what's the difference between these two lenses?

[jlemire]

as a follow-up to a previous post, can anyone tell me what the differences are

between these two lenses (other than the $200+ price difference - which is what

leads me to believe that there must be something else). Both are Pentax SMCP-FA

28-105mm zooms, both are f/4-5.6 - why is there such a big price difference?

Thanks.

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<a

href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8458&A=details&Q=&sku=40725&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation">Lens

1</a>

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<br>

<a

href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=8458&A=details&Q=&sku=180122&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation">Lens

2</a>

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[tondegoijer]

Hmm, had a look at photodo, seems the expensive one might be powerzoom and Internal Focusing (teh black one). The silver one missing the above. If you look at the BH specs you can see that the build is totally different and the weight aswell.

[fernando_terrazzino]

Hi Jim,

 

I don't have these lenses but, looking at bojidar's page (http://www.bdimitrov.de/kmp/) looks like the cheaper one is designed and possibly produced by Tamron.

[andrewg_ny]

Completely different designs. A key difference would appear to be that you can apparently still buy the cheaper one new. The more expensive one is never coming back.

 

The more expensive one has the power zoom feature that some film bodies supported; I've never used it but I understand that the zoom is motorized and moves at different speeds depending on how far you twist the ring. Some people like this feature, but it appears that the market as a whole didn't really embrace it. It also has 9 aperture blades and a smaller 58mm filter size. It appears that it would have the older, better quality style of build (by AF standards anyway). Also offers a somewhat closer minimum focus distance and therefore offers somewhat greater maximum magnification.

 

The less expensive one may have been designed by Tamron but with Pentax SMC coatings, has an internal focus design with only 6 aperture blades.

 

If you want a lens of this type, I would recommend looking for a FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 (or 24-90 f/3.5-4.5). Even the cheaper lens you mentioned will take good pictures though.

 

-Andrew

[stemked]

Lens 1 was orginally really designed for the PZ-1(p). It has power zoom and is very heavy. Pratical Photography ranked it as the sharpest zoom of this class at the time. Did I mention that it is VERY HEAVY?

 

Lens 2 is a Tamron made lens. It made some noise at the time because it had a non-standard Pentax filter size (62mm I think). I personally haven't heard very much about the optical performance of the lens only to say it doesn't match the third (yes, there was a third lens) 28-105 that is slightly faster (f3.2-4.5 FA) but is also light.

 

Because of the weight issue I have seen the Version 1 often on the used market pretty cheap, most Pentax users bucking for the lighter lenses. But if weight isn't an issue then you might really consider the Version 1, if the price difference is worth it to you.

[alan_chan4]

The first was released in early 90's along with the PZ/Z series film cameras. It has been regarded as the best 28-105 ever optically, but f4-5.6 is slow. The second lens was a Tamron rebadged and never attracted much attention. At the moment, the best received Pentax 28-105 is the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=258663&is=USA&addedTroughType=search">f3.2-4.5</a> design which is more recent.

[sebastian_sebastian]

The black one is old version for ZX series and it will be made in Japan and the second one latest low quality material and probably vietnam make....? ......By......<i><a href="http://www.mycameraworld.blogspot.com">My Camera World</a></i>