Originally posted by Docrwm Scott,
What is the AF speed like on that lens?
Hi Doc,
I pretty much have only screw drive lenses (exc is the DA* 50-135), so I'm probably not a good judge of comparative AF speed, but in very low light at 70mm (f4.5) with a K-5 IIs (say 1/20, f4.5, ISO 12800 --about Ev +2 I think), starting at ∞ and focusing to close to MFD, focusing on a high contrast subject (black keyboard with white letters), it's just a zip, short pause (very occasionally one microcorrection), then lock. It's easily fast enough for what I use it for, and I really haven't even been remotely tempted to upgrade to the newer HSM models.
I originally bought it when I had A K10, and wanted to use it as the short zoom in my events/candids kit. With that body, AF was unreliable at the long end indoors because of the f4.5, so I quickly relegated it to be used only at the wide end if needed and went back to my Tamron 28-75 f2.8 for my events short zoom. As I progressed through the K20, K-7, K-5, and K-5IIs, I found myself using this lens increasingly as the low light AF sensitivity increased with each new model, and with the K-5, it became my primary choice for a wide to short tele zoom, mostly because of the extra 10mm on the short side over the Tamron, but also because of the very short MFD (8" compared to 13" for the Tamron).
Scott