Re: Pentax bashing (was Re: another 31 Limited question)

[Alan Chan]

What bothers me (recently) is that with all the Pentax FA lenses that I have 
purchased lately, picking the "perfect" one was like buying a lottery. I am 
sure you guys are sick of hearing me complaining about the FA*200/2.8 that I 
purchased late last year. And now my friend purchased a FA31/1.8 from HK for 
me last week, and guess what? He ran though 6 samples in the shop before he 
could pick the best but not perfect sample. The mounting screws have big fat 
tools marks, the 'A' switch is acting strange, the front/hood section 
wobbles a little (okay, this might not be a flaw and has yet to be 
determined), and the focus ring felt too light (compared to other 31 samples 
that I have tried, even my friend noticed it when he bought it). It was 
either due to the poor QC in Pentax factory, or the lens had been stripped. 
I would never know.  :-(

regards,
Alan Chan
Dunno. It's a nice to have option. Also all but some very special Pentax 
current production lenses for 35mm cameras are AF. I just want to enter a 
shop, check the gear, and buy it new, with 14 days return policy, 1 year 
guarantee and so on. Guess what. I usually can choose between a nice 
selection of Canon and Nikon cameras and lenses. No Pentax in sight, and 
when it exists, it's some MZ-60 with the 28-80 zoomie. Guess if you can 
find a Pentax flash or hood. I'm tired of scouring ebay and camera shops 
websites. If Pentax wants to concentrate to the Japanese market, and design 
their products for that, and direct their marketing efforts there, then who 
am I to stay in their way. I'm not speaking here of special treatment for 
some well known professionals. I'm speaking about having some amateur 
products on the shop shelves. What, nothing to display ? Well, nothing to 
sell either. Bye bye.
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