> From: Larry Colen <[email protected]> > At this point, I'm pretty much completely lost. I don't know what you have, > and whether or not you enjoy it. Your post sort of > came across as halfway between stream of consciousness and whinging.
I have streams of consciousness occasionally Larry... :) My main cameras are now: A Sony NEX-7, with E-mount 16mm and 18-50 (both kit lenses), the Carl Zeiss E-mount 24/1.8, Sony E-mount 50/1.8, Sony E-mount 18-200 zoom, Rokinon NEX 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye, Pentax and Nikon adapters for E-mount. I'm loving that setup. It just seems like a natural fit ergonomically and makes for a light travel kit (minus the 18-50 and fisheye). A Nikon D800E with Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor Lens and Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP. I still need at least one wide angle prime and probably a 24-70 zoom. I honestly haven't had the time yet to evaluate it much since I'm traveling weekly and the NEX-7 is so portable. A shame, but it's only been here for about 45 days and I've probably taken less than a hundred shots to date with it. It's one serious camera though, and that's what I'll say anecdotally. I have no reason to suspect I'll come to dislike it. > > For me, one of the big appeals of photography is the interplay of the > technical with the emotional. I enjoy solving technical > problems, and photography gives me an opportunity to do that within the > framework of artistic expression. I see that a lot of the > replies are addressing technical, financial or emotional, or sometimes one > masquerading as another. Each of us on this list has > made an investment in Pentax, either financial or emotional, or both. When > someone has an investment in something, and > someone says that it is "dead", they have a natural emotional reaction to > take that as a personal attack, especially when it comes > out of the blue, and doesn't really have any supporting evidence behind it. I'm with you on that Larry. I seldom write a piece of software and then get to say 'see what I did?'. If software was appreciated as art... It wasn't meant as a personal attack of course, and as I expressed earlier, getting emotionally involved in a purchasing decision as if somehow that product has implications regarding a person's intelligence or esteem is nonsensical. I understand we're all prone to that. We are more than what we purchase or have the ability to purchase. Our materialistic society wishes to convince us otherwise. I could provide you financial reports and guidances regarding the camera industry, but in the past those have met with with typical skepticism and shout downs, so I see little need to do that. On the other had, just look at what cameras and systems you see selling, being used, advertised, and evaluate what Pentax has to offer across the spectrum in comparison. > > My pictures from last night were hampered by difficulty focusing the K-5 in > low light. I suspect I would have had a lot more keepers with the faster low > light focusing of the K5-II. Or, even a good, large, fast EVF with focus > peaking. On the other hand, for what you could by a K5-II and an FA31 for > you'd only be able to buy the D600 body. Never mind a plain K-5 and a sigma > 30/1.4. The D600, as far as I can tell, is the least expensive camera that > might outperform the K-5 in low light. Unless you are shooting in a > situation that requires image stabilization , and then I doubt it'll keep up, > with a stop or two handicap in the glass. In short the K-5 isn't perfect, > but it's one hell of a fine performer for the money. > > Pentax has indeed been in a bit of a lull when it comes to releasing new > cameras. I don't know what the development cycle time is like, but I suspect > that this lull is mostly caused by the change of ownership, and likely the > difficulties caused by changing the goals of the R&D department. I suspect > that within six or twelve months we'll start seeing the products stemming > from the new ownership. At which point it'll either be more of the same, low > expenditure incremental improvements, or some amazing world beating gear. > > It'll be interesting to see which. In the meantime, I'll make do with what I > have. I agree with what you say regarding change in ownership and management. On the other hand competitors have had FF bodies out for 3 -5 years or more? Pentax doesn't even know if they will. Pentax has had one APS-C ILC mirrorless and it's not being improved upon, by all reports. That's an indicator of where they are now. Is yesterday's and today's performance and indicator of tomorrow's? Who can say? Is the recent frequent change in ownership the cause of Pentax's current lull or is that lull and change in ownership a symptom? This is not to say you can't go out and buy a Pentax system today and produce great images you'll be happy with. You can. It all depends where you're at, what you want, and what you can or are willing to spend. That's different for each of us. Tom C. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
