Looking for Pentax zoom

I'm gonna ditch my 50mm and am looking to replace it with a Pentax zoom on the shorter end for my K mount body. Right now I'm reading Stan's site and would prefer something lighter then heavier and under 135mm, maybe down around 28 to something. Third party lenses would be ok as well. Thx for the help.

Hi Wayne:

My friend had the fixed aperture f/4 28-70mm FA zoom - I would like to reccommend that but I can't because they had problem with either element separation and/or the balsam glue that was used to hold the elements together and this caused a "haze" (for lack of a better term)/loss of contrast. The lens he replaced it with is the equally if not more (I think more) sharp 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 FA lens. Its a silver and black lens. Looks nice. Makes sharp images. The bokeh is decent to good (but the 28-70/4 might have the edge here). Another alternative is the supposedly very sharp (so I hear) 24-90 f/3.5-4.5 FA lens but in terms of material build quality it is less than stellar. Pentax had an older and larger 28-105/4-5.6 that was supposed to be very sharp but an f/5.6 maximum aperture at the long end is no picnic to view or manually focus with. Pentax had an A lens 35-105/3.5 constant aperture zoom but it obviously only goes out to 35mm on the wide end (perhaps not wide enough for you) which is supposed to have excellent bokeh if not sharpness (I haven't owned or used or seen real photo results from this lens so this is by memory of the internet/newsgroup comments) but it might fetch a pretty penny on eBay because of its desirability/quality and/or lack of availability. Check out prices of these on eBay or KEH for used and B&Hphotovideo and Adorama on new equipment (for the lenses you can still get new). Pentax had a 24-50 and possibly a 28-50 - check out the pdml and other Pentax sites around the web for info on these. Hope this helps at least a little...

Regards (and thanks for your past help)

P.S. - Google groups rec.photo.equipment.35mm can also be a good source about opinions/experiences on older Pentax lenses - check them out too...

It is good, if you can ignore the people who insist on discussing digital cameras and the near-constant backbiting that goes on.

On a happier note, it seems they've done a good job of eliminating the spam that had flooded the groups.

P.P.S. - Whichever zoom you decide on, Wayne, I would keep the 50mm lens. They are great for low light situations, ultra sharp, luscious bokeh and they make great loupes

Or if you have to throw it out, just throw it in my direction please

The Tamron AF 28-75 f2.8 is excellent and works quite well on manual focus bodies. When I was shooting Pentax the first time, I used one regularly on my MX.

Don't ditch the 50 though, you'll want the extra speed on occasion. Especially if it's an f1.4 or f1.4.

If you don't need autofocus Pentax made two useful zooms that are quite well thought of. One is 28-40mm, and the other is 28-80mm. Both can be found in both K and KA fittings and they go quite cheaply on ebay. They have a nice solid feel compared to many of the Pentax autofocus lenses I've come across.

My 50's the F2 so it's not a big deal to dispose of. If it was a F1.7 or F1.4 I'd keep it. I'm finding that when traveling around with my K1000 loaded with b&w I don't want to carry extra lenses or too many different filters. My waist bag right now is as small as I can get it and I carry it either over my shoulder or around my waist so I have a camera with me, but the 50mm angle of view just doesn't cut it a lot of times so I need something with a range and reasonably small.

The Pentax 28-40mm is fairly compact but the 28-80 is noticeably bigger (& heavier). Tamron made a series of 28-70 zooms. As the years went by the lens got smaller, lighter and became plastic barrelled rather than metal. I've got an early one which gives excellent quality. I've reads claims that the later smaller versions did not have quite the same optical quality but I'm in no position to comment on that. Really you pays your money and you makes your choice, as the saying goes.... Hope you find something suitable.

Well I was loaned a AF 28-80 F lens with a chance of buying it, and am pretty surprised by looseness of the extending barrel section which can actually be moved up and down and side to side. I''ll be developing the shots by this weekend and don't really expect much but thought someone out there could comment on the lens?

I think in the end that I am going to find something else; The build quality just doesn't compare to the older lenses. I'm going to drop my focal length requirements and try and find something used with decent performance for about $125 or so no matter the focal length. Maybe an older Pentax zoom or perhaps a Tamron adaptall lens that I could use between camera brands.