Pentax 70-210 Manual Focus How Good ?

Hi,

Just weighing up my options for a zoom in the 70-210 range. 99% of what I take has the camera tripod mounted and lens focussed manually so, af isn't really a necessity. Sharpness and good contrast however is.
The Pentax 70-210, on price, seems good value but how does it perform ? it would be used on a K10D. A pointer to some examples would be useful.

Many thanks

Martin

Hi froggma,
Welcome to the forum, when you have time please update your location details..
Thanks

What version of the 70-210? What is the full model name?

Manual focusing with the old SMC Pentax-A 70-210mm F4 I had was really good. Sharpness, at least when I tested at close distances, wasn't as good though as more modern zooms Pentax DA 50-200mm and Tamron AF 70-300mm. Otherwise the image quality was very nice, and F4 is pretty fast for that sort of thing. I only sold mine because it was rather long and heavy compared to modern alternatives.

I have a fine example of the SMC Pentax-A 70-210 1:4 Macro (constant aperture) lens for sale. Follow the link in my post here to see images of the lens. I'm bringing it back to UK (Buckinghamshire) next Friday if you are interested or want to see photos taken with the lens, PM me.

Avoid the Pentax-F 70-210, manual focussing is horible

It's no worse than most other F and FA lenses, in my experience. But it is a better lens optically than most other zooms of the period, and compares well with other lenses even today.

G

I too have both the SMC Pentax-A 70-210mm F4 and DA 50-200mm. In my tests there was no discernible difference in sharpness.

IMO, the 'A' scores; in construction (built like a tank), constant F4 aperture and the useful 1:2 'macro' feature.
The 'DA' seems to offer slightly more contrast and it is much lighter, making handling at least for me much easier.

Steve