On May 30, 2008, at 12:02 PM, D. Glenn Arthur Jr. wrote: > Okay, one wee gripe about the *istD: the overhang > for the pop-up flash gets in the way of the screw > that tightens the mounting ring to hold it in one > position -- so if I attach a tripod to the bellows, > the camera pretty much has to be in portrait > orientation. But do any modern cameras _not_ hang > over the lens mount like that?
The only DSLRs I've seen that has zero lens mount overhang is my Panasonic L1 and its Leica Digilux 3 sibling as well as the Olympus E-300 and E-330 models: <http://homepage.mac.com/godders/panasonicL1_olympus25/content/bin/ images/large/080510_mixed_5104048.jpg> or http://tinyurl.com/5bx2pp Panasonic DMC-L1 fitted with Olympus ZD 25mm f/2.8 lens and B+W lens hood The Olympus E-1 also has fairly minimal lens mount overhang due to its not having a built-in flash over the pentaprism. --- Pentax gear is good. The compatibility with older Pentax lens mounts, and the level of features they can support, are all good. If you have a bunch of nice older lenses in Pentax mount to work with, Pentax DSLR bodies are a natural preference. Personally, I started with Pentax gear with the *ist DS body and bought up a bunch of nice old lenses to start with. Over the past three years, I've sold them all off and replaced them with the current series top of the line primes and zooms: they are simply more convenient to work with and perform on par or better. For raw lens compatibility, Olympus/Panasonic/Leica 4/3 System lens mounts are much more adaptable. I have used Nikon, Pentax M42, Pentax K, and Olympus OM lenses on the Panny and Oly bodies (manual focus, manual iris only, but with manual and Av metering), as well as full function 4/3 System lenses, and there are mount adapters for Leica R, Contax/Zeiss, Exacta, Minolta MD, and Leica Visoflex available too. It's a matter of mount register and the diameter of the mount for mechanical clearance. But again, I've slowly acquired all the 4/3 System lenses I need as replacement for the older adapted lenses and use them, with generally superior results. Godfrey -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
