Hi, My elder son (age 8 pushing 9) has a Pentax ME Super that I bought for him a year or so ago. He has the 50/f1.7 standard lens and also a Sigma 24/f2.8 that we picked up at a local camera fair. Despite his age, he has a reasonable grasp of photography, and has taken some good pictures. He's now decided that he needs another focal length, but also would like the flexibility of a zoom lens.
The problem is that as a small boy, he can't be expected to hold a (fairly) heavy camera at slow shutter speeds. Given the British weather, there are occasions when even with ASA 200 film, you find yourself taking pictures at 1/60th f2.8 or so. The consumer zooms I have for my pZ-1p tend to have maximum apertures in the f4-f5.6 range at best, which limits their usefulness especially with slower films. I don't want to buy him a zoom that he can't use without a tripod! The second problem is that my impression is that zoom lenses have improved over the past few years, and that old zooms can be pretty crummy. On the other hand, the newer autofocus lenses don't work well on manual cameras, because of the looseness and short travel of the focussing ring. Finally, the question: can anyone recommend a reasonably fast (f2.8-4) manual focus zoom lens (say 35-105mm), available secondhand and not costing the earth? Alternatively, can you recommend a short telephoto that might fit the bill? Andy Phillips - 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 .
