I popped into the local branch of National Camera Exchange, probably Minnesota's largest photo dealer, to pick up an M42 adapter for a Soligor 135/1.8 T-mount lens I just acquired. While I was there, I noticed that there were no Pentax cameras to be seen. When I asked, I was told that while they still carried Pentax "digital" they had stopped carrying Pentax "SLRs" because they hadn't been selling well for a while. Given that this is where we got my girlfriend's *istD, I don't know how they currently define this camera, but I'll bet they don't carry it any more. I suspect that the behaviour and attitudes of their sales staff had something to do with the fact that they didn't sell Pentaxes (and now appear to be the only shop in the universe with more Nikon than Canon), but it doesn't bode well for Pentax. Of course local camera stores are struggling with competition from electronics stores and the internet, so they aren't going to handle anything marginal.
On a related note, the Soligor 135/1.8 makes me really appreciate the Pentax 135/1.8 A*. The Soligor is amazingly awful at wide stops, kinda like what I'd expect out of an M 85/2 if you could open it up to f/1.0. It's very low in contrast, not at all sharp, and highlights have a little halo around them, plus there's a sort of fog everywhere--generally like shooting through thin fog or a window you have breathed on. The big front element (82mm filter!), lack of coating (1970 design), and cheesy glass (nikon's 135/2 isn't great, and isn't "ED") are probably to blame for a lot of it, and it might behave well at f/5.6 or so with a decent lens hood. The Pentax 135/1.8 A* wasn't stunningly sharp at 1.8 and was noticeably longer, but it handled better, was better balanced, and was a lot better performer. Of course it was about 15 years more modern. OTOH, the Soligor might be a really nifty portrait lens if I can get my studio flashes dialed down far enough to allow f/1.8 at ISO 200. DJE
