feel good in the hand. (I'm buying Joe's A35/2 and I sure wish I could find an A28/2.0. I've been close to an A100/2.8 but haven't been able to acquire one and have little interest in the A135/2.8 or A100/4 macro.) For 'bona fida's' on the lense issue, I own almost all the primes in the M catalogue except the M50/4 macro. The M28/2.0 and M300/4 were more difficult to find, but I've owned most of the rest from new. I also own most prime lenses from the K catalogue except the K15/3.5 and K300/4. (The K85/1.8, K30/2.8,and K200/2.5 were the toughest to find but are sweet. I'd still like to find a K28/2.0 to compare with the K20/4 I picked up long ago.) I've also acquired 85% of the SMC screwmount primes, from the 300/4 on down. They have a distinct tactile feel because of the lack of a rubber grip on the exterior. I've also got an assortment of the Super Tak's and older Pentax lenses that I picked up along the way. ...So I know the feel of my Pentax lenses. With these lenses, I can see the evolution of Pentax lens design from Super Takumar, to SMC, to K, to M, to A, from a Super Takumar 85/1.9 to the SMC 85/1.8 to the K85/1.8. They are clearly a family. For a time, I was troubled by the move to plastic, but I see it now as a natural transition to lighter lenses that are needed to support the move to big range zooms. And yes, the pre '70's SMC screwmount lenses have a slightly different feel in the hand. (With the metal exterior of the Limited Lenses, that feel could be duplicated in the Limited lenses except for the clicking of the autofocus mechanism as you focus manually.) In any case, it is a gross exaggeration to say the A line is not so good. The line has some of the highest quality prime lenses that Pentax has ever produced. Regards, Bob S. On 1/9/07, J. C. O'Connell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Right now, I only have 3 Pentax "A" lenses, all 50mm's like in new > condtion. > 2 50mmf1.4As and a 50mmf2.8A Macro. I have over 35 PENTAX K and M lenses > (but over a dozen of those are 50 and 55mm ) and about a dozen third > party PK lenses & only four > of those are "A" type. This is > only PK lenses. I have a ton of Pentax & third party M42 also. > I probably have about 80+ 35mm SLR lenses in my personal collection... > ALL FULL FRAME and ALL PENTAX K or PENTAX screw mount. I dont > use or have any other makes....Only good thing about this overkill > is they have all gone up in value quite a bit in the last year or so, so > I dont feel as bad as I should for having so many...My hobby > has kinda turned into an investment, this year at least... > jco > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Shel Belinkoff > Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 6:55 PM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: RE: FS: Pentax SMC-A 35mm f/2 > > > Which lenses have you owned/do you still own? > > Shel > > > > > [Original Message] > > From: J. C. O'Connell > > > Well if you count all the ones I got and sold > > over the years in pkg. deals, at least a couple > > dozen total. I still have a few mint ones in my collection too but > > even they are crass compared to the M and K ( even M42 too ) versions > > mechanically > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
