Hoya Lenses...Not filters...

[Jamfke]

Has anyone else used, or even seen, a Hoya brand lens? I recently acquired one through a purchase on ebay. It was grouped in a kit that included an old Pentax ME, a 50mm 1.7 (what I was really bidding for), and a slew of other odds and ends, and this lens; Hoya HMC 35-105mm Zoom & Macro 1:3.5.

I haven't seen any of these type of lenses listed individually on ebay, or any other site for that matter, and I can't seem to find a whole lot of info online about them either. The lens takes very sharp images, gives great color and contrast, and the macro function is pretty awesome too. It weighs a ton, almost as heavy or heavier than my camera, and feels as solid as Fort Knox. Zoom and aperture rings are smooth as silk too.

Any info would be handy!

Here are a couple of sample images:

Macro:


Zoom, low light, hand held, no flash. Heavy enough to steady my shaky hands I suppose!