I have bought my gear very recently, so for me this question is not really a "what-if". The story goes like this: I had my all manual Zenit SLR and it was pain in the ass. Big. Heavy. Very limited range of speeds. Pain to load (as bad as 6x7). And at that time ebay wasn't there yet, and Takumars were hard to get by. Not that I was looking for them -- I checked a couple of local stores and got an impression that I shouldn't bother, so I stopped. But I did take some nice pics with what I had.
Than someone recommended me Olympus Stylus Epic p/s. I was impressed by its lens and the way it's weather resistant, and for almost a year shot almost exclusively with it. Then I realized how badly I miss manual controls: the AF was too easy to fool in dim light, the exposure was hit-or-miss, autoflash always insisted on being "on", etc. So I decided it's time to get a "real" camera. After much deliberation I ended up with Minolta Maxxum 7 (MZ-S was a close second, together with Nikon F100). It's ergonomics fit me almost perfectly, the weight was good (meaning light enough for me to actually take it with me) and the standard zoom (24-105) was pretty good, if a bit too plasticky. So I took it with me for Columbus day to New Hampshire. There I got caught in a rain, and although the camera was in a bag, it got some moisture and died. When it dried, it revived, but never really recovered: one moment it wouldn't turn off, another the AF would play dead, etc. So I returned it to the store. And then came LX. Actually, I was choosing between it and Nikon F3. LX won, being better sealed and lighter. Now I thing this was probably the best $500 spent in all that year. I won't go over why it is perfect -- I think everyone here knows that already. I don't give a damn about 8fps (or even 2fps) winder -- I can crank the rewind myself (so far). The much advertized features like "mid roll film change" I get here for free. Multiple exposures -- a breeze. I don't need 2^10 AF zones and picking on of them. It's LOTS faster and convenient to use my own eyes, and I can focus in any corner of the screen without having to recompose. If I need to do it *really* fast, I just stop down to f/16 and try to be there. The M-series lenses are light, fast and tack-sharp (and cheap) . And so on, and, on and on. I suppose I might have been just as happy with F3 though. My poin is, in my view, any of these cameras is much better (for me) than any (and I mean *any*) modern SLR. I love technology, but 90% of the features they put in the new bodies are either useless or downright harmful (like AF, if you ask me: when I was shooting with AF I found my self concentrating more on "which sensor to use" rather than composing a good picture) Now I am playing with 6x7 (just got my roll of chromes back -- boy, aren't those gorgeous!) and my only gripe with it is that it doesn't have metering incorporated in the body. In every other respect I think it is perfect. Still I am keeping my Stylus Epic ;) > Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 12:17:32 -0500 > From: Paul Stenquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Pentax WILL produce a digital SLR! > > In medium format I'd stay with Pentax. That was a recent choice for me, > and the decision was based on three factors: 6x7 configuration, > affordability, and lens quality. > I haven't ever given serious thought to what I would choose in 35mm. > Like Shel, I have little desire for automation. I would like to have a > Leica and a few lenses, but I use 35mm with long lenses quite > frequently. I guess I'd opt to keep my LX and Pentax manual lenses. It > seems to be just about right for me. Although I might be just as happy > with an F3 Nikon. > Paul > > Creature's Comfort wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > I've given some thought to that, and to be honest, I don't know the > > answer. For me, there doesn't seem to be any new 35mm, SLR camera that > > would satisfy me. In fact, there are very few new cameras of any > > configuration or brand that I'd want to rush down to the store and buy. > > I might consider the MZ-S and a set of Limited lenses, but that still > > leaves an awful big gap to fill. My guess is that I'd buy some more > > Leica gear and some MedFo equipment. > > > > The problem for me is that new 35mm SLR gear is auto focus, and loaded > > with a lot of features that I don't want to deal with, regardless of > > whether they can be "turned off" or not. And many of the new cameras > > incorporate built-in winders and smaller view finders, or are > > substantially larger and bulkier than what I want in a 35mm camera. I'd > > be in a real quandary. > > > > Bruce Rubenstein wrote: > > > > > would be interesting to know how many people > > > would stay with Pentax, and try to > > > duplicate what they have now, if every piece > > > of their gear disappeared and was > > > replaced with an equivalent sum of money. > > -- > > Sheldon Belinkoff - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
