This is all excellent advice. Only thing I'd ad is that I bought my first 1p from Beach. The transaction went fine. When I looked around to buy a second about a year ago, Beach was out of them.
The FA 28-105 power zoom (as Robert recommended) is great and balances well on the 1p (for which it was made). You can find a good used one at KEH. Joe > * From: Robert Soames Wetmore > * Subject: Re: PZ-1P kits > * Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2002 17:28:47 -0800 > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Marc, > > On the surface, this isn't a bad way to go. There are a few things I'd be > careful of, though. One trick I've seen is that there is a substantial > extra charge for something that is already included with the camera: "You > want the eyepiece? That's $xx more." Another trick is of course the > possibility of off-brand lenses, even if the ad makes them appear to be > Pentax. Sometimes it will say "f/ptx" [translation: "for Pentax"] or ptxm > ["pentax mount"] or some such nonsense. Another issue is that there might > be some small print somewhere about the fact that you're not getting a new > product, or not getting a USA warranty, or getting a refurbished item. > Sometimes the shipping and handling costs are actually like 10% of the price > or more. Also, sometimes they'll charge your card and then tell you that > the lenses are out of stock at the moment and on backorder, which they'll be > on indefinitely - and good luck getting a refund. These are just off the > top of my head as a former New Yorker - I assume we're talking about CCI, > Tri-State, Abe's, Beach, Focus, Smile, etc. > > I'd recommend B&H, Adorama, or CameraWorld, though I've also had success > when I've risked some of the others (such as Focus and 17photo), knowing > EXACTLY what I was getting and keeping things simple. > > How about the PZ-1p ($480 at B&H) and 35mm/2.0 ($284 at B&H) and 50mm/1.4 > ($185 at B&H) for a total of $949? Then in a while add the 135/2.8 ($309), > then maybe something between the 50 and the 135, then something wider than > the 35 or longer than the 135. > > If that's too expensive, I'd start with the PZ-1p and just the FA 28-105 > f/4-5.6 (the older style black powerzoom model 27667, such as the one now at > Focus for $254). There have been quite a few 28-105s, and they vary. The > one I mention is still around new in a few places and is excellent. The > succeeding one, gray instead of black, wasn't quite so good. There's > another brand new one, the FA 28-105 f/3.2-4.5 AL (IF), that is getting good > reviews. The 100-300 is pretty bad, the 80-320 somewhat better: I'd avoid > both, though there's no inexpensive Pentax-brand alternative. > > By the way, the FA 28-70 f/4 is a super buy, though they're getting > difficult to find now. (Focus is one place that still has them - and > cheap.) You could get this or the 28-105 I mentioned above, then think > about your next step - maybe a longer prime lens. > > I love my PZ-1p and believe it to be a fantastic value for the money. > > Good luck with your purchase! > > Rob > > _________________________________________________________________ > Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. > http://www.hotmail.com > - > 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 . > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > * PZ-1P kits, Marc Schlotthauer > o Re: PZ-1P kits, aimcompute > o Re: PZ-1P kits, Robert Soames Wetmore > > > >archive.com/pentax-discuss%40<-- Chronological --> > > > top of my head as a former New Yorker - I assume we're talking about CCI, Tri-State, Abe's, Beach, Focus, Smile, etc. I'd recommend B&H, Adorama, or CameraWorld, though I've also had success when I've risked some of the others (such as Focus and 17photo), knowing EXACTLY what I was getting and keeping things simple. How aReply via email to > > the 135, >then something wider than the 35 or longer than the 135. If that's too expensive, I'd start with the PZ-1p and just the FA 28-105 f/4-5.6 (the older style black powerzoom model 27667, such as the one now at Focus for $254). There have been quite a few 28-105s, and they vary. The one I mention is still around new in a fe - 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 .
