On Wed, Mar 01, 2006 at 08:51:21AM +1000, Rob Studdert wrote: > On 28 Feb 2006 at 13:11, John Francis wrote: > > > Hmm. So if the power contacts come back, presumably we would > > get at least one more digital signal pin to control the in-lens > > features (including, but not necessarily limited to, USM motors). > > The two pins could easily deliver power and I/O > > > Additionally both the new body and the new lenses would have to > > include the old AF system as well, or we lose compatibility. > > I don't know why they didn't just dump the mount with the first digital body > rather than lead us on like they have. It's now obvious what direction they > are > heading and compatibility with older lenses isn't high on their agenda.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Some people are just pissed that their 25-year-old lenses need a whole extra press of a button to work on the new cameras. Nobody has been "leading you on", except perhaps a few people here who still cling to the belief (or, IMO, delusion) that Pentax would decide to re-introduce a mechanical aperture sensor, or go back to aperture rings on lenses. I wouldn't be totally surprised to find that the new lenses don't even use a mechanical aperture actuator, but have in-lens motors for that. But, unlike you, I beleve that Pentax *do* have backwards compatibility fairly high on their agenda, and I expect pretty much what we have now; F and FA lenses work for everything, and A lenses work in manual focus. You'll have to leave the lenses in the "A" setting, of course, and use the aperture setting control on the body. But I expect there to be a mechanical aperture actuator for those old lenses, even if the new ones use a totally-electronic mount. As for those older lenses - there's a green button on the new body, and I expect it to work just like the D. If, as anticipated, the new body does include shake reduction, then I even expect there will be some way to use that with "A" lenses. Let's face it - if Pentax don't have decent compatibility with their old lenses, then why would anybody buy their new high-end camera, instead of a D200 (or a 30D)? The same argument goes, to a lesser extent,for new lenses - if the forthcoming DA f2.8 zooms don't work on my 'D (or DS, or DL ...) they look less attractive to me. With the announcement of the new body, and a lens roadmap that shows those new f2.8 zooms arriving shortly afterwards, I feel a lot more confident about Pentax now than I did three months ago.
