It is not offering any support or encouragement in the top echelons of SLRdom, and in spite of years and years of rumours, there has been no concrete offerings by them. The MZ-S was beautiful, but flawed; the *ist D is way too late, and it better be cheap because it's last years' technology, and the *ist has some nice features but is extremely tacky looking. There has been no improvements of the high end lenses in living memory, and the Limited Lenses, while beautiful, have no camera to match them either in performance or cosmetics. They don't even offer autofocus teleconverters for high end autofocus lenses that have been out for over a decade!
I think Pentax was seriously hurt by the disasterous MZ-D; whether or not they have the fortitude to recover and to listen to their core customers is another story. We will definitely miss Bojidar's insiteful comments and his wonderful addition to the Pentax family, disfunctional though it may be. Best wishes to him from a long time (since '96) PDML member.
Cameron Hood
On Monday, March 17, 2003, at 06:30 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 14:51:33 +0100 From: Bojidar Dimitrov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Good-bye Pentax (was: Pentax needs USM and IS) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hi Roland, hi all,
Roland Mabo wrote:
Choosing SLR, is choosing a system. Those who wish to use the SLR primarly for p&s photography doesn't bother, but those who are serious about learning photography - who sees photography as an art, as a hobby or as an income - thinks about SLR as a system.
I certainly do, and as much as I like Pentax bodies (LX, superProgram,
ZX-5n), I am not convinced by Pentax's system. I chose a superProgram
with a couple of A lenses when I was a student, and I still believe that
for a limited budget Pentax is a great solution. There is plenty of
second-hand gear and it is good, small, light, and inexpensive.
BUT... when I started getting serious and ready to spend some more cash,
I started watching with great envy those Canon and Nikon users. Now, I
am a technical head more than an artist, so I was fascinated by things
like USM, IS, AF eye-control, etc. Still, this was not enough to make
me switch.
I am a cost-conscious person, so I like to buy second-hand, and I do not
go for the big profi items. But recently I started wanting a longer
lens as well as a reasonable 70-200 lens, and found that I cannot really
buy them from Pentax. Yes, they do have the FA* 300/2.8, FA* 400/5.6
and FA* 80-200/2.8, but I was not willing to buy them new, and I could
not find them used. At the same time I wondered if I have confidence to
even spend that money on a company that since 1984 has steadily but
surely been falling behind the competition. A company whose most recent
big-ticket item (the MZ-S) has been a flop (at least in my eyes and from
a sales point-of-view), and a company that in the end of Feb 2003 still
had no DSLR.
So I started looking at Canon and Nikon more and more seriously. After
I edjucated myself a bit about new names, series, compatibility, etc., I
started having a rather sick feeling that I will be leaving Pentax
soon. I bought an EOS 30 (Elan 7e) and the top-rated lenses EF
70-200/4 USM L and 28-105/3.5-4.5 USM. What can I say, I wasn't feeling
sick anymore. USM may be seen just as a gimmick by some on this list,
but USM lenses have full-time manual and allow the photographer to reach
in and readjust the focus at any time, without having to switch or slide
levers. The build quality is absolutely fantastic, and the manual focus
feel is at least as good as that of an A-series lens. I have not spent
the money on an IS lens yet, but I have the option, if I ever have the
money. So I was not feeling sick any more...
Just at that time the first news of the *ist and *ist D came out, and I
was almost ready to abandon my plans to switch. After all, Pentax
showed some new products, and they looked good! But after the euphory
settled down, I took a critical look and had a sick feeling once again.
I wasn't sure if my good old K and M lenses will work with the *ist, and
the new Pentax lenses wern't itneresting at all. After all, I am happy
with 2 bodies, but I want LENSES. And the Pentax's AF offerings are
either too expensive for me (I must buy them new) or they are not
there. At the same time they represent late 1980's and early 1990's
technology. Add to that Canon's news about the 10D DSLR along with a
(theoretically) perfect wide-angle zoom (17-40/4 USM), and I felt
certain that my choice of a new system was the right one.
I wish Pentax all the best, and I hope they stay in the game. That way Canon will have one more competitor, and may some day learn how to make smaller and lighter bodies and lenses.
Now, back to reality. I will go on working on the KMP, and will try to improve it and make it more complete and more informative. I will also hang around on the PDML for few more weeks, at least.
Best wishes to all and thanks for all I've learned from you! To all KMP contributors most sincere thanks!
Bojidar Dimitrov
-- _\\|//_ Imagination is more important than knowledge... 0(` O-O ')0 A. Einstein
