Originally posted by luftfluss Thanks, RioRico, for the reply. I'm definitely looking at AF this go-round; I have poor eyesight and my K-x has that tiny VF, so MF can be difficult at times.
I mentioned CIF (catch-in-focus). My old eyeballs are delaminating. I depend on CIF with my many manual lenses. Not quite as fast as AF, but much much cheaper!
Quote: I doubt I'll get as, um, fortunate as you regarding the cheap lens brigade
but I'll research some more about the F 35-70mm lenses.
A good place to find the F35-70 and some other AF zooms in that range is upon old camera bodies. I got a Pentax SF-1 with the 35-70 on it for US$22 shipped. I kept the 35-70, stuck a different cheap old lens on the SF-1, and sold that combo! If you look long and hard at eBay listings, such deals can still be found.
The secret of buying good lenses cheap: 1) Bid low. 2) Bid often. 3) Lose 99% of them. 4) Don't sweat it, there's more where they came from, and they'll be up for auction tomorrow. Simple, eh?