How many look at your cameras when you are out? I never had anyone come out and tell me how "beautiful" my equipment is. Never had anyone come up to me and say how "tacky" my LX, 645, or ESII are. I am happy that Pentax is still in the medium format business. I would be interested if a digital insert is made for my old 645. I wouldn't care if it isn't beautiful or looked tacky. As long as its function is to help me record an image that's what I want. Oh yes, I do own a Pentax that I think is beautiful but a bit tacky in design. It's a transparent SF1 with a transparent zoom lens. Everything works on it but I can't take pictures with film because the film would be fogged. The camera and lens is on prominent display in my home. I get lots of interesting comments about it.
Jim A. > From: Cameron Hood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:13:07 -0800 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: Good-bye Pentax (was: Pentax needs USM and IS) > Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Resent-Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 12:13:17 -0500 > > It is indeed a sad day for Pentax and the PDML that the great > Bojidar Dimitrov is leaving. His fabulous K mount page is world class, > and this is a sad indication of the state that Pentax has left it's > advanced users. > > It is not offering any support or encouragement in the top echelons > of SLRdom, and in spite of years and years of rumours, there has been > no concrete offerings by them. The MZ-S was beautiful, but flawed; the > *ist D is way too late, and it better be cheap because it's last years' > technology, and the *ist has some nice features but is extremely tacky > looking. There has been no improvements of the high end lenses in > living memory, and the Limited Lenses, while beautiful, have no camera > to match them either in performance or cosmetics. They don't even offer > autofocus teleconverters for high end autofocus lenses that have been > out for over a decade! > > I think Pentax was seriously hurt by the disasterous MZ-D; whether > or not they have the fortitude to recover and to listen to their core > customers is another story. We will definitely miss Bojidar's insiteful > comments and his wonderful addition to the Pentax family, disfunctional > though it may be. Best wishes to him from a long time (since '96) PDML > member. > > Cameron Hood > > > On Monday, March 17, 2003, at 06:30 AM, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 14:51:33 +0100 >> From: Bojidar Dimitrov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subject: Good-bye Pentax (was: Pentax needs USM and IS) >> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit >> >> Hi Roland, hi all, >> >> Roland Mabo wrote: >>> >>> Choosing SLR, is choosing a system. Those who wish to use the SLR >>> primarly for p&s photography doesn't bother, but those who are >>> serious about learning photography - who sees photography as an >>> art, as a hobby or as an income - thinks about SLR as a system. >> >> I certainly do, and as much as I like Pentax bodies (LX, superProgram, >> ZX-5n), I am not convinced by Pentax's system. I chose a superProgram >> with a couple of A lenses when I was a student, and I still believe >> that >> for a limited budget Pentax is a great solution. There is plenty of >> second-hand gear and it is good, small, light, and inexpensive. >> >> BUT... when I started getting serious and ready to spend some more >> cash, >> I started watching with great envy those Canon and Nikon users. Now, I >> am a technical head more than an artist, so I was fascinated by things >> like USM, IS, AF eye-control, etc. Still, this was not enough to make >> me switch. >> >> I am a cost-conscious person, so I like to buy second-hand, and I do >> not >> go for the big profi items. But recently I started wanting a longer >> lens as well as a reasonable 70-200 lens, and found that I cannot >> really >> buy them from Pentax. Yes, they do have the FA* 300/2.8, FA* 400/5.6 >> and FA* 80-200/2.8, but I was not willing to buy them new, and I could >> not find them used. At the same time I wondered if I have confidence >> to >> even spend that money on a company that since 1984 has steadily but >> surely been falling behind the competition. A company whose most >> recent >> big-ticket item (the MZ-S) has been a flop (at least in my eyes and >> from >> a sales point-of-view), and a company that in the end of Feb 2003 still >> had no DSLR. >> >> So I started looking at Canon and Nikon more and more seriously. After >> I edjucated myself a bit about new names, series, compatibility, etc., >> I >> started having a rather sick feeling that I will be leaving Pentax >> soon. I bought an EOS 30 (Elan 7e) and the top-rated lenses EF >> 70-200/4 USM L and 28-105/3.5-4.5 USM. What can I say, I wasn't >> feeling >> sick anymore. USM may be seen just as a gimmick by some on this list, >> but USM lenses have full-time manual and allow the photographer to >> reach >> in and readjust the focus at any time, without having to switch or >> slide >> levers. The build quality is absolutely fantastic, and the manual >> focus >> feel is at least as good as that of an A-series lens. I have not spent >> the money on an IS lens yet, but I have the option, if I ever have the >> money. So I was not feeling sick any more... >> >> Just at that time the first news of the *ist and *ist D came out, and I >> was almost ready to abandon my plans to switch. After all, Pentax >> showed some new products, and they looked good! But after the euphory >> settled down, I took a critical look and had a sick feeling once again. >> I wasn't sure if my good old K and M lenses will work with the *ist, >> and >> the new Pentax lenses wern't itneresting at all. After all, I am happy >> with 2 bodies, but I want LENSES. And the Pentax's AF offerings are >> either too expensive for me (I must buy them new) or they are not >> there. At the same time they represent late 1980's and early 1990's >> technology. Add to that Canon's news about the 10D DSLR along with a >> (theoretically) perfect wide-angle zoom (17-40/4 USM), and I felt >> certain that my choice of a new system was the right one. >> >> I wish Pentax all the best, and I hope they stay in the game. That way >> Canon will have one more competitor, and may some day learn how to make >> smaller and lighter bodies and lenses. >> >> Now, back to reality. I will go on working on the KMP, and will try to >> improve it and make it more complete and more informative. I will also >> hang around on the PDML for few more weeks, at least. >> >> Best wishes to all and thanks for all I've learned from you! >> To all KMP contributors most sincere thanks! >> >> Bojidar Dimitrov >> >> -- >> _\\|//_ Imagination is more important than knowledge... >> 0(` O-O ')0 A. Einstein > >
