My name is Ivan and I live in Medicine Hat Alberta. I was a member of this list briefly last summer. I first began using Pentax i 1973 and bought my first one , a Spotmatic F which I stil have, the next year. Eventually my wife and I had two Spotmatic Fs with a bunch of lenses most of which we traded for a second SF1x. Also own a MZ5n and picked up really cheap a A110 with three lenses. Not sure if I will ever shot a 110 again even though do have several rolls of film, but why bother? For the last 25 years also own a Rolleichord. My last two camera purchases were not Pentax, a used Shen Hao 4X5 field camera and before that a Sony P&S. I still shoot film, but with my new job there was a Hassleblad and six lenses being unused so that is what most of my B&W shooting has been of late. We are seriously thinking of obtaining a digital SLR and having to make a decision on brand and model. This decision is not an obvious one as although we have three Pentax bodies and a few lenses and accessories, none of them are expensive and other than the fisheye zoom, all are easily replaced with used equvalents. At work I am able to use for non commerical purposes the camera and lenses I use at work which right now is a D1X or D2H and lenses from the 12-24 DX to a 400 2.8 Nikkors and all the fast glass that Nikon makes or so it seems. Occassionlly I borrow from friend/co-worker the D2X. That does not help my wife however. I can buy a Pentex DSLR and upgrade some of my lenses and keep the MZ5n or buy a Nikon D200 (one of which I do have on order for my use at work to replace the D1X) use some of the older slower lenses that are not used at work until we get our own Nikkors. There are also F5 at work not being used as well as an 8X10 monorail camera I hope to try next year. Would also eventually need to buy a Nikon film camera if went this route so although it would give me the broadest system it would be to me them most expensive way and of course even if we buy Pentax I still can use the Nikon myself. Not a decision I wish to rush in as I am not much into buying and selling cameras The only time we did change systems was from screw mount to the K mount. Also in a position that we do not have to make the decision until next spring as wife will need a DSLR next summer. If we go the Pentax route it will either be the upcoming K10D or else try to pick up a used DS/DS2 cheaply and wait for the next camera ; K1D or K20D or whatever will come down the pipeline and from the sounds of what Pentax is proposing it does sound positive that improved models will continue to come. One of the reasons to go the later route is to later convert the DS to an infrared camera. I have enjoyed and found informative the emails about the upcoming K10D (and the speculation as well).
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