Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ryan. I too have toyed with the idea of going over to the dark side. Oddly enough, what's stopped me from doing so has been the relative size and weight differences between Pentax and Canon offerings. Any of the unfortunate souls who accompanied me on my "short, easy" hike on Grandfather Mountain this year will tell you how and where I like to do my photography :) Only when I'm traveling alone I like to do it as a faster pace and hauling *more* gear (not photographic - I mean tent, sleeping bag, etc.) The small size and weight of the ist-D is absolutely perfect for my use. I may add the battery grip at some later time for other situations, but it's not a priority now.
When Canon announced the 1D-II I was sorely tempted. 8 megapixels is very attractive and I'd settle for the 1.3x FOV crop over full-frame, considering the price difference. But thing's simply too enormous for me to even consider it. This may change in the future and my decision may change, too. I suspect we'll have a race: Will Canon bring down the size of their camera first or will Pentax bring up the size of their sensor in time? If Canon produces a 1.3x FOV crop camera of reasonable size and weight before Pentax produces a camera close to ist-D size with a 1.3x FOV crop, I'll probably make the switch. I have no doubt that Canon can win this race... *if* they want to. I just don't know if they really want to; there's a sizeable market amongst people who are much more impressed by large cameras, regardless of their other qualities. As always, the future is obscure! For now, I'm delighted with my ist-D. It really is better suited to my needs than any other DSLR available from any manufacturer. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
