Susi, Welcome to the list. I am also located in Northern California just outside of Sacramento. As to the lens quality - you are basically correct. To some degree, you get what you pay for. Consumer 28-80 zooms from any manufacturer that cost so very little are all pretty mediocre. I used to have the Tokina 28-70 Pro II that you mentioned and found it to be very nice. The speed is great, as is the optical quality and build quality. Two downsides, however. First, it is pretty prone to flare compared to SMC glass. You should use the provided hood and be careful. Second, it is quite heavy and will be a bit nose heavy on your ZX-7. Another lens to consider is the Pentax 24-90/3.5-4.5. It answers the weaknesses of the Tokina, much better flare control, and lighter weight for balancing on the light ZX bodies. Optically it is suppposed to be quite good. It also has a better zoom range. It is not built as well and not as fast. Just a thought.
As to availability of anything Pentax or for Pentax, you are going to have to get used to mail order. Pentax marketing has been quite lame for many years and they just haven't done much to penetrate the market. If you are near Sacramento, Action Camera in Roseville (my town) carries Pentax Medium Format and entry level 35mm along with a full Nikon offering. They are the only store around here that I have found to deal much at all with Pentax. Good luck and welcome aboard! Bruce Monday, September 23, 2002, 5:08:46 PM, you wrote: SB> Hi all - SB> I am new to this forum and am a current owner of a Pentax ZX-7 with a Pentax 28-80mm F/3.5-5.6 lens that came with it. I use to be into photography many years ago (15+years) and am slowly SB> getting back into it. Loved my ME Super when I used it back then and decided to stay with Pentax as I relearn photography. My questions to this forum are: SB> 1) I believe this Pentax 28-80mm lens to be not of good quality. Is this the general census as well? SB> 2) Thinking about replacing this slow lens with a Tokina AF 28-70mm AT-X-PRO II F/2.6-2.8. Is there any compatability problems? SB> 3) Why is it that my local camera shops here in Northern California do not support the "pentax" brand as much as Nikon or Cannon? I've called all my local dealers to see if they carry Tokina SB> lens for Pentax mount and none carry them. They only seem to carry 3rd party manufacturer stuff for Nikon and Cannon. Whats the deal here? SB> Thanks in advance for all your help SB> Susi
