Why I stick to Pentax (was: Good-bye Pentax)

[Arnold Stark]

Lately we have seen a lot of "What is wrong with Pentax", "If Pentax 
won't deliver this product I will leave Pentax", "Canon is stronger than 
Pentax", and the like, and we have seen some people, including the 
creator of the KMP, jump ship.

Well, I believe that everybody on the PDML may jump ship and may have 
good reasons to do so. I even agree that the Canon AF system is more 
advanced and more complete. If someone wants IS, USM, eye-controlled AF 
sensor selection, AF teleconverters, and zooms like the 17-40/f4 USM or 
70-200/f4 USM, then Canon EOS is the system to choose.

I agree that it would be very good if Pentax would produce IS and USM 
lenses, AF teleconverters and zooms for enthusiastic amteurs. However, I 
would like to point out why in my eyes the Pentax 35mm SLR system is not 
inferior, and why I will stick to Pentax even if we will never see IS or 
USM in the Pentax system.

1.) The Pentax system contains manual focus and auto focus gear in one 
system. Overall, the system is even bigger than Canon's EOS system.
2.) KX, K2DMD, MX, LX, MZ5N, Z1-P - there just are no EOS equivalents.
3.) K-, M-, A-, A* and Limited series lenses  - there just are no EOS 
equivalents.
4.) Holes in Pentax's AF lens line-up can be filled with non-AF gear or 
3rd party gear. For example the A70-210/f4 or the Tokina AF 80-200/f2.8 
are not worse than the 70-200/f4 USM.
5.) Actually, I seldom use zooms or teleconverters, anyway. Primes just 
are better, and Pentax's primes line-up is more than sufficient for me. 
See my focal length line-up: 15, 17, 20, 24, 28, 35, 40, 43, 50, 77, 85, 
100, 120, 135, 150, 200, 300 and 500mm  There is no Pentax 200/f1.8, but 
I wouldn't want to carry and pay such beast anyway.
6.) Small size and moderate weight of most Pentax gear make it very 
protable. My photo bag just could not carry as much Canon lenses as it 
carries Pentax lenses. Another example: The Canon 10 D is 55% more heavy 
than the *ist D !!
7.) SMC
8.) I like the well-designed user interface and the finders of most 
Pentax cameras, and I am used to them. When shooting the user interface 
and the viewfinder are more important than most other camera features.
9.) Some Pentax cameras offer less features than those of other 
companies, however, I often see that as an advantage. Less features are 
more easy to control. A good example is the MZ5-N.
10.) I doubt that AF with USM is much faster than AF with modern Pentax 
AF cameras, and I am sure that K-, M- and A lenses are more quiet than 
even USM.
11.) I would like IS for available light photography. However, not even 
Canon produces a fast IS normal prime.
12.) I like mechanics and direct control more than electronics and 
indirect control.
13.) With the exception of non-star FA series lenses, most Pentax gear 
just feels better than Canon gear to me. This, of course, is very 
subjective.
14.) While it is true that some Pentax items are hard to find, 
eventually everything can be found, and the chasing is fun.
15.) As SLR producer Pentax today is the underdog. Most of the time I am 
quite happy NOT to go with the flow, thus I like Pentax.
16.) PDML
17.) Good and friendly contact to Pentax Germany.
18.) Pentax invented the Japanese 35mm SLR, and I believe that Pentax 
will continue to develop its 35mm SLR system. The *ist and the *ist D 
are just the beginning, we will see more when the digital SLR becomes an 
affordable mass product, even a full frame DSLR.

Greetings from Hamburg, Germany,

Arnold