I just sold a bunch of my stuff, actually to finance the K7. I also bought two cheap oldies, the M200 4 and the K28 3.5 to fill in missing but little used gaps in my lens range. (Actually, the 28 was a complete lark because it was so cheap. I'll be curious to see how it compares to my FA20-35, the lens that keeps on giving ;-)
Joseph, my only real objection to what you said is that although camera bodies can be repaired, after a point the cost of the repair becomes artificially high if Pentax doesn't want to do it. OTOH, if this was the only way to keep using your screwdrive FA's, it might be worth it to you. As Mark points out, this is probably a largely moot point for the foreseeable future. On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 1:23 AM, Joseph McAllister <pentax...@mac.com> wrote: > Given that the K10, 20 , 7, 5 all have a factory lifetime on their shutters > (mechanism, or supporting hardware, firmware?) might I suggest that if the > camera(s) are working for you now, they will continue to work in the future > if they need a replacement shutter, lever, circuit board, etc.. In almost > all cases it would be less expensive to fix these bodies than to scrap them > (they're broken, right?) until such time as the repair cost approaches the > cost of a new body, or a clean used body. At that time you are enabled to > move up, or move on. > > It is good for Pentax that we chase the elusive "fixes" up the evolving > model and feature changes, claiming they have "improved" this and that over > the last model that fell short. The problem is not that the problems we had > or are having with a particular model are improved, but by what degree are > they improved. A 1 % improvement is in most cases no improvement at all > statistically speaking. Yet the purveyor of such goods can still extoll the > "new improved" feature. As it has. Marketing is as good with words and > claims as the writers of all the damn political lies televised and mailed to > us in the past months and weeks. In my mind I'm thinking of the continuing > claims to have "improved" the AF speed and accuracy with each new version. > Something that I do not see any glimpse of through all the digital bodies > that I have owned. > > Many in this group have already chosen to move over to another brand or > paralleled the Pentax equipment they already owned. That's ok if they need > the equipment for a job, or they have the money to support same. As a > retired person on a fixed income, I'm not in a position to buy the next > body. Not until you kind folks are dumping them for the subsequent "better" > body, maybe three generations from now. I've got my K-7 and will be paying > for it until the middle of next year, unless my 3 LXn and all the associated > optical and electrical equipment that is really no longer germane to my > current kind of photography fills my coffers with vast sums of money. In > fact, I've hardly ever used any other Pentax equipment in the past 5 years > except the K10, 20 , or K-7 bodies, with just a few of the DA* lenses. And > of those, only the 60-250 seems to work to my satisfaction. The 18-250 > almost does the trick, but it's a bit slow for action other than bright > sunshine. > > Therefor, at my age and with the plans for what I'd like to do in the next > ten years or longer, I see no reason for holding on to my Pentax equipment > save the K10, K-7 and a dozen or so lenses. I'll either be strong and cut > that number down over time, or be a wuss and keep more than that for ???? > use in the indeterminate future. Many of the non-Pentax "things" I have now > are of little use or value to anyone other than me as items for show and > tell. I've no one to show or tell it to that gives a shit. I'm not going to > have the time or be able to muster the effort to put together anything that > would be used or to display much of what is here. Especially if I continue > to play Mafia Wars! :-) > > Now please don't inundate me with emails re: "what you got?" and "how much?" > because I must go about this in an organized (for me) way which may take me > all winter. I've put my lens inventory out there before, so it's in the > archives. And I promise when I'm satisfied that what I'm asking for the > equipment is fair, both for me and the alleged buyer, I will let the PDML > know about it a few weeks in advance of Craigslist and/or eBay. Maybe in > several groups over time. > > Taking photographs now only gets in the way of my more important plans, > which involve humans, and chronicling my life to share with my friends and > relatives, through photographs already taken, copying prints from hither and > yon, and visiting with old friends and relatives. All while keeping my old > Dodge minivan running as long as I can, and running the dogs every day. > > My 2 cents once again... > > > On Nov 1, 2010, at 11:11 , Steven Desjardins wrote: > >> I think it will last longer than five years. I still have a >> functional *istD on the shelf behind me. At some point it would not >> surprise me if Pentax bodies stopped supporting screwdrive, which >> means you would be forced to MF. Of course, there are complaints >> about the aperture simulator being gone but I learned to shoot on an >> SP500 so I had to turn a meter switch on and adjust the controls. No >> different with a K or M lens on the K7. For an AF lens to stop AFing >> would be a more serious loss of functionality. Still, I bet the >> bodies will continue to support it for at least 5-10 years and then >> you could still use them in AF mode for the lifetime of those bodies. >> By that time, maybe someone will make a screwdrive adapter. >> >> On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 2:03 PM, Mark Roberts <m...@robertstech.com> wrote: >>> >>> Dario Bonazza wrote: >>> >>>> Boris Liberman wrote: >>>> >>>>> There is something that bothers me slightly. >>>> >>>> The future is a crystal ball with a lot of fog and little if anything to >>>> be >>>> seen. I don't think Pentax knows the future, including their future >>>> moves >>>> beyond the next year, hence worrying now fo possible choices five years >>>> from >>>> now makes little sense. Use your current gear as long as it fits and >>>> move >>>> away if/when it can no longer suit your needs. >>> >>> Being concerned about possible choices five years from now actually >>> makes a great deal of sense for someone getting into a camera system >>> and looking at potentially spending several thousand dollars over the >>> course of those years. >> > > Joseph McAllister > pentax...@mac.com > > The Big Bang was silent, and invisible in it's beginning moments. > — from the Pentaxian's thoughts on particle physics, so far. > > > -- > 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. > -- Steve Desjardins -- 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.
