From: Bojidar Dimitrov <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 22 Mar 2003 07:32:22 +0100
++ top lenses in every focal length (sadly, mostly older manual focus ones)
Hu? I personally ses the FA primes, the entire FA* serie (primes and zooms) plus the limiteds - as top lenses (they have got good reviews in magazines too). The bad lenses are the entry level consumer zooms, but Canon's offerings in the entry level market segment isn't good either.
-- desirable products lag about 5 years: FA20-35/4, FA24-90/3.5-4.5, FA28-105/3.2-4.5, modern flash features
But Pentax has had 28-105's for a long time. FA 28-105 f/4-5.6, 28-105 f/4-5.6 (IF) and now the f/3.2-4.5. I don't understand you here.
-- virtually all FA lenses are cheaply built (the FA* are very good)
My FA 135 f/2.8 is built like a tank, I'm sure that it can stand the attack of missiles. It's a full metal construction. I also like the build quality of my FA 28 f/2.8 and FA 50 f/1.7. They feels very solid with great mechanics. I like the build quality of my FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5. It's much more solid than my FA 28-70 f/4 was. So, FA lenses are *not* cheaply built - except from some consumer zooms.
-- the second-hand market is VERY small: the good stuff is difficult to find, there are lots of people who want it, and it is expensive
Obviously Pentax photographers hold onto their gear. They don't sell it. K, A and M lenses are easy to find since the original buyers as a) bought new AF bodies and AF lenses, or b) changed to Canon, or c) changed to a zoom compact.
- top-of-the-line Pentax = serious amateur from the other manufacturers (for example MZ-S = Canon 30/Elan 7e)
That's your personal rating. MZ-S = EOS 3.
- the good new gear is more expensive than from the competition
The FA* 80-200 f/2.8 is more expensive than the competition, but the other lenses are not. In fact, some are even less expensive. The FA* 28-70 f/2.8 is the least expensive 28-70 f/2.8 on the market from a major manufacturer, and the FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 AL (IF) is less expensive than Nikon AF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5. The 50 f/1.4 is the least expensive 50 f/1.4 on the market, same with is true for the legendary FA 100 f/2.8 Macro.Well, they were when I checked Cyberphoto (http//www.cyberphoto.se).
- limited support for "modern" flash operation: only two bodies >support flash compensation, high-speed flash, wireless flash
No, 4 bodies supports it. MZ-S, MZ-6, *ist and *ist D. With more to follow.
++ top lenses in every focal length
Not the entry level consumer zooms (like the 28-85 USM and DC). They have not got favourable reviews, at least not in Sweden.
+ most lenses are very-well built; the L lenses are superb
But the entry level lenses are very plastic with no distance information scale. Canon even has plastic prime lenses with plastic lens mounts (like the 50 f/1.8). Now, all Pentax prime lenses has higher quality than that.
We must also consider...
--- Bad build quality in the entry level bodies. Very plastic from the outside to the inside. No metal reinforcements. One exception: the new EOS 300V. It is much better than previous Canon's here. Canon is famous for using more plastics than the competition, even in the lenses.
A friend of mine is a professional photographer, he has a Canon EOS 3 with some lenses. I rate the build quality of my MZ-5n higher than his Canon. I know that the EOS 3 has an aluminium chassi underneath the *very* plastic outside, I know this because the plastic has been scrated off in some places so the aluminium shines through. Now, this has never happened to any of my MZ-bodies. The dials and switches feels much better on my MZ-5n than on the EOS 3. The MZ-5n is far more intuitive to use. To change from program mode to aperture priority on the EOS 3, one has to press the "mode"-dial, then turn the main command dial until the display says "Av", then one can set the aperture. On the MZ-5n, one simply turns the aperture ring. And this is a great feature of the Pentax system - with Pentax, you simply turns aperture and shutter. You don't have to tell the camera first what you want to set before you can set it, as you have to do with the cameras from other makers.
The more I use my MZ-5n, the more I like it. It's a beautiful camera.
Best wishes, Roland
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