Pat wrote: So, until I will the lottery, I may not see the FA 20-35 f/4 (unless someone has one to sell?) ;-) So, in the mean time, still looking at third party options.
Consider these options: 1. Tokina AF235 II HLD, 20-35mm, f/3.5 to 4.5, autofocus, 77mm filter, 82mm wide, 75mm long, 500 g, HLD glass, 13 elements in 11 groups, close focus 0.4 m (1.3 ft). Comments: �The best cost/performance ratio, super wide angle with HLD glass� (Tokina). �Retains the optical performance of the original AF 235 design. Has an amazingly flat field. This is not an ATX model; hence it sells for much less, about $200 used at KEH. Tested in Popular Photography May 1992. In an average of 5photo magazines, it rated 2.88 (avg.) on a scale of 1 to 5. The Tokina ATX 235 AX PRO is a 20-35 constant f/2.8 that costs considerably more (upward of $500 new) and thus is probably out of your range. --- Martin Jiang, September 13, 1999; 04:41 P.M. Eastern I would recommend the Tokina 20-35 f3.5-4.5. I have been using it for over 2 years and it's an excellent lens for a little over 200. -- Dhrubo Gupta, September 14, 1999; 02:24 A.M. Eastern: I second Martin's recommendation - I picked up the Tokina 20-35/3.5 in preference to their faster ATX 2.8 zoom after checking Photodo for the MTFs. I have just returned from a trip to the Himalayas in North Kashmir with 25 rolls of Sensia and Velvia. I mostly shot at f8 and some at f22 - all were sharp but a few had a bit of softening in the corners - but excellent overall the price notwithstanding. 2. Sigma 21-35, f/3.5 to 4.2 AF, a one-touch zoom with a nonrotating front barrel. Reviewed August 1986 in Popular Photography, and again in Feb. 92. From 1986 review: Slight barrel distortion; no vignetting beyond f/8. Centering: Perfect. From [1992?] Popular Photography review: �The lens is well adjusted for parfocalization�the maintenance of focus setting throughout the zoom action. At all focal lengths, contrast is above avg. at center and 1/3 out; high-medium at 2/3 out and far edge.� Supruet Thavornyutikarn, Dec. 95: �A lot of people I know own this lens. Optically, this lens performs very best (second to Tamron 20-40). In practice, this lens is very difficult to use with a filter as its flower hood is very large and obstructs the front end of the lens. So using a polarizer is not convenient. Moreover, the ZEN finish comes off. But maybe this problem has bee fixed.� 3. Tamron 20-40 f/2.7 to f/3.5, manual focus. Two-touch. 18 inches continuous close focus. 77mm filter. 19 oz. detachable lens shade. I get the feeling that this came in a fixed mount, for my notes say it's not available for Pentax AF or Pentax manual focus. In any event, it sold new for (sells for?) the same as the Pentax. In any event, in an average of 5photo magazines, it rated 2.74 (below avg.) on a scale of 1 to 5. 4. I think you're familiar with the Vivitar/Phoenix 19-35 f/3.5 to 4.5 autofocus zoom, which sells new for well under $150. I have many comments on this lens; the consensus is that it's well worth the money, but don't expect miracles. My own suggestion: Get a Zenitar 47K 20/2.5, a true K-mount lens, for about $100. Then get a good manual focus zoom for $200 to $250: a 24-35/3.5 Pentax (a PDML favorite), 24-40/2.8 Ricoh (nearly impossible to find), a 24-40/2.8 Tokina ATX-A, 24-45/3.5 Soligor CD, or 24-48/3.8 Vivitar Series 1. But if you "need' just one lens to comprise your wide end, stick with a true superwide zoom. Paul Franklin Stregevsky - 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 .
