>Digital cameras are absolutely more important to image making than are >film cameras for their respective media. After all, they do a whole >lot more processing of the raw data than the film cameras can. > >But I don't follow you on the digital cameras taking over for the >lenses. The recorded light still fall through the glass, and eg. >Schneider Optics claim that lens quality is more important than ever >with digital. > >Buying even a relatively cheap DSLR is such an investment that it >seems pretty wasted to top it off with ultra-cheap consumer grade >lenses. > >well my two pennies worth anyway...
Point taken. But although I will happily admit that the best SMC glassware will outperform most other (say) Nikon and Canon lenses (perhaps the Canon L lenses maybe match SMC ?) - surely they will be on a par with each other. What I mean is - I would rather have a brilliant D cam with a good lens as opposed to a good D cam with a brilliant lens. Note use of 'good'. I mean better than 'satisfactory' or 'adequate'. By 'brilliant', I mean better than 'good'. I would be the last person to suggest use of ultra-cheap consumer grade lenses on *any* camera. The prime reason I bought a Leica CL for my grab-cam is because I wanted a 'brilliant' lens, but just a 'good' camera. The Summicron-C 40mm is superb in its class, but the CL is no M series camera by any stretch. The Leica cognoscenti (for they are many) refuse to even believe it's a Leica, being made in Japan but designed by Leica. I wanted the quality lens first and foremost. With digital, the opposite becomes relevant. Not wanting to wait for the *ist D, which still smacks, I reasoned that I wanted what I considered to be the best (for the money) DSLR producing the best (in its class) image. I quickly narrowed my choices down to the D100 and the D60. Reasoning that the lenses were not going to be as good as the SMC glass I had been used to, but still capable of producing a pretty reasonable smudge all the same. I did my research and settled on Canon. In the event I have only so far acquired 1 Canon lens, an 85mm 1.8 - the rest are all Tokina and Sigma! LOL. Still - I can dream with the best of them :-) If I had one wish, it would be that Pentax was at the stage it is right now, 2 years ago. No way would I have switched. I'd have bought the *ist D2, and would not have sold an A*85mm 1.4. But I don't, cos it isn't, so I can't, and I wouldn't. The sad part is that if I switch back, it will not be for several years, maybe 4 or 5. By that time, Pentax's digital glory (or not) will have panned out anyway. Meanwhile, just as unfortunately, I will no doubt be looking for a bargain L lens or 2 (oxymoron?) and running some film through an MX to keep my hand in ;-) Cheers, Cotty ____________________________________ Oh, swipe me! He paints with light! http://www.macads.co.uk/snaps/ ____________________________________ Free UK Macintosh Classified Ads at http://www.macads.co.uk/ ____________________________________
