On Mar 31, 2006, at 9:47 AM, Dario Bonazza wrote:
That's fine. The problem is for those who bought the DL thinking to use their AF500FTZ and then discover they cannot. It's not me, as I own the D (which also doesn't work as well as the DS with TTL). However, a folk I know bought the DL 4 days ago and today he sent it back to the seller because of this unexpected flash compatibility issue. He wasn't completyely sure he wanted to stay with Pentax for a DSLR. Then he had decided to buy the DL (the only Pentax DSLR available in Italy). Today he has changed his mind. Gone.
It may seem cold to say so, but he should probably have done more thorough research if that was his intent. The DL is the bottom of the line DSLR body ... Why should one assume that all things from the past are compatible with the least expensive body, intended for newcomers to the brand? Features are dropped to allow lower pricing on such equipment.
Someone said they thought it would cost $0.50 per body to support the TTL metering. That may not seem like much to you, but I've seen weeks of debate in an engineering/marketing meeting to get $0.01 more cost out of a component intended for production. It is particularly the case that this kind of trade-off goes on for the low-end products because profit margins on low-end products are very very low.
I figure Pentax business is their concern. I don't worry about whether they lose or gain customers.
Godfrey
