----- Original Message ----- From: Roland Mabo Subject: Compatibility
> Hello > > There has been a lot of discussion lately on the future of Pentax. And > everything is nothing but pure speculation. When the MZ-50 was released, I > don't remember that we had a discussion about an aperture-less future. And > when the MZ-30 was released, I don't remember that we had a thread going on > about Pentax releasing new high-end models without support for older lenses. > But we have one now. I don't really see why. Pentax has, in the past, had > limited compatibility with the budget bodies. This has not been a big issue. The presumption is that the MZ chassis' days are numbered now that the new chassis is on the market. When the MZ-50 and MZ-30 were released, there were cameras in the line that had full compatability, and the consensus on this list was that it wasn't a big deal with the bottom feeder cameras. With the release if the Asterist, lens compatability has been removed, and there is no camera in the chassis line that has compatability. Hence the concern. I was retailing cameras when the EOS line was released. Don't believe for a moment that Canon didn't realize that they were making a huge gamble. They were extremely concerned about their customer base. They also realized that they could no longer use a lens mount that had been around since the early 1960s in a modern camera. It just wasn't possible, and so the FD mount (which was already a modification from the breech-lock had to go. That they made a clean break shows a lot of guts, that they continued to prosper in the marketplace, and actually picked up significant market share shows that the new products were very desirable. They also came out with some killer products right off the starting line. Pentax has not made a killer product in about 4 decades now. They have consistently been an also ran company for a very long time. The only thing they have had going for them has been that very long history of system compatability which from all appearances has ended. This makes them far less desirable to advanced photographers, especially considering the build of the Asterist, which does not instill confidence. The camera feels cheap. If they come out with an upper level Asterist with a better feel and full compatability, I would be very happy. I just don't bet on vapour ware to save the day. William Robb
