Mark Cassino wrote: > > At 10:36 AM 7/19/2003 -0700, Keith Whaley wrote: > > >I have a FA 28-70mm f/4.0 AL on the way to me (haven't seen it yet) and > >it's presumably got some small (I hope) glitch in it's 'macro' feature. > > Hmmm - there isn't a macro feature per se on this lens - unlike some zooms > that you flip into a special macro mode, the FA 28-70 f4 AL just focuses > very close.
Yes, you're right. I just got the lens, and find that contrary to the specifications that say it focuses down to 0.4 m (15+ inches,) my sample indeed goes clear down to just a smidgeon under 10". A very nice, useable close focus distance. The only "glitch" I found, which the seller warned me about before hand, was that the rubber-covered focus ring gets a stick-slip motion at the very end of the rotation - either way. And, I'm finding, not all the time... so if that's all it is, I see no problem with that. I think the rubber is rubbing on the fixed lens body. If I put two fingers on the ring, 180° apart, and rotate it that way, I don't feel it. If I rotate the ring in the usual manner, with my left index finger under the ring, as I would tend to do in the field, it tends to exhibit that stickiness on occasion. In fact, as I try it out right now, I find the zoom ring does the same thing. Occasionally showing some stickiness, occasionally moving quite smoothly. I can deal with that quite nicely. > >I'll be wringing it out as soon as I get it. > >I'll report back... > > There seems to be a lot of sample variation on this particular lens. Some > folks have had very negative experiences, other think it is great. My > sample is excellent - holds its own vs most primes. Before he was > possessed by the Cave spirits, Valentin speculated that the manufacturing > process used in this lens accounts for that. Basically, the aspherical > element is plastic molded onto a glass element. Inconsistency in the > plastic component may account for the variation. I don't know if that's > the case but I hope you get a good one. I'm puzzled by the flat outermost front element. It's very slightly concaved. I expect outer front lens surfaces to have more curvature, and be convex! Just a minor observation. keith whaley > - MCC > - - - - - - - - - - > Mark Cassino > Kalamazoo, MI > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
