In a message dated 7/24/01 7:18:22 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << The Pentax MZ-S is a well-crafted, wonderfully designed camera with control layuout of its own. I don't think pro photographers will rush to grab it (but a few might) mainly because most pros already use other brands. >> Somehow or another, when the word "pro" is mentioned, it has come to mean, at least in the mind of the enthusiast, "media" pro. Amateurs and other "pro" photographers want to emulate "pro" (media) photographers to the exclusion of the availability of "quality" cameras. I once owned a stable of 35mm cameras. For "glamour" assignments, I usually chose my PZ-1p w silver barreled f/28-70 AL and my 70-200 ED IF f/2.8 lenses. There was few places when I showed up that someone, usually a "pro" shooting Nikons, who wouldn't ask in utter amazement: "PENTAX makes ~that~?!"*+ PENTAX chose not to compete in the media races for the heart of the "pros", so our own predilection for PENTAX has suffered as a result. +*Having once also owned the FA* 85 f/1.4 and having basked in the glow of admiring "pro" and amateur shooters alike upon their seeing the 85 and its huge lens shade for the first time, I knew it is not our choice of PENTAX that holds the mark back in the eyes of the buying public. It is the ~extremely~ exasperating, self-effacing attitude of PENTAX itself to shine a light on its product line that gives some PENTAX owners pause to reflect on the other "pro" marks. ME? I still say if you own an LX, Super Program (the finest manual focus camera ~ever~ made++) and a PZ 1p, you were prepared to go forth into the "pro" world. ++The other marks put out fine manual focus cameras. But few of the had ~all~ the features of the SP. Unless I'm mistaken, the SP is still the only "A" body manual focus PENTAX camera with a push button light so you can see the LCD readout in total darkness. Seldom used but neat features like that make the Super Program a very special camera to me. But because of the limitations of my wonderful PZ-1p, I often went out with a brace of Super Programs w/noisy Motor "A"s attached, for the obvious reasons. PENTAX has made decisions which keep the PENTAX enthusiast on the sidelines with "pro" level cameras. In ll that time, I cannot report ~any~ major stoppages with the Super Program/Motor "A" combination. As for shutters. The Seiko shutters in PENTAX cameras are dependable and nearly trouble free. My first Super Program was bought from a Pawn Shop. How many snaps it had on it when I purchased it is anyone's guess. I ~know~ I fired it more than 40,000 times before that dunderhead US Customs officer dropped it and the Motor "A" onto the concrete on its pentaprism housing, cracking the housing. The LCD was cracked, rendering it useless. I still own the SP, and with an "A" lens aboard, it performs just like any other point and shoot SLR. *So what if I don't know what the aperture/shutter speed(s) are when it fires; it fires accurately enough to have served as my traveling backup/sans Motor "A." The MZ-S, which I will purchase toward the end of this year, cries out for a faster motor booster. Nonetheless, in competent hands, it will shoot right alongside any vaunted "pro" badged camera. As to weather sealing: almost without exception, any SLR with good foam will protect the innards against dust, if not rain. With foam kits selling for $13 on ebay, there is no excuse for ruined film or dust inside your camera body. If I were still a PJ, I'd have 2 (two) MZ-S bodies! - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
