The old JCPenney 80-200 zoom is getting another chance to show off, and with careful use it is acquitting itself nicely. Previous tests showed its color fringing when wide open - that's f/3.5 throughout by the way!
However, when you're not deliberately trying to find weaknesses and shooting at decent shutter speeds it does fine work. I shot my lawn mower at several focal lengths with the shutter speed locked & aperture set at f/4.5, and all shots are good. I stopped down to f/8, and things improved which is no surprise.
This lens weighs in at just over a kilogram, has a locking tripod collar & takes 62mm filters. It also has a built-in shade that's quite handy when fighting glare with old coatings. While 1030g is a bit bulky for my style it's barely slower than an f/2.8 copy which adds nearly half again to the weight - and let's not go into the price difference! Oh go ahead and gloat: with M42 to PK adapter, I paid about $40 for this.
But wait!
- The others have VC/OS stabili... oh yeah my JCP is on a Pentax body.. :^)
- The others have silent HSM/USD focus - mine's manual focus and very quiet :^)
- The others cover full-frame sensors - the JCP was built before the term 'full frame' was invented! :^D
It's a keeper.
