Pentax also do a very good 35mm lens, which is not a lot worse than the 31mm.

G

Well done. I think the seller is poorly informed about Pentax lens prices.

G

I don't have an MZ-S, but I think the two cameras work pretty much the same way with the 360.

G

If you have a *ist D, the RTF will control one or more 360s. If you have any other Pentax DSLR, you will have to mount a 360 on the camera, or use cables.

G

The old SMCP-M 1:4 75-150 is a very good lens that sells for very little because there are lots of them around.

G

I haven't used either, though I have both the Komine VS1 and the F 70-210. Both of them have similar performance to the lenses you mention, and I can't really tell the difference between mine.

Like JR, I'd go for the Pentax on the grounds of practicality. One day you'll replace the Super A, and if you go digital you'll want the A setting, all else being equal.

G

Pete,

The clue is in the name. If it says "SMC Pentax", it's got SMC coating. If it doesn't, it hasn't.

G

I think that all the Pentax digital flash guns, like most recent camera bodies, are able to project an infra-red target for the auto-focus system to focus on.

The only problem is that, whilst they work well in total darkness, they don't operate in the twilight zone.

G

I'm certainly not going to argue that the Limiteds are noticeably better than the FA*s optically. Differences are small, subtle, and subjective.

Also, I can't argue with your view that the focal lengths are unappealling - to you. That's to do with personal taste and style. And if I owned an FA* 1:1.4 85, I wouldn't have bought a 77mm. Extravagance has limits.

I suspect that more Limiteds will appear in time, and perhaps then you'll be seduced! Certainly I will be; but then, I'm easy meat when it comes to pretty lenses.

But meanwhile, enjoy your new purchases.

G

I suspect that you are more of a zoom man than I am, and I was really talking about primes, and I wasn't considering cost. There is no doubt that many Pentax zooms are/were cheap and cheerful, and were mainly in the 28-80 and 70-200 ranges. Nothing very wide before digital came along.

Primes, however, are another matter, and I submit that for outright optical quality, regardless of price, Pentax is the leading Japanese prime lens maker, and always has been. It's best lenses are unsurpassed even by Leitz and Contax.

I don't own, haven't owned, and probably never will own, the two great Pentax 2.8 zooms. Indeed, out of the 15 lenses I keep ready at hand (in my ealier post I omitted to mention the FA 20mm and F 135mm), only three are zooms.

As for the FA* lenses, yes, they're superb. I wish I could afford the 400mm and the 600mm. But the construction of the FA Limited lenses is superior, and optically there is nothing to beat them anywhere.

IMHO, of course.

G