On Feb 10, 2015, at 8:15 AM, Mark C <[email protected]> wrote: > > Looking at B&H I realize that not only the F6 but several other higher end > cameras are still available new - so I stand corrected on that. > > I did a lot of shooting with a friend in the past who had an F5 - a very > impressive camera though I felt my P-1p could hold its own against it (as > long as autofocus was not required...)
I'm not sure what "hold its own" means in the context of making photographs with a film camera. I was never a Pentax film camera user, although I owned an MX for a short while during the period I was using Pentax DSLRs. I sold Pentax SLRs when I was working in a camera shop ages ago, they seemed nicely made, small and light (the Spotmatic and others of that time period), and the Pentax lenses had a good reputation. By the time of the P-1p, I'd pretty much forgotten Pentax existed, sadly. I started in 35mm SLRs with a Nikon F in 1969 (my uncle helped me buy it), went to Olympus OM system for a time, went to Minolta XD for another time, went back to Nikon after six years had passed (1975 to 1981). Just liked how the Nikons felt and worked more, liked the lenses, and the Nikon F/F2/F3 viewfinders were the best. I had a couple of the FM/FE series models too. From '81 to '2001, I had the same Nikon F3/FM2n/FM kit all the way through. I dallied with a Contax SLR for a bit, but traded it off for other stuff after the romance had departed. Another dalliance with Olympus OM system (OM-1, OM-4T, some of their superb lenses) went the same way. By the latter part of the 1990s, I was thinking about the digital wave coming and thought I might upgrade my film cameras one last time. The Leica R8 had been released and it was a thing of lust and desire for me, but I simply couldn't afford the lenses. I stuck with the Nikons I had until I sold all my film SLR gear and dove into digital cameras; Nikon AF bodies and the first Nikon DSLRs that I tried were simply unappealing. I went other ways. A decade later, a friend drops a neglected, black, 1973 Nikon F Photomic FTn body into my lap as a gift. I picked up an 85 and a 50, took it out for a spin, and the magic of Nikon and film was back for me again. Since then, Charles gave me the 1965 F that he had kicking around in a box, I've acquired 18, 28, macro 55, and macro 105 lenses in addition, had the 1965 F overhauled so it's working perfectly now, my uncle gave me his F80 since he has lost the sight in his shooting eye, and I gave the black F/FTn back to the guy who gave it to me because he really wanted to have it. I also acquired a big bunch of Leica R lenses from an estate sale (along with a couple of Leicaflex SL bodies) and the magical R8 body—all for virtually nothing compared to what they'd have cost me back in the day. Never mind the Leica RFs and other 35mm gear… In all that, what has really stood out is that with an SLR film camera what matters most to the photos are the qualities of the lenses you use (not "better or worse" so much as whether they render the way you want) and the quality of the viewfinder experience. I never got into the autofocus film SLR world at all, really, which is what makes "holding its own" something of a question mark … What I interpret from that is "I thought the lenses from the P-1p did just as well as the Nikon F5," which makes sense depending upon exactly what lenses you and your friend were using. But I'm probably mistaken. The feel and quality of the equipment is another thing too. Nikon F series cameras and their top lenses are battle-axes, designed to be beaten up and used anytime, anywhere, in any conditions, and survive. They're overbuilt to a fault, heavy and solid. They're also relatively simple (until the F4) and easily repairable (still are, most of them). Love that, although I hate carrying so much weight around all the time nowadays, in my advancing dotage. Whew. Can you tell I'm not working this week? ];-) G -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
