| Specifications |
| Optical Formula |
9 elements in 8 groups |
| Aperture Range |
f/2.8 ~ f/32 |
| Number of Aperture Blades |
8 |
| Minimum Focusing Distance |
0,31m |
| Maximum Magnification |
1:1 |
| Maximum Diameter |
74mm |
| Length |
104mm |
| Filter Size |
58mm |
| Weight |
600g |
| FREE (Fixed Rear Element Extension) focusing system |
| Focus range limiter |
| comes with front cap, rear cap, soft case |
|
| Build |
| The lens has a complete metal casing and weights 600g. It feels very solid and has a bit of the "barrel of glass" feeling of old manual focus gear.
Only the small play of the focus tube (a fraction of millimeter) which I think is done for easy auto focus disturbs a very good overall impression. |
| Optical |
| The lens has 9 elements in 8 groups. A 6 element Gauß-maingroup extends for focusing while a 3 element correction group is static at the back of the lens.
This should give a constant optical quality from infinity to 1:1. The front element is deep inside the lens so there is no great need of a lens hood,
and I've not had any problems with flare. The lens is really sharp wide open while stopping down 2 stops can increase it a bit, no matter if you use it at macro distance or at infinity.
The contrast and color rendition are also very good. The photos taken with this lens are a bit warmer than those taken with my FA50 1.7.
As expected from a mid tele prime lens I haven't noticed any distortions so far. |
| Handling |
| Handling is very nice - the first thing to mention is the switch on the lens for choosing focus range. The FULL range is not so interesting because it takes some time to focus from infinity to 1:1
when the AF hunts and I have not been in a situation where I need it. The second position is LIMIT. You can choose either a focus range from infinity to 1:4 or from 1:4 to 1:1. I find the range
from infinity to 1:4 (ca. 0.6m) very useful because you get a normal 100 2.8 with a very fast AF reaction. For macro work I normally use it in MF which is the third position on the switch. There is
also a clamp which increase the friction of the focus ring so you get a very smooth manual focus feeling. The grip of the focus ring is quite good but I would prefer some structure on it. Even though
this is not an internal focusing lens the front element doesn't rotate. |
| Compatibility |
| As you would expect I have not had any compatibility problems with the two cameras I've used it on so far. A Pentax MZ-5 and a Pentax MX. |
| Conclusion |
| Because of the versatility, the very good optical quality and the good handling, this is my 'standard' lens. I won't do a praise hymn here but I can really recommend this lens. |
| © 2000-2002 Andreas Busse |
