I think that anyone who was offended by my post is a wee bit touchy. I have always contended that if someone is happy with what they have they should keep it. I am sure that not eveyone who has switched brands had a clearly defined photographic objective in mind. (I'm talking about amateurs here, pros who buy there own equipment and most do, have other things to take into consideration.) I think that if someone here said, "I just always wanted a Leica" it would be understood and no offence would be taken. There is something about woning a "lengend" that has its own appeal. When it comes to 35mm SLRs there are few brands that have this cachet. (Can you really imagine someone going, "I've always wanted a Canon!" without going Huh?) I also don't know about this looking like a pro business. Most non photographers don't know squat. You could put a big flash and a long lens on a Miranda and fake out most folks. Real pros can spot an amatuer at 100m before they even open thier camera bag. About the only one you're really going to impress is another amateur, because they're the only ones looking to see what the other "guy" has. This is a sucker's game, because someone will always show up with a newer/bigger/more expensive rig. In the end though, Pentax is the most switched from brand.
From: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I'm not offended by Bruce's post either. I'm sure that there are those who've left Pentax for "those other brands" because they provided something that Pentax didn't (or doesn't). Where he's wrong, is his implication that that's the ~only~ reason. Couldn't be that some switched due to, for instance, marketing pressures, or the fact that they think the other brands are "cooler", or that they want to look like a "pro", or some other non-photographic reason? I'm not saying that those are bad reasons, or that the majority of C**** or N**** users do so for such reasons, but some do.
