Fred wrote:
>So, how is the build quality? Good enough for us "hard core manual >focus guys"? That depends of how you define built quality. If you think about feel I'll say the older lenses are generally preferable to most FA* lenses. However, in strength, most FA* lenses are the most solid Pentax have ever made. The metal body used on these lenses are thicker and stronger than any previous lenses and you can drive over them with a small car without deforming them. However, most of them do sport an outer plastic cover that can be perceived as cheesy although it probably help against impact damages. They are probably also easy and cheap to fix if outer damages occur. The biggest gripes about the FA* lenses are the outer finish which is just paint something that make them extremely prone to wear and scratch marks. Unfortunately, this summer my 77 Limited and my FA* 200/4 Macro happened to occupy the same compartment in my camera bag during a mountain trip. The FA* was scratched badly on the outer body while the 77 Limited didn't have single surface mark. The Limiteds are truly excellent when it comes to durability of surface wear. Another negative thing about the FA* lenses is the way the focus (and zoom) scale windows are glued into place. They may fall off, and Pentax have problem supplying new ones. The window to my 200/4 Macro lens, that falled off in the first week of ownership, is still on back order from the factory and I'm going to be violent pretty soon if they don't get their act together. P�l - 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 .
