short telephotos

Given the FA 77mm Ltd has gone up in price to £799.00, I was wondering which of the older 85mm lenses get the thumbs up: By older, I include M42 Takumars (preferably SMC ones that will work with the ES) as well as k-mount lenses. Are there non-Pentax classics which might fit the bill?

Many thanks, Kris.

All 85mm lenses should be excellent as a slightly longer than standard lens is the easiest to design for an SLR.

There is an 85mm f1.4 manual focus lens available new now, under various names, and a search on eBay will find it.

The Pentax 85mm f1.4 designs will be mega-expensive. The SMC Pentax-M 85mm f2 is not my favourite, being a bit weak IMHO.

There are screw thread designs and the SMC Takumars should be OK, but as mentioned any 85mm will be worth a go if the price is reasonable.

Don't forget the 90mm and 100/105mm lenses are superb and not so far adrift from 85mm.

What about a 100mm macro lens, would also be handy while you're digging maybe.

Surely a spade would be cheaper.

G

Tamron 90mm F2.5/F2.8 in all its flavours was a bargain lens and remains so in its latest AF version.

Other contenders: Vivitar/Kiron/Tokina 90mm macro, Vivitar 100mm, plenty of M42 lenses including 105mm f2.8 Super Tak and surprisingly good 100mm f2.8 Soligor and Hanimex models.

Also consider a 50mmF1.4 or F1.7 with 1.5x teleconverter. Works well enough, especially for people, where ultra sharpness is not usually required.