> What is your favorite non-Pentax K mount lens? That's an easy one to answer - the Tokina AT-X 60-120/2.8 zoom. It's a really neat portrait lens, especially for informal portraits.
Oh, sure, I would tend to use an 85mm or 105mm prime lens for "formal" portraits, or any time that there was plenty of time for "zooming with my feet" (or "framing with my feet", in this case). However, for capturing informal portraits, especially when my movement might sometimes be somewhat restricted, or where the subject is an active child or a pet, having a one-touch zoom for a portrait lens can be quite convenient. The 60-120 range is useful for portraits, of course. Pentax has somewhat similar lenses that can cover approximately the same range, of course (e.g., the K 45-125/4 and the M 75-150/4). In fact, the 60-120/2.8 is almost exactly the same compact size as the 75-150/4, and it weighs about the same as the larger 45-125/4. However, the Tokina lens is even more useful for portrait work than the two Pentax lenses, since, at a bright f/2.8, it is a full stop faster (useful for quick and accurate focusing, as well as for greater isolation of subject and background when wide open). Furthermore, its nine-bladed diaphragm (compared to the six blades of the two Pentax zooms) helps with bokeh when the lens is used other than wide open. Although the AT-X 60-120/2.8 focuses closer than the 45-125/4 (1.5 m) and about the same as the 75-150/4 (1.2 m), I do occasionally wish it focused just a wee bit closer, so "it ain't perfect" (although at 120mm it can produce chin-to-forehead shots, which is usually more than close enough, of course). I sometimes carry a +1 closeup lens (55mm thread) for those occasions when I really want to get in tight to the subject. By the way, while we're on the subject of non-Pentax K-mount lenses, I would like to point out that I do appreciate the focusing action of Tokina lenses (whose focus rings seem to focus in the same direction as do Pentax lenses) more than the focusing of Vivitar lenses (whose focus rings seem to focus in the opposite direction). This characteristic is not an absolute essential one to look for in a third-party lens, but it certainly is a convenient one to find. Well, I guess that's the story of my favorite non-Pentax K-mount lens, the nifty Tokina AT-X 60-120/2.8. Fred - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
