[Pen-A]

I love my A´s . I have 24/2.8 , 50/1.7 and 135/2.8 .

The build quality is more than ok for me and the IQ is great!

Should find more time to play with then though..

[RioRico]

A lenses seem to be far, far rarer than M or K lenses in my neck of the woods.

In my stomping grounds too, including eBay. I just checked my database. I have a few SMC-M's: 28/2.8, 50/1.7, 50/2, 135/3.5. I have just one SMC(K), the glorious 50/1.2. I have only one SMC-A, the lousy 35-80/4-5.6, and I had a couple of other lousy A zooms also. My only A-type primes are a Toyo (Sun) 28/2.8 and a Focal (Ricoh) 135/2.8, both very sharp lenses. I am severely A-deprived. They are becoming my latest obsession (after an ultralight in the 20-30mm range). I *need* more A-lenses, like around 20-40-85mm. I guess I picked the wrong day to quit LBA.

[Ikarus]

The only A series I got is the 50mm f/2.8 macro

Should have said Pentax A series. I also have a Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f/2.8-4.0 version 3 that has the A setting on the aperture ring. Unlike the Pentax A series, this thing is a substantial hunk of glass and steel that gets you a workout from lugging it around. Takes pretty nice pictures, too.

[JVi]

Since I like to manually focus, even with AF lenses, I find my A lenses my favorites. I have the 50/1.4. 50/2.8 Macro and 35/2 but also use the A setting on the Tamron Adatall lenses I have.

Although AF is OK for many bright situations, I still have more trust in my own visual abilities when not in a hurry.

[dadipentak]

Yep, I love me some A lenses!

[marcusyoung]

yes, i luv the a A200 macro f4




bokeh...bokeh..

marcus

[kenafein]

Ikarus and Marcus, those are excellent macro shots.

[Kerrowdown]

An old A lens has trouble in the digital world. There may be few exceptions. All reviews in the lens section rate lenses close to 10, that does not mean anything. It always depends who is praising and what background they have. Some people think the 1.8/135 is crap or not suitable for digital use.

Oh shit that's me out of a job then, cos I use 'em everyday.

[Joe Nation]

Of the seven lenses I own, I use the 50mm f/1.7 A and 28mm f/2.8 A about 80% of the time. The rest are either DA zooms, a 55mm K or a Lensbaby. They're so simple, the design is a classic, and most of all they produce such great images. And best of all they're cheap: the 28 was my Dads (he used it on his K1000 for donkeys years), and the 50 cost me £25.

[VladM]

i have a few A-series lenses left from the film days (used them om MX) and find them to be quite good on K20.
Actually, I find the SMC-A 70-210 f4 to be optically superior to the DAL 55-300, which many people seem to rate highly.

[RioRico]

I find the SMC-A 70-210 f4 to be optically superior to the DAL 55-300, which many people seem to rate highly.

Shorter-range zooms tend to be optically better than longer-range because fewer design compromises are needed. My F35-70 (2:1) is razor-sharp. My Vivitar Series 1 70-210/3.5 (3:1) is also damn sharp. My DA18-250 (14:1) is amazingly good but not quite in the same league; neither is my Tokina 35-200 (almost 6:1).

And fixed-maximum-aperture zooms tend to be better than floating-aperture glass.

The 55-300 is almost 6:1. At just 3:1, I'd expect most competent 70-210's to be optically better, especially such a fixed-max zoom as the SMC-A f/4. The 55-300 is a floater.

So, these are both excellent lenses, for what they are and what they do. They're just in different niches.

[SyncGuy]

I agree... I went back and forth in my mind whether to move on to AF. Played a bit with some and realized I'm still more comfortable MF myself! The "magic" and feel seems to be lost although I think I have taken a great picture with AF.. :P

I'm sticking with MF till God knows when and perhaps owning the coming DA*~28-90 zoom for general purpose. Meanwhile, looking at your list of items, let me know if to do feel like "letting go" that A28/2 of yours.. I assure you that it will continue to carry on its legacy..

[LennyBloke]

VladM's comment about the SMC-A 70-210 is IMO correct, it is probably the best value Pentax zoom on the Second Hand market. In the UK they often sell for less than £75, which for a fixed F4 maximum aperture through the whole zoom range coupled with excellent quality makes it a great buy. You could take the view that it is the "poor mans 60-250" - same aperture, slightly reduced range, solid build, and there's a theory that it has the FREE (Fixed Rear Element Extension) that was usually reserved for high quality primes - so the only thing missing is AutoFocus.

Hi SyncGuy - I'm afraid that my "letting go" of the A 28mm f2 has already happened - I only post my For Sale lenses on the UK forum (as I only ship within the UK) and that one went a few months ago. I have just updated my profile with a more accurate list of lenses, and most of the A's will go in the near future.

[PPPPPP42]

I definitely don't regret getting my Pentax SMC-A 70-210 F4, its a good all around zoom and like was said doesn't have to compromise in quality with the shorter zoom range it uses. It also has the often overlooked ability of a genuine macro feature at 70mm (not just macro in its title). And a good built in retractable lens hood (as opposed to sticky wont lock on plastic crap) that is as deep as you could ever want and still allows filters to be super easily changed by just popping it back. Also has the odd ability to stop down to F32 which I haven't seen on anything else I own.
Those things are on Ebay all the time, it would be a $300 lens I'm sure but they were super popular back in the day so there are a butt load of them out there which keeps prices down.

[hcarvalhoalves]

Shorter-range zooms tend to be optically better than longer-range because fewer design compromises are needed.

I believe that doesn't hold true for the A 35-105mm