RE: which way would you go...
The main problem with the PZ1P apart from the size (IMO) is that it can't do depth of field preview on the A setting, or at all with the new aperture-ringless lenses. So it's not as forward compatible as some say. The MZ-S can do this, but can't set the aperture except indirectly. The MZ-6 can do both but it's a bit awkward to set the aperture from the body. The film *ist can do both but won't meter properly with old non-A lenses. It's a case of paying your money and taking your choice. Nick. -Original Message- From: Butch Black[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 13/04/04 02:54:33 Hi Clint; If you're happy with the lenses you have I think there is no reason to switch brands. We have a few members using the *ist-D professionally who seem to be very happy with it. You might look for a used PZ-1P (Z1-P), debatably Pentax's most professional 35mm body. It will use both lenses with and without aperture rings, works reasonably well with MF lenses, and has a reputation of being very dependable. I've had mine for about a year and have been very happy with it. Your M series bodies will make fine back up bodies.
Re: which way would you go...
On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 23:24:34 -0400, Clint Austin wrote: In the next several months I will be purchasing a new SLR body. I have ... My first question is this: Should Istay with Pentax? Find a camera you are happy to use. One that meets your requirements. IF that is Pentax then that's great, if not then that's fine too. Being stuck with a camera you don't like using while HAVING to use it to make your living is not a good idea. Next, is the old Digital or Film question. I do not have deep pockets so Digital. The instant results the ability to see if you need to reshoot, the lower running cost per shot afterwards and the ability to hand the finished work to the client on a CD 10 minutes after the shoot is wonderful. Unless, you need absolute quality and will be shooting 50 ISO film. In which case you might want to look at medium format. Pentax make a more professional level DSLR ? Is the *istd capable of professional work? I would love to stay loyal however I do not have the What is unprofessional about the *istD? It has a better viewfinder than the other other DSLR's on the market. It is better built than many as as well as the rest. It has wireless high speed flash. You can import the RAW files directly into Photoshop (version 5 up using the Pentax software or CS suing Photoshop's own software). The only complaints I hear are about the fiddliness of changing cards and pressing buttons - things which I have little or no problems with. The *istD is capable of Professional work. Pentax lenses are capable of professional work. But, as I said earlier you need a camera that you enjoy working with. A friend of mine went looking at DSLR's and he looked at the *istD, but his hands are too big for it and the buttons were just hard to get to (he has BIG hands) and he would never have been happy with it. The D100 fit his hands well. Hope this has helped. I like Pentax and the cameras I've used have always felt right to me (MX, Super A, Z1p, MZ-S and *ist D). I've used third party lenses but now have only one lens which is not a Pentax - I've never stuck a Nikkor on any of my cameras though so I can't comment. Leon http://www.bluering.org.au http://www.bluering.org.au/leon
Re: which way would you go...
It depends on what type of professional work you're looking at. Weddings? Don't use 35mm. For $500 you can get a good medium format starter (Fuji 645) that will improve your pictures significantly. Your Pentax gear will be perfect for the candids side. Portraits? Even for simple senior and family shots you'll still want medium format. Roughly $800 for a Mamiya RB. PJ? For sporting events you'll probably want to at least get one of their better af bodies lenses. But even then a change might be beneficial. (If you're good, what you have may be suitable, but get some backup equipment.) Digital isn't necessary, but might help. Pics are processed faster @ the lab and you can get them to your customers more quickly. In addition, if you do very much work at all, shooting 500 roles in one year pays for much of your DSLR body. Collin
Re: which way would you go...
I was in much the same situation as you a few months ago. Although most of my lenses are K series, I went with the *ist D. I have found that it functions quite well with these lenses. It gives you very adequate center weighted metering and open aperture focusing. It will function much the same as your MX. And you can add a couple of autofocus zooms for those times when you don't want to fool around with metering and focusing. A lot of what I shoot is just for my own enjoyment, but I also do quite a bit for stock and magazines. I've found I'm much more productive with the *ist D than I was with film cameras. And because the turnaround is immediate, I experiment more, which has led to some better work. On Apr 11, 2004, at 11:24 PM, Clint Austin wrote: In the next several months I will be purchasing a new SLR body. I have two questions that I need help answering. Currently I own two Pentax bodies, a MX, and a ME Super. I also own several K-mount SMC lenses. The only problem I have is that soon I would like to venture into some professional work, and I am worried that my 20++ year old cameras might have some mechanical mishaps with increased usage. My first question is this: Should I stay with Pentax? While I love my current cameras I am worried about the future of the company. Pentax does make great lenses, ( I own some very nice examples) but with the *istd moving the apprature to the body (making K-mount lenses harder to use) my investment in lenses seems to be canceled out. If I purchase a new professional body other then the MZs I will have to buy all new lenses anyway. SO should I stay loyal to a company who to me seems to be more concerned about point and shoot digital cameras? Next, is the old Digital or Film question. I do not have deep pockets so I cannot buy bot a professional film SLR and a DSLR. I am sure that if i went digital that my current film SLR's could function as very competent back ups. However I also own a slide scanner and really do enjoy shooting on film. Plus as I mentioned before buying an *istd would be just as expencive to me as going with another system since all my Pentax gear is K-mount. Will Pentax make a more professional level DSLR ? Is the *istd capable of professional work? I would love to stay loyal however I do not have the luxary of spending more to hang on to a company that is not going to be able to provide me support/ new products in the future. At any rate I will always enjoy my k-mount gear, I love the m series cameras, they are the first SLR's I ever used and have always done right by me. Thanks for your help.
