In a message dated 9/22/00 7:55:27 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
ronaldcormier@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>Kiron, 28-210mm, f4.5-5.6, Macro1:4, Ø72, MC Auto-W, looks 'new'(Both caps
in
> leather, pull string 'bag' )
> *Not sure... not a Zuiko, is it?
>
According to Mohaghan, this is one of the "cult classics" of third party
lens. To quote liberally from his page
(http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/third/cult.html#kiron)
"Kiron 28-210mm f/3.8-5.6 zoom
"This 28-210mm f/3.8-5.6 Kiron zoom lens remains one of the best 7:1
long-zoom lenses made (through the early 1990s). Unlike its imitators, this
Kiron long-zoom uses a special helical focusing mount to extend its
close-focusing range to an exceptional 3.5 feet at the 105mm portrait lens
setting. Close-focusing distance rises to five feet at 50mm and eight feet at
28mm, so you may still want to keep that 24mm f/2 Vivitar lens handy!
"Another nice feature of this Kiron zoom is that it has a macro setting of
1:4 at the long end of its range, i.e., at 210mm. Usually, these macro
settings are often at the short or wide angle end of the long-zoom range.
This macro setting at the long end means you can keep your distance from
skittish bugs and critters, or shoot macro shots through museum display
cases, and not have to get very close to do so.
"Like most of its brethren, this lens is heavy (28 ounces) and big (5
inches). Although it is a bit slow at the long end (f/5.6 at 210mm), you can
use standard 72mm filters rather than the more costly and unusual 77mm or
even 82mm filters on some competing long-zooms. The lens was $360 list when
introduced in 1985 (or $550 in 1998 dollarettes).
"Kiron Zoom Averages vs. Prime Lenses
Setting/lens center
lpmm edge
lpmm
28mm Kiron 53 45
28mm f/3.5 Nikkor 62 42
105mm Kiron 55 50
105mm f/4 macro 55 49
210mm Kiron 57 51
200mm f/3.5 AF Vivitar 57 49
Source: H. Keppler, Super Stretch Zooms, Do you Lose Picture Quality?, Modern
Photography, p. 34-35,74, June 1986
>From looking at the above table, you can see that the Kiron lens beat the
200mm f/3.5 prime lens, matched the 105mm f/2.8 macro prime lens, and beat
the nikkor in edge performance (where a prime is supposed to blow away a zoom
lens). In fact, the Kiron lens got only excellent ratings in corner sharpness
at all apertures and settings tested. In the center sharpness tests, the
Kiron super-zoom lens garnered 17 excellents and 4 very good ratings.
"Usually super-zooms fall down at the telephoto end, but the Kiron 210mm
setting was all excellents on sharpness in center and edge tests. Distortion
was also low (1.08% at 28mm vs <1 0.000000or Nikkor, and 0.63% at 210mm vs.
1.77%
for the Vivitar AF lens). The Kiron zoom had light falloff of only 0.6 stops
at 210mm versus 0.5 stops for the prime 200mm f/3.5 AF Vivitar lens.
"Unlike many zooms, the Kiron 28-210mm zoom has its macro setting at the
210mm setting. This arrangement provides a longer four foot distance from
skittish critters. Center performance at 1:4 macro was all excellent, and
edge performance ranged from very good (3) to excellent (3).
"So where does the Kiron and most super-zooms fall down? The answer for most
super-zooms is that at their 28mm setting, they have a hot-spot or a
relatively high light falloff (e.g., for Kiron zoom of 1.1 stops versus 0.2
stops for 28mm f/3.5 nikkor). The close focusing distance for the 28mm f/3.5
nikkor prime is under a foot, versus 8 feet for the Kiron super-zoom. The
super-zooms are also heavier and slower (at f/5.6 for Kiron zoom at 210mm
setting). See Primes versus Zooms for more comparisons.
"What is surprising is not that the Kiron 7:1 28-210mm superzoom has these
faults, but that it performs so well against prime lenses in sharpness and
contrast (also high contrast throughout range). The macro setting may not
equal a prime macro lens performance in the corners, but the center is
excellent and the overall performance very good for a zoom pseudo-macro
setting.
"Personally, I have and like this lens for its convenience. I like to have a
zoom lens as a backup of all my prime lenses too, in case one or more fail or
get stolen. But since I am aware of this super-zooms limitations, I usually
bring my 24mm f/2.8 AI Nikkor with me and a fast normal or macro 50mm lens
(usually with a fisheye adapter attached). Since Kiron is poorly known and
out of favor, I only had to pay the $75 US asking price for this lens to add
it to my camera bag."
So, as to answer your question as to the price, I have no idea.
Warren
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