At 5:05 AM +0800 8/2/05, Mark Secker in WAMUG digest wrote:
Looking at getting the something like the EOS 300D but if anybody has
any horror stories of this model or possible significant advantages
of other models by, say, Fuji or Nikon
I'm wanting to "get in the door" (body, lens, battery pack and basic
sync'ed external flash) for about $2000/2500
Well then, don't get a Pentax *istD or *istDS. (what inspires these
ridiculous names?)
Because you will be unsatisfied with others afterwards.
I've used both on loan with the bundled fast prime Pentax lens. And
with all kinds of Pentax lenses back to the original screwmount ones.
The fiddledebumps all over the body come to hand as well as any other
comparable body - and I've handled the D70 and a couple of Fujis.
But the Pentax lenses piddle on the Nikor and Canon.
and knowing that for
that price I'll probably get a low end zoom lens that will need
upgrading or supplementing with better lenses latter on.
As you say, it's the lenses, dummy. No other reason for getting an
SLR shirley?
Why accept a lower quality starter lens when these entry level bodies
are all pretty much the same? You shoot your raw image and do your
processing outside the camera.
Get the best prime fast lens you can start with. Look through it,
take some snaps and see what it gives you.
And couple the prime with a tele of the absolute best quality you can afford.
I still have a Pentax Spotmatic film body as my main camera. Why
would I want to change after more than 30 years when I have a
glovebox full of the fantabulous Takumar (Pentax) super multi-coated
lenses?
Biased? Me?
One thing
though is (going by my experience in the 80's with film SLRs) that
once you start buying extra lenses you tend to lock your self in to a
manufacturer so wanting to stick to a brand like Nikon or Canon.
Yes, there is proprietary lock-out with the standards.
If you are mainly interested in greater lens compatibility then go
for Nikon, Fuji or Kodak bodies; they all share the Nikon F mount
standard.
hth
Nancy M
