I had the 28 - 135 and it was a good sharp lens at most apertures. Wide open at the short end it had a little astigmatic affect, but I shot some sunsets with it and it did a great job with flare. At f 8 - no complaints across the board.
- MCC At 02:59 PM 4/18/2002 -0400, you wrote: > > This zoom was, indeed, released with the Super A / Super Program; > > I have the joint review from Amateur Photographer, where it fared > > rather well; a mixture of Goods and Very Goods, as I recall, where > > I've seldom seen Excellents awarded. Most buyers praise its flare > > protection and sharpness but find that it's considerably heavier > > than they feel comfortable with and end up not using it as their > > everyday lens. > >Prompted by recent threads involving the Pentax A 28-135/4 zoom (one >of them the source of Paul's comments, above), I dug out the review >of this lens (along with the Super A, Motor Drive A, and AF200T) >from Amateur Photographer for August 6, 1983: > >"28-35mm must be the most versatile 'standard lens' around. Other >examples of this focal length are on the way but Pentax were first >on the scene." > >"The lens incorporates most popular wideangle and telephoto lengths, >plus everything in between. The f/4 aperture is modest but quite >good considering the range. It's a fairly large lens and very heavy, >but feels comparatively well balanced on camera." > >"Focusing ring is large with a chunky grip, with minimum focusing >distance of 1.7m. Behind this, the zooming ring has a short throw >(like the focusing ring) with a click stop at the 28mm setting. >Turning past this click stop engages the 'macro' mode, which enables >focusing down to under 8in. Because the focal length at this setting >is still wideangle, this isn't particularly close and well off true >1:1 macro." > >"Focusing and zooming controls on our sample were not particularly >smooth; the zooming ring was also a little stiff. Despite this, the >short twist required to zoom or focus makes for fast handling. >Overall, the lens is built to a high standard." > >"Filter size of 77mm means more expensive filters - but this can't >really be avoided if you want the range and decent working maximum >aperture." > >"Handling is fast and generally as good as a lens of much shorter >range. It matches well with the Super A body." > >"It's one thing to design a lens with such a long range, but quite >another to build in good performance. here the Pentax comes as a >pleasant surprise." > >"Definition was very adequate throughout, with edge performance >lagging just a little behind the centre. Softness was evident at >full aperture and one stop down (f/5.6) at the edge, but otherwise >the lens will cope with most assignments on any type of film." > >"The 28-135mm lens is expensive but takes the place of three or four >other lenses comfortably." > >"Overall Performance - Very Good" >"Central Definition - Very Good" >"Edge Definition - Good" >"Image Contrast - Very Good" >"Optical balance - Good" >"Best Central Definition - f/8, f/11, f/16" >"Best Overall Definition - f/11" >"Best Edge Definition - f/11" > >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 . - - - - - - - - - - Mark Cassino Kalamazoo, MI [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - - - - - - Photos: http://www.markcassino.com - - - - - - - - - - - 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 .
