Any pictures of it ? What area of the country do you live in ?

Do you know the exact name of the 70-300. I had one once that I hated using but the results were very good, thanks.

I do usually regret selling my lenses even the old Sigma 70-300 I had a while back. I thought it was garbage as it felt horrible ( solid but yuk ). Well I found some slides I'd taken with it the other day and they are brilliant, great colours and pin sharp. Why did I sell it for £50 ? God only knows. Wish I still had it now.

This may sound like a silly but I picked up a mint FA50mm F1.7 at the weekend (it looks new) even though I have the F1.4 version.

Now I should only keep one ( I suppose ) but which ?

I've had the 1.4 for years and I like it a lot but some people say that the 1.7 is sharper. As I never use the F1.4 version below F2 anyway speed isn't really a concern. It might also be true that the F1.7 might focus more accurately as it might have better contrast wide open.

Of course I will go and try it on the camera but I don't have much time just now.

Opinions please if you have any.

I'm not sure that's completely true. Did you ever see an "art" exhibition of this German geezer who gold plated all his own cr*p.

Well it was very funny, real gold plate. I bet you could polish those. I don't think it said Vivitar on them though I think it was Sigma.

I had one on my MZ5 film camera for years and was happy with it. It eventually broke however and I replaced it with the 24-90 lens.

The 28-70 F4 is a bit fragile so if you want one make sure it's fully functional and preferably with little use. One common problem is that the front lens elements separate which I expect will be pretty obvious to look at.

I did replace mine and used tried it on the DS ( digital ) but it didn't seem as great as it had on film so I sold it.

If it was me I'd probably buy a 50mm F1.4 or F1.7 standard lens instead if you want a big leap in quality.

I think the best advice that I can give is

(1) Don't rush into anything wait until it's obvious what you want / need. If you use what you have now for a while you should be able to tell what you're missing fairly soon.

(2) Don't but cheap rubbish. When you know what you want buy the best you can afford.

(3) Prioritise. You've named a lot of different interests with different / conflicting requirements. Decide which is the most important to you and then choose the lens you require for that subject.

Well that's my 2p worth.

"M series 28-50 F3.5-F4.5 zoom. Compact but solid high quality zoom. Modest range so good for architecture or landscapes. The limited range of the zoom by modern standards ensures good quality across the range.

I like this one, on a manual focus film camera this lens is a good walkabout standard. Modest size would make it good for candids and holidays. Good colours as you'd expect from Pentax.

Though not exactly rare these aren't that easy to find especially these days as the Pentax lens supply seems to have dried up completely.

Mechanical condition is excellent with everything working perfectly snappy iris, controls move freely and smoothly. Cosmetically at least very good. The lens has been used and shows the normal signs of this. The odd shiny bit at the edges but no real scratches, dings or dents. Optically this lens is near mint with only a couple of tiny marks on the very large front element. Looks like there has always been a filter on the front.


Nice one to start a collection with. Photos taken with DS and kit lens (that I'm growing to dislike rapidly doing this ).

Price £55 with free UK delivery insured etc. Paypal, cheque PO etc.










At 28mm



At 50mm



Hi sold ALL of my "M" series cameras and lenses now so thanks.

No way Jose

Ok it's probably not as bad as I say, in fact it looks quite good, ok for use or collector making up the numbers. I just never liked it. No point trying to pull a fast one and disappointing people.

Your right though, just as well I'm not a salesman. Better not apply for the Apprentice then.