> On 9 Oct 2003 at 21:47, William Robb wrote: > > > You can't make it a black and white issue.
Agreed. I'd say that people who only use MF lenses and who have no intention of buying AF lenses don't really have any economic clout when they complain that new bodies won't support their 25 year old lenses. On the flip side, though (since I bemoaned the loss of full K/M compatibility), there are a couple of arguments to be made for keeping compatibility. If someone buys a DSLR intending to use their MF lenses, there's always the chance that they'll wind up buying Pentax AF lenses to take better advantage of the camera's abilities. Also, by removing full compatibility, Pentax has removed any reason for an MF customer to stick with Pentax when they move up to an AF SLR, either film or digital. I consider myself a pretty loyal Pentax MF user, but I've bought my share of stuff new from Pentax, including an MZ-5n, FA28-70, FA80-320, and a 67II. I sold my AF stuff, as I prefer to use 35mm MF and MedF when possible. When I go AF again, it will very likely be with Canon or Nikon (probably Canon) because I feel that they have much better AF systems. The only thing that would tie me to the Pentax AF system would be the number and quality of lenses that I currently have for my MF system. If I can use them on a new Pentax AF body, that's a huge motivation to stay with Pentax when I go AF. If I can't, then all of a sudden Pentax doesn't have an advantage over the other AF systems, and I'll go with a system with better AF support (faster, quieter, more lenses, etc.). If Pentax's upper-end AF system is not as good as Canon/Nikon's, then they have to attract and keep customers by emphasizing other factors. For me, the excellent compatibility will play a part. True, I'll probably never buy an FA20-35 while I still have my M25-35, but at least I'll have bought a Pentax AF SLR, which helps them out a bit. If I go with C/N because Pentax doesn't always fare so well on a level playing ground when compatibility isn't an issue, then Pentax loses me as a customer altogether. I'd prefer to stay with Pentax glass because I love it, but I'm using MedF more these days when I want good quality, and my LX is becoming my p&s system. So yeah, one one hand it's pretty funny to see people who haven't bought a new item from Pentax in 20 years whining about how the new DSLR won't support their lenses. OTOH, now there's no motivation for them to choose Pentax over any other brand, as they'll have to rebuild a body/lens system from scratch anyhow. chris
