P�l wrote: >In the late 80's Pentax had 72 lenses >while in the period from, say, 89 to about 97 the biggest complains from >Pentax users were the lack of lenses. Nikon have been very careful by >offering their users choices. --- It took sadly longer for Pentax to provide a complete lineup of AF lenses than for Nikon. Perhaps one of the reasons for this was the much larger userbase for the Nikon AF system. I agree that Pentax has changed direction, but perhaps they had to... Even if Pentax made the first 35mm AF SLR on the market (ME-F), they weren't prepared on the AF hype that came so fast in the mid 80's. Minolta 7000 became very popular, and Pentax found themselves standing there with manual focus bodies and lenses that nearly no one was interested in. They lost much money, and I believe that the reason for stop making many of those lenses was a desperate action in order to save money. Neither the SF or the Z-serie were big hits on the market. Sure they were great cameras, but perhaps the Z-1(p) were a little too inventive for the market. It was a long leap from ME Super... Because of the failure of their previous AF series, Pentax had to do something else. So they got back to the drawing board and searched for their roots. Then the MZ-5 came out. I believe that if the MZ-5 had failed, then Pentax would have been forced to leave the 35mm SLR market for good.With the MZ-serie, they have finally found a winning formula and something to build upon. I see the MZ-serie as a much more natural follow up to the so loved manual focus bodies than the quite radical Z-serie. To me, the MZ-S feels like a natural development of the MZ-3. With a build quality from the good old days. The user interface is a genius development of the one in ME Super and Super A. I know that many are unhappy about the HyperModes being no more, at least not in the current lineup. But many users never got the hang of it and found the Z-1p too complicated. The user interface of the MZ-S may have a wider acceptance on the market, being more "commercial". Pentax seems to finally have found their way, sadly at the expense of some Z-1p users but surely this has happened among other companies too. Contax N1 and NX feels quite different from the previous Contax, with a rather special and non-Contax like, user interface. And where is the follow up to the Dynax 6? The only Minolta that I actually liked... And what about the EOS 50? It was a very special design with an unique user interface, but just as the Dynax 6 - it was clearly a one-timer. We haven't seen an LX replacement yet, but LX was never a commercial hit. Since the MZ-S in some areas (shutter speed and x-sync) are a bit underspecified, this leaves room for something more advanced. Perhaps it will come a new flagship, even better sealed than the LX and with shutter and x-sync of the Z-1p. Perhaps this one is going to be digital only. I don't know. With the MZ-serie, Pentax seems to have a clear direction. MZ-6 comes as a natural update of the MZ-7, which was a natural update to the MZ-10. MZ-30 was a natural update to the MZ-50. (I believe that we shall se MZ-60 as a new entry rather than an update of a previous model). MZ-5N and -3 were natural updates of the classic MZ-5. Some cosmetical differences and a slowly modernized user interface (the control dial on the MZ-7 and -6 for example). I don't know what Pentax will show at Photokina, but I hope for a 3/5N replacement, and the high-end model next year (or even better, the high-end at Photokina too!). I feel quite confident that a digital SLR will be showed by Pentax this year, perhaps at Photokina. As everyone else, I hope for new technology in the lenses. Pentax has the technology... As for USM lenses, Pentax needs to make a new body that can take advantage of those lenses. Perhaps they will with a new flagship. A new flagship, a new FA Star serie. Could be... Compatible with the digital SLR of course.
Best regards, Roland - 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 .
