Originally posted by Pepe Guitarra Kiron K28/2 and Kiron-A 28/2: (Good luck finding one!!)
As hinted in my previous message, some Kirons should be easier to find with Vivitar brand.
Kiron lenses were not imported in all countries, so finding them is not so easy.
As far as i remember in the USA some of them were available with the Vivitar brand, while in Italy there was an official importer, and a good number of lenses were sold. In my opinion, today the most interesting ones are the 105mm Macro, and the 28mm f/2 KA. Back at that time, Kino made a few innovative zooms, but today a relatively cheap, wobbly Pentax zooms beats their optical performance hands down.
The founder of Kino/Kiron were former Nikon optical engineers, no surprise they knew how to design good lenses.
BTW, Kiron is the anagram of Nikon :-)
For those interested in a fast full-frame 28mm, Kiron/Vivitar are an interesting low cost alternative. For its quality, mine was a steal!
Pepe. the Bestiary is centered on Vivitar lenses, and is nowhere complete.
I remember when your Kiron f/2 with electric contacts was sold new (blue box). Pentax was still quite popular, and many vendors in my area had the PKA version in stock.
Re: price variations due to the release of the full-frame,
i agree that some lenses have gone down in price, but not the top-of-the-line models, nor A, F and FA series.
It seems i'm not the only one who values the electric contacts :-)
To be sincere, i prefer M42 lenses to K and M ones. If it's not a collector item, i fix the the M42 > PK ring with removable threadlock glue (like those used on car engines), removing the spring from the ring and machining an indent on the lens base for the lock pin.
Lens wide open, aperture priority, and ready to shoot!
Ciao
P