[RioRico]

I R A PENTAXIAN now 'cause... a couple months ago I was a DSLR virgin, and hadn't even done film for many years. So I had no batch of legacy lenses to find a home for. It's time to move on from 5mpx digicams. My goal: find the best possible affordable expandable DSLR system!

When I did a price/performance analysis of the leading DSLR makers offering a WIDE zoom lens, Pentax won. The only other affordable wide zooms are Zuikos, and current Olympus bodies just aren't as advanced as the K20D. My criteria were: 1) gotta have a WIDE zoom; 2) gotta have the best hi-res sensor; 3) gotta be able to pay for the kit. The only DSLR bodