Shel wrote: > One problem with some of the electronic designs is that you can't "feel" > the shutter speed settings change. A quick example that comes to mind > is the ME Super, which has push buttons to change the speeds. I imagine > that numerous other modern cameras have a similar "feature" where there > is no way to feel the "steps" when changing speed, as on a camera like > the MX which uses a dial and at each speed change you can feel the the > dial "click" into place.
That is true of some "electronic" interfaces, typically on AF bodies. However: The buttons on the SP give you definite ideas of the shutter speed. For every click you get a one-stop change in speed, no more, no less. Reliably time after time. Just as you count clicks in the darkness on a knob type dial, you count button pushes on the SP. It isn't like a newer body where you "spin the wheel" and have no idea when something is changing. One push, one stop on the SP (and presumably the ME super too). At first, I was skeptical of the push buttons for changing shutter speed, especially after I had looked at so many newer bodies which tend to have "control wheels" with no feedback. The buttons on the SP are so natural you can use them without thinking. The camera becomes more an extension of your body. You can be locked-and-loaded in your shooting position and affect exposure changes just by moving your index finger to a speed button, tapping it, and returning to the shutter. No lost motion, grip change, or anything. It allows one to change either the aperture or the shutter speed equally, without jostling the framing. > Using such a dial allows one to change the aperture and feel each change > with the finger. With practice - and practice is necessary to some > degree - the photographer can change shutter speeds in the dark and know > ... That is true of the SP as well -- see above. > As an aside, when Leica introduced the M6 TTL there was quite an outcry > from long-time Leica users because the shutter speed dial, after almost > 50 years of rotating in one direction, was changed to rotate in the > opposite direction, causing, if not confusion, a need for the > ... Agreed; this is annoying. On occasion I borrow a lens whose focus ring turns backwards from a Pentax lens. It is annoying to use, and I can often lose shots (in rapid changing situations) due to tweaking focus the wrong way with it. Zoom direction changes are equally annoying (either push/pull or 2/touch). I've made a decision to only get Pentax glass, which keeps everything consistent. Now that I have more Pentax gear, I've opened up some to considering non-Pentax glass. However, a lens with focus (& zoom) controls which run in the same direction as Pentax is something higher-up on the consideration list than I though it would be. -- My wetware is wired for Pentax! One of the small things I really like about the P67 system is that focus and zoom (and aperture) controls all operate in the same direction as the 35mm K-Mount equipment. I can transition between them with no wasted thought or motion. One thing slightly annoying is that the shutter speed dial is in the "wrong" position -- on the left side of the body -- instead of next to the shutter release. On the other hand, when I grab the F4 and a lens, I need to think about which direction the focus ring moves, and which direction the zoom ring (on zoom lenses) move. Until my mindset switches, I often "do the wrong thing" -- and discover that "Oh, its _this_ lens, zoom is backward, but focus is normal". Normal to Pentax, that is! And, even worse, the directions can _change_ across lenses, instead of being the same for all -- as Pentax does. Bolo -- Josef T. Burger - 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 .
