On 30/12/03, [EMAIL PROTECTED] disgorged: >At least the Pentax K and M lenses are usable, granted with restrictions, on >the *ist D. This is more than can be said about 20-30 year old Canon lenses >on their DSLR's
With the greatest of respect Uncle Bill, a while back when Canon dumped on their obviously very loyal customer base, some saw it as a brave move. Canon took the bull by the horns and said right chaps, there's no way around this, we simply need to move on and get on with a new design - it paves the way for the future. It's simply no good to try and bodge with what we have already, it simply isn't going to work. At that time, it could have been the most disastrous thing that Canon could do - many thought that it was a big mistake and consumers would drift away to Nikon and Pentax and Minolta. Some did. Years on, the pain of those days has now paid dividends and Canon is where it is today. Now, I'm not defending Canon. Oddly enough, I could not give a pig's trotter what the name of the brand is on the front of the cameras that I hold. I choose them on individual merits. Hence, for shooting 35mm film, I wouldn't really consider anything else other than a Pentax MX or LX. Jostein showed me his PZ-1p and frankly I wouldn't have one as a gift. It says Pentax on the front, but that's the only thing it has in common with those manual focus stalwarts that I know and love. I haven't seen a single Pentax camera that has been built after the LX that I liked enough to want to buy. The MZ-S was a pretty little thing. I wouldn't possibly consider owning one! The MX/LX gear heavily participated in forming the way I take pics - and nothing is lost by getting ahold of an ultra-modern AF plastic camera - I still shoot aperture priority in manual focus on the D60. It's what I'm used to. Now - the *ist D. Let me tell a little secret. One of the reasons I got myself a D60 fifteen months ago, was because I had had a play with the MZ-S, and I thought to myself - if Pentax are going to base their DSLR on the MZ-S, I don't want one! I didn't like the size, the design, the feel of it. It was a decisive factor in me not waiting to see the eventual Pentax DSLR - and so I sold my LX and some lenses, and got myself a Canon. The D60 is plastic (even though it has a metal chassis) and I hate it for that - but I also fell in love with it because it allowed me access to a whole world of things that Pentax used to have, now seemingly fallen by the wayside. Along with the D60 came a lens and accessory line that - well, there's no point in going into those woods right now. Suffice it to say, that when I had a pair of MXs in the early 1980s, I only had to look in the back of Amateur Photographer and under the 'Pentax' heading (on various dealers' pages), there were a long line of lenses and accessories listed that I craved and craved. In fact, over 20 years on, in the back of AP, under the 'Pentax' heading, there's now a trickle of lenses with ridiculous zooms like 28-380mm f/5.6 - 6.3 for �169 and so on. What the hell is that ?? About as much use to me a chocolate tea pot. I want lenses that are useful and sleek and perform well. The Pentax Limiteds are the only lenses I would consider buying from Pentax today. Sure I know Pentax still make an 80-200 2.8 and a 300 2.8, but why aren't they advertised? Why don't we see them being used? Pentax today is sadly a shallow ghost of it's former glory. I'm living in the past.... ...until the *ist D. Came along. I was really impressed with that camera. It is nothing like the MZ-S, mercifully. It is well-built, purposeful, and sleek. It looks right and feels right. Having seen and held one, I feel slight sense of guilt - is this the camera that is going to turn around Pentax and start it back up the slope towards the peak it once shared with other mighty manufacturers? I sincerely hope so. And if it does, my sense of guilt will deepen and who knows, I might even sell off my current gear and buy back into Pentax. I'm quite happy to wait and see. Best, (sorry for the length, go easy on me - plenty of wine tonight *hic* - scrabbling for the nomex suit :-) Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| www.macads.co.uk/snaps _____________________________ Free UK Mac Ads www.macads.co.uk
