Heiko Hamann a écrit:
At have to say first that I'm not a professonal photographer. I've great respect for the craft and the art that photographers do. For me photography is a part of my spare time, so my demands are different from those of pros - some of this demands may even be more subjective than objective. I like taking pictures but I also like to deal with my Pentax gear because of some kind of technical fascination. Actually I'm owning the following pieces:And, don't forget the grip BG-10.
- MZ-5n + AF500FTZ
- LX with winder, FA1, FB1+FC1 and a Metz 45CT4
- SMC-FA 2/35
- SMC-M 1,7/50
- SMC-FA 4/28-70
- SMC-A 3,5/35-105 Macro
- SMC-FA 4-5,6/28-105
- SMC-FA /80-320
- SMC-M 2,8/100
- SMC-K 4/200
In the last weeks I have come to ponder about my gear and its future because of severeal reasons:
- I'm wearing glasses and the viewfinder of the MZ-5n is not very useful for me. In consequence manual focussing in difficult light is nearly impossible for me. Unfortunately the AF of the MZ-5n is not a big help in these situations - it just starts hunting my lens...
- I really like the LX and I can understand the fascination of those who have been using it for 20 years. I prefer it because of its better viewfinder and the build quality. But one of the best times for me to use my camera is when I am on holiday. But I don't want to carry a big set of equipment with me. I prefer one body with one lens! As my girlfriend prefers an AF body, we take the the MZ-5n in most cases. The same with family parties: I prefer the small MZ-5n+AF500FTZ set instead of the large LX+Metz combo.
- It seems that the quality of analogue photo laboratories gets worse. I have many prints that are blurred although the negatives are fine.
- I was on a wedding some weeks ago. There were ca. 25 guests, 6 Canon SLRs and my Pentax. The Canon guys and gals were comparing there plastic cameras and competed with each other who might have the largest Sigma
or Voigtländer hyper-zoom. There were also some more compact and digital cameras... That was the point I startedt to think "less is more". I started to think about my gear and that I use a 28-105 in 70% of my photos and mainly my FA2/35 and M2,8/100 for the rest. And I felt the need to reconfigure my gear.
The first decision was, to sell some lenses. There are two reasons: First, I don't use them. Second, I need some money for the reconfiguration. I will keep the FA2/35 and the M2,8/100 and will sell the rest on ebay or to interested PDML members (I will come to this in another posting).
The next decision is that of the camera body. I don't have a final decision found, so maybe you can help me. At the moment I'm tending to buy an MZ-S. Here is why:
- It has a great build quality.
- It doesn't have a much better viewfinder than the MZ-5n but a much better AF that might help me in difficult situations.
- It may become the last analogue "cult" camera as a successor to the LX. I have started with an AF-body being my first SLR. Maybe the MZ-S might be the same for me in 20 years as the LX is for some guys and gals here.
- I don't think, that Pentax will release a superior highend modell in the next year.
- I don't think that a DSLR will be affordable for me in the first generation
- I like the MZ-S
What makes me hesitating is the announcement of new SLR modells. On the one hand I don't think, that Pentax will replace the MZ-S with a new modell or even release an addtional highend modell. Everything I have read about the market development of the analogue camera segment speaks against this. So the MZ-S might be the final flagship. I'm also afraid that the new modells might be "trendy", silver, moderne - in other words don't look like a classic SLR. On the other hand - these are my personal speculations. To be sure I will have to wait =:-[
Actually I'm thinking that the MZ-S will be a fine replacement of my two present cameras. I also tend to buy a 24-90 lens as it has a very useful range and is told to be quite sharp. BTW - would it be a real improvement compared to my 28-105? In addition I'm dreaming of a 1,8/77 Ltd (should be black, of course;-)).
I also have considered to change to Nikon or Canon. But the Nikon F65/80 viewfinders are even worse than that of Pentax and a F100 is simply too expensive for a hobbyist. And Canon - see above...;-) I like Pentax and I will stay with these small and individualistic cameras. It is the modern successor to the Olympus OM-system which unfortunately is dead.
So - what's the question here? I don't know :-) I just wanted to share my thougts with you. Maybe you see things in a different light or you can confirm my considerations. Would you buy a MZ-S now or would you wait? Will there be a new flagship worth waiting for?
Regards, Heiko
Extra, and an indispensable complement !
Michel
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/krg/
French, but you can translate these pages with : http://babel.altavista.com/tr
