Whenever a new technology is introduced, there is an explosion of interest followed by improvements at a rapid pace followed by a plateau where things sort of stay the same, followed by survival of the fittest as the best things survive and the others disappear.
This all reminds me of personal computer and software in about 1985-6. At one point, there were about 30 kinds of word processors all trying to make it to the top, some based on power, some based on user friendliness. One PC magazine had an issue devoted to a view of each (remember Einstein Writer, Perfect Writer, XyWrite II, Nota Bene, Volkswriter, WordStar, PFS Write, DisplayWrite, Leading Edge WP?). Over the next few years, all but WordPerfect and MS Word were pretty well weeded out, with a few other specialized word processors still alive. In digital, Canon and Nikon seem to have the pro market covered, and aren't too threatened by others. The sensor size of fourthirds and microfourthirds seems to keep them from threatening the Canon and Nikon pro SLRs, but compact cameras are where all of the excitement seems to be. Pentax, for me, is squarely between the big flagship Canon and Nikon dSLRs (which feel like carrying a medium format camera to me) and the m4/3 cameras (which are more like a Rollei35). Carrying the Pentax K-x with a 43/1.9 is more comfortable and weighs less than a Leica M. The K-7 with a 31mm lens is heavier, but doesn't approach the big dSLRs in bulk. Just my $02. Jeffery -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
