by Miserere
Reading Yvon's preceding post on Bruce's purchase of a Nikon D700 got me thinking, so I decided to quickly write down what was racing from my brain down through my fingers.
I can certainly see the allure of the D700. I spent Thanksgiving in a dark house trying to photograph children at ISO3200 on a K100D Super. Even with the f/1.8 afforded by the fabulous Pentax 31 Ltd, shutter speeds were not fast enough, and the IQ of the pics is far from great. I may print a few on 8x10 and see what they look like, but details on screen look poor. I'd love to have usable ISO 64000 in these situations! But I cannot afford a D700. I, like countless photographers before me (and scores after me, no doubt) will have to work around the limitations of my equipment, and my equipment is determined by my budget.
Yvon is quite right: If Pentax were to introduce a full-frame camera it would not be priced below $2,500 (and even that price would be great for a FF). Would Pentaxians complain? I wouldn't be surprised if the forums melted down with cries of anger.
If Pentax finally roll out the mythical 645D I doubt it's going to cost less than $6,000, on top of which you will have to buy a whole host of new lenses for it. Will the standard, regular Pentaxian buy it? Not a chance! I don't think people realise just how NOT portable the 645D will be. You won't be hanging it from your shoulder and going out for a stroll with it; you won't just throw it in your bag on your way out of the door. This will be a camera for the semi-professional landscape or studio photographer who produces serious work, but cannot justify the expense of a Hassie, Leica or other medium format camera. Will Pentaxians complain? You bet!
I am actually worried that Pentax have announced that they'll probably pursue the 645D. For the reasons mentioned above, I doubt they'll sell many of them and cannot imagine they will make a significant profit. As Pentax only have limited resources, any manpower channelled into the 645D project is going to be at the expense of the APS-C camera and lens line. Imagine they invest a large amount of money in this new project and never make it back; what would happen to Pentax? Could it bankrupt the Imaging division? Is Hoya willing to take such a gamble?
I believe Pentax will introduce a FF camera when/if it becomes clear that it's going to become the standard for amateur cameras. At this point they will discontinue their APS-C camera line (or maybe keep one as an entry-level model) and start producing FF lenses. I think this is the only way it makes sense for Pentax given their limited budget and production capabilities. Any other approach might ruin them, and none of us wishes the demise of Pentax, right?
So be careful what you wish for, my friend.
Reading Yvon's preceding post on Bruce's purchase of a Nikon D700 got me thinking, so I decided to quickly write down what was racing from my brain down through my fingers.
I can certainly see the allure of the D700. I spent Thanksgiving in a dark house trying to photograph children at ISO3200 on a K100D Super. Even with the f/1.8 afforded by the fabulous Pentax 31 Ltd, shutter speeds were not fast enough, and the IQ of the pics is far from great. I may print a few on 8x10 and see what they look like, but details on screen look poor. I'd love to have usable ISO 64000 in these situations! But I cannot afford a D700. I, like countless photographers before me (and scores after me, no doubt) will have to work around the limitations of my equipment, and my equipment is determined by my budget.
Yvon is quite right: If Pentax were to introduce a full-frame camera it would not be priced below $2,500 (and even that price would be great for a FF). Would Pentaxians complain? I wouldn't be surprised if the forums melted down with cries of anger.
If Pentax finally roll out the mythical 645D I doubt it's going to cost less than $6,000, on top of which you will have to buy a whole host of new lenses for it. Will the standard, regular Pentaxian buy it? Not a chance! I don't think people realise just how NOT portable the 645D will be. You won't be hanging it from your shoulder and going out for a stroll with it; you won't just throw it in your bag on your way out of the door. This will be a camera for the semi-professional landscape or studio photographer who produces serious work, but cannot justify the expense of a Hassie, Leica or other medium format camera. Will Pentaxians complain? You bet!
I am actually worried that Pentax have announced that they'll probably pursue the 645D. For the reasons mentioned above, I doubt they'll sell many of them and cannot imagine they will make a significant profit. As Pentax only have limited resources, any manpower channelled into the 645D project is going to be at the expense of the APS-C camera and lens line. Imagine they invest a large amount of money in this new project and never make it back; what would happen to Pentax? Could it bankrupt the Imaging division? Is Hoya willing to take such a gamble?
I believe Pentax will introduce a FF camera when/if it becomes clear that it's going to become the standard for amateur cameras. At this point they will discontinue their APS-C camera line (or maybe keep one as an entry-level model) and start producing FF lenses. I think this is the only way it makes sense for Pentax given their limited budget and production capabilities. Any other approach might ruin them, and none of us wishes the demise of Pentax, right?
So be careful what you wish for, my friend.
4 comments:
My, things have changed! Being a old fart who likes cameras and imaging, I am amazed by the current status of the market.
In the old days, you sought out the best lens for your work and then bought a body (mostly cheap) to use with that lens.
When I bought my first SLR, thought was given to the available lenses. At that time (1968) the best lenses were produced by Leitz, Zeiss and Pentax. I bought a Spotmatic.
When I wanted a larger format, I bought a Hasselblad and a few lenses for B&W. When I wanted colour and standard sized prints, the choices were the RB67 (Real Big - Brick) or the Pentax 6X7. I chose the 6X7 for the optics.
When I wanted more, I moved up scale to 6X9 and 4X5.... and so on.
At the end of the day, I matched my requirement to what was available.
Now, the "fan boys" and internet sledging have taken over. I still go back to my original requirements - best bang for the buck. That is why I still stick with Pentax - their superb lenses (although there was a serious lapse with the M-series lens and only rectified in the last 10 years).
So, to say which system is best or you comes down to your requirements. For me, I seldom use a lens longer than a standard and focus on the (in 35mm terms) 28 to 50mm.
Yes, I have longer lenses collecting dust. They are there for some "special" occasions (far to infrequent).
I loathe Zooms as they offer poor performance and invoke laziness. I am quite happy buying primes and continuing using my primes that I have had for 35+ years. There is some magic in those lenses!
Cheers,
Bob Rapp
nice...did you ever get the chance to try the Nokia 5200...it is also a good make.
Thanks for your thorough comment, Bob.
Indeed, we should choose the right tool for the task (and in my opinion, not pay any more than we need to). The problem with many people nowadays is that they feel it's the tool that limits them, not their own capacity to use it. I do believe this is a problem mostly of the digital age.
Back when you bought your Spotmatic, you had to have a strong interest in photography to invest in an SLR and put in the time to learn the principles of photography. Only the truly dedicated did that. Digital has popularised photography so that now anyone can use a DSLR with zero knowledge of camera or photography theory. As most everything, this is a double-edged sword.
Dear Miserere,
I'm sorry that I think Pentax should had introduced FF camera concurrently (when N*kon introduced Nikon D700).
I can live with that Pentax has no equivalent of D3 or D3X or anything costs that much by C*non. But I can't stand that we don't (and even don't know when we will)have a FF camera like D700.
So my friend, I really think I deserve to have a FF camera right now, to use with my FF lenses as an amateur and I can afford it.
If I could sell all (about ten) my Pentax lenses and flashes I would have moved to N*konian world. And would be happy. I feel remorse choosing Pentax once.
I really love K20D and I want a FF camera as second body, not 2 years later, right now.
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