Re: which way would you go...
William Robb wrote: I don't think Pentax is ever going to be state of the art again. The Spotmatic days are long gone. If you can live with a camera that is a couple of steps behind the state of the art, and (I think more importantly) like the lenses, then the istD is a good camera. This phrasing reminded me very strongly of something from another field. I'm not sure how well it applies here, but I'm going to throw it out there and let other people decide whether it's useful... In the 1970s, Hewlett-Packard introduced a new line of minicomputers for business users, the HP-3000 (various models). Industry analysts and their competitors mocked them, saying, But you're using ten year old technology! Your computers are obsolete right out of the box! HP responded that their customers didn't _need_ the bleeding-edge, didn't need to be using the latest and most nifty technology or the fastest machine on the block. They needed machines that fulfilled the computing requirements of their businesses, at whatever level of tech-niftiness. This is exactly what our customers actually need, HP said, This technology is proven and tested. Most businesses have ordinary computing requirements and don't need anything fancy unless fancy actually saves them money. And HP went on to sell a metric-s$^load of HP-3000 systems over the next ten years, to customers who had ordinary business-computing problems to solve. That obsolete out of the box platform made HP a bunch of money. -- Glenn
RE: which way would you go...
I stuck with Pentax, and happy I did. I proudly own and MZ-S and an istD. They do everything I need them to do - take great pictures! David Madsen mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.davidmadsen.com -Original Message- From: Clint Austin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 11, 2004 9:25 PM To: PDML Subject: which way would you go... In the next several months I will be purchasing a new SLR body. I have two questions that I need help answering. Currently I own two Pentax bodies, a MX, and a ME Super. I also own several K-mount SMC lenses. The only problem I have is that soon I would like to venture into some professional work, and I am worried that my 20++ year old cameras might have some mechanical mishaps with increased usage. My first question is this: Should I stay with Pentax? While I love my current cameras I am worried about the future of the company. Pentax does make great lenses, ( I own some very nice examples) but with the *istd moving the apprature to the body (making K-mount lenses harder to use) my investment in lenses seems to be canceled out. If I purchase a new professional body other then the MZs I will have to buy all new lenses anyway. SO should I stay loyal to a company who to me seems to be more concerned about point and shoot digital cameras? Next, is the old Digital or Film question. I do not have deep pockets so I cannot buy bot a professional film SLR and a DSLR. I am sure that if i went digital that my current film SLR's could function as very competent back ups. However I also own a slide scanner and really do enjoy shooting on film. Plus as I mentioned before buying an *istd would be just as expencive to me as going with another system since all my Pentax gear is K-mount. Will Pentax make a more professional level DSLR ? Is the *istd capable of professional work? I would love to stay loyal however I do not have the luxary of spending more to hang on to a company that is not going to be able to provide me support/ new products in the future. At any rate I will always enjoy my k-mount gear, I love the m series cameras, they are the first SLR's I ever used and have always done right by me. Thanks for your help.
Re: which way would you go...
- Original Message - From: David Madsen Subject: RE: which way would you go... I stuck with Pentax, and happy I did. I proudly own and MZ-S and an istD. They do everything I need them to do - take great pictures! I am pretty sure that unless you are among the 1/100th of 1% of photographers that actually need an EOS 1D mk.4 version 6.72 digital SLR for whatever reason, nothing else will do. For the rest of us, it's still about the lenses. William Robb
RE: which way would you go...
Don't worry Clint... You can use your M lenses on the *istD very nicely... It does take K mount lenses... and with the speed Pentax is going forward...there is no worry at all... Andy -Original Message- From: Clint Austin [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 11:25 AM To: PDML Subject: which way would you go... At any rate I will always enjoy my k-mount gear, I love the m series cameras, they are the first SLR's I ever used and have always done right by me. Thanks for your help.
Re: which way would you go...
- Original Message - From: Clint Austin Subject: which way would you go... Should I stay with Pentax? Good question. If you are planning on shooting professionally, you pretty much have to be considering digital, and probably an SLR. Because of the format change, your lenses have changed in usefulness. This may be good or bad. I don't think Pentax is ever going to be state of the art again. The Spotmatic days are long gone. If you can live with a camera that is a couple of steps behind the state of the art, and (I think more importantly) like the lenses, then the istD is a good camera. Film cameras are a different story, but the ones intended for amateur use are so advanced, and so cheap, it doesn't pay to buy top end unless you really want the cachet value. For the price of an MZ-S, you can buy 3 lesser film bodies, all having good feature sets. Will Pentax make a more professional level DSLR ? Define professional. Seriously. It's too big a word. What do you intend to do? Is the *istd capable of professional work? Absolutely, and in some ways, it is better than anything else out there. William Robb Thanks for your help. Yer welcome, though I hopew you ask more questions, both of yourself and of this list.
