Hi Cotty, Five years back? Probably not. However, a year - 18 months back, sure. Remember, I've been shooting digi pics for quite some time, and have posted a number of PAW's and PESO's using the Sony. For the past 12 to 18 months I've been asking a lot of questions about the digi Pentaxes in preparation for getting one.
I've not given up film for digital as some people have, and the Pentax DS is as much an upgrade/replacement for the Sony as it is a general use SLR - perhaps more so. I've not had the camera long enough, nor used it enough, to come to any solid conclusions about it, or about shooting digital as a replacement for film. I am having a little fun exploring the format, but the things that are the most fun - such as using A-series lenses - would be just as satisfactory, and perhaps more so - on a film body. I really dislike having to shoot color all the time and then make conversions in PS. Maybe that will change, but, for me, there's nothing that can replace real B&W film with the photos printed on silver paper. With all the automation, functions, and features of the D and DS, I'm still finding the cameras slow and clunky to use. And, as good as the viewfinder is supposed to be, it pales in comparison to the old manual relics that I use. For me the Leicas and the MX, and the earlier K body cameras, are true P&S cameras. No need to think about battery life, white balance, modes, Av, Tv, etc. And while it's getting easier to put such things out of my mind, they still intrude on my shooting flow and upset my concentration. The DS buttons and wheels are an annoyance, and the information in the viewfinder is still disconcerting - I don't think I'll ever get used to it. When I got the DS you asked for a report after using it for a while. I guess this is the first report. The camera is something of a love/hate relationship at this time. However, in to be fair and honest, I disliked the Leica when i first got it - put the sukka in a drawer for six or eight months. Now I love it. Shel ===================================== On 29/9/05, Shel Belinkoff, discombobulated, unleashed: >1GB is fine for me right now as well. I've a couple of 512mb cards, and am >looking to add one or two 1GB cards. For now I think I'm going to grab an >80X Transcend. Price/Performance ratio seems pretty good @ New Egg. That >should DL in a reasonably quick fashion. Since posting about the Pretec >card, I noticed a few other brands have, or will have out soon, 4GB cards >with about 150X speed. Shel, can you imagine if you stepped into a wormhole and popped back in time 5 years and dropped in on yourself for a coffee - and mentioned to yourself that in 5 years you would post the above to the PDML... Do you think that you would believe yourself?? ;-)
