I'm planning to buy a Pentax MZ-3, the lens I found are FA 28-70/F4 AL and FA 28-80/F3.5-5.6,I don't know which is more better to fit my future MZ-3, or are there any better choice?

-- Chaosong (chaosong@126.com), December 15, 1998

Answers

The FA 28-70 AL is a good consumer zoom, although it is better at the long end than it is at 28mm. I believe that the concensus of the members of the Pentax Mailing List is that that lens is superior to the 28-80.

You can find more information by hunting through the recent mailing list archives at http://216.17.133.143/Frames/archives.html

or at the Pentax FAQ (which includes a summary of the Popular Photography test report) at http://www.primenet.com/~jtsatsk/pentax.html

The new 43mm f/1.9 would also be an excellent choice; it is one of the best normal lenses available for the 35mm format. I think that that lens may still be packaged with the MZ-3 in some countries as a set.

-- Brian Walsh (mche@ucdavis.edu), December 16, 1998.