Welcome. I think the others have pretty much covered it already. The Tokina is a fine lens, but big and heavy and not as flare resistant as Pentax glass. The 28-80 is not 'bad' as such, but is certainly not 'great' either and can easily be surpassed for the money.
Your cheapest option would be the diminutive Pentax 28-70 F4 which is great optically and unbelievably cheap, but only available second hand these days. The Pentax 24-90 is the best optically without spending serious money, but is expensive and doesn't compare to its price competition in terms of build - all the money goes into the glass. There are also some second hand 28-105 (I think) powerzooms which are very good optically and cheap, although the powerzoom feature (which you cant use on the ZX7) makes them big and bulky. As they say, get used to mail order - its cheaper anyway!! > -----Original Message----- > From: Susi Burt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: 24 September 2002 01:09 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: ZX7 > > > Hi all - > > 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 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: > > 1) I believe this Pentax 28-80mm lens to be not of good > quality. Is this the general census as well? > > 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? > > 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 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? > > Thanks in advance for all your help > > Susi > >
