Newly-subscribed Peter asks: >will Pentax launch a digital SLR and if so, will it accept the same lenses >as, for instance, the MZ-6? If Pentax had a digital SLR which accepts all of >today's lenses, I'd buy it immediately. I mean, I have numerous lenses in >K-mount, but also some very useful M42 lenses from 17mm up to 500 mm. So, >the big question is: where can I buy this digital Pentax SLR and how soon >will it be available? :-)
Pentax was originally going to market a full-frame CCD digital SLR, until manufacturing problems or cost problems or both caused it to be scrapped. At the time of it's announced demise, Pentax revealed that work was under way to produce a lower spec (my words) derivative, more along the lines of the Canon D60 / Nikon D100, and this is still the official line. No release date has been set, but many sources expect a debut either later this year, or early next. Photokina in September is often quoted as a forum for such a debut, and it would seem a likely venue for an announcement. Like you, and doubtless many others, I am in the same situation. I would dearly love a digital SLR that would accept older and newer K mount glass. I have been waiting, as others, for quite some time now. But not for much longer. For the sort of photography that I do, a DSLR would be perfect, and the more I wait, the more I realise how true this is. I do not wet print, I do not require the quality that film provides. I shoot on film, spend hours scanning and farting about, when all I then do is print onto inkjet paper. Where's the point in that? I *do* like the archival quality of film, but it's a trade-off I am prepared to sacrifice. And so, I am gearing up to buy a Canon D60. My cutoff date is Photokina. If there is no announcement from Pentax, my order will be placed. If there *is* an announcement, I'll hold off until it becomes clear that something tangible is forthcoming, or not. I am slightly worried by quality (you may laugh...) in that a Pentax DSLR must at least match the D60 for me - not an easy task by any stretch. I am also slightly worried by first generation products. But if the spec is right, I might be persuaded ;-) Any DSLR would be in addition to traditional film gear in my bag. I would not particularly want to abandon film per se. I still see it as a very useful tool - and for quality, it still can beat digital (at the moment), but for my needs, it would be nostalgic rather than anything else. Stills photography for me is the activity. Film is a medium. Digital acquisition (for want of a better name) is also a medium. I see no reason not to be able to use either or both and produce a finished image that will appear on a wall, a screen, a piece of paper or whatever. To me, it's the finished image that is the most important thing. If it looks right, it *is* right. .02 GBP Cotty _______________________________________________________ Personal email traffic to [EMAIL PROTECTED] MacAds traffic to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Check out the UK Macintosh ads http://www.macads.co.uk - 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 .
