In 1966, the US Marine Corps sent me to the Far East: Japan, Okinawa, the Phillipines and Viet Nam (mostly the latter). I took with me a Polaroid camera that I owned and didn't highly vlaue. Shortly after my arrival, I saw, and was allowed to handel a new Minolta 101 SLR that a friend had recently purchased. I also noticed that he got some great photos with it. The only decent camera I had previously used was a Leica rangefinder. I was very impressed by the Minolta, and when I got a chance to get to the main PX, I decided to buy one. They were out of stock, but the guy in the camera department told me that he had an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic that was just as good, but had superior optics. To close the sale, he told he that the same camera was sold under the Honeywell name in the US for a lot more money. I had never heard of Asahi, Pentax, or Minolta, but I know that Honeywell made some quality equipment, so I bought the spotmatic with 2 lenses. It was my main camera for 30 years, and because of that -- and the fact that, being cheap, I wanted to be able to use the lenses I had on any new caamera -- I stayed with Pentax, buying another Spotmatic, a SuperProgram and a 6x7. I have not regretted the decision, but I think I will jump ship when I buyt a digital, since Pentax doesn't seem to be keeping pace with the competition in that area.
Dan -- Daniel J. Matyola mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Stanley, Powers & Matyola mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Suite203, 1170 US Highway 22 East http://danmatyola.com Bridgewater, NJ 08807 (908)725-3322 fax: (908)707-0399 - 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 .
