Cost: 24.99$ (average market price $76.25)
Kino Precision was mainly known as the manufacturer of various high quality lenses for various resellers, and even camera manufacturers. As prime example, many of the famous and highly regarded Vivitar "Series 1" lenses were made by Kino Precision. So when they finally decided they should put their own line of lenses on the market, you expect something special.
And no disappointment there... although this specific lens was not that well known, it's a pretty decent lens, able to compete with any similar brand lens out there. It's a push-pull type of zoom lens with no zoom-creep as you can often find of this type and age of lenses. Operation is smooth, with the aperture ring being a little sharp (not Pentax smooth). The lens itself does look a little cheap, with a glossy shine and the lettering printed-on instead of embossed. But despite the looks, it's made of solid metal and well constructed.
Image quality is great! Sharp, rich colours and little color aberration. Easy to focus, easy to zoom, and a constant aperture over the focal range. A keeper! The Macro capability of 1:4 is nothing to brag about, but a nice bonus for a great lens.
Kiron lenses are loved by more then a few persons. Enough to have a
Kiron Club.
And I was also so lucky to find a digital copy of the
original manual.
Lens Specification:
Focal Length: 28-105mm
Maximum Aperture: F3.2
Minimum Aperture: F22
Image Format: 35mm
Lens Mount: PK
Optics: 16 elements in 12 groups
Blades: 6
Focussing: Manual
Minimum Focus: 30cm
Filter Size: 67mm
Weight: 700g
Length: 112-172mm
Production: 1983
Serial Number: 36805213
Made in: Japan
MC
Multi Coated stands for a multiple of chemical coatings for lens surfaces with minimum light loss. The result is a dramatic improvement in both color fidelity and brightness and the elimination of flare and ghost images.
Kiron lenses, very good above average, have very personal colors the photos made with this lens.
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