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Sun (Avanar, Hanimex, Samigon etc) MC Auto Zoom 70-140mm F3.8 | | Latest Review Posted | Sun (Avanar, Hanimex, Samigon etc) MC Auto Zoom 70-140mm F3.8
This old zoom lens of modest purpose and design probably dates back to the mid-1970s or thereabouts and was made by Sun for a variety of brands, but also sold under their own name. Relatively affordable while avoiding the bottom of the barrel. In appearance, it is long and slender with a filter thread of only 49mm and unlike many other push-pull telezooms, does increase in length as you zoom in. My copy is in very good mechanical condition; the one-touch zoom/focus ring turns very smoothly with just the right amount of resistance, achieving correct focus was a snap and everything felt well put together. Probably is! The built-in sliding lens hood is a neat touch, but not of much use. Too short and doesn't provide any real benefit at any distance to subject. At MFD, the front element is almost poking out anyhow!
Which is a shame because this Sun could really benefit from a proper modern lens hood. It is indeed multi-coated, but those were comparatively ineffective by modern standards in my testing and easily lead to a loss of contrast on bright days with the sun (no pun intended) anywhere nearby. It also appeared to be suffering from internal reflections between the rear element and image sensor. Otherwise, the coatings gave light blue lens flares and a somewhat warmer color reproduction.
Optically, it was a mixed bag. A formula of only 2x promised to provide above-average performance for an inexpensive zoom of this era and this was true when stopped down to F8 or smaller, w... | |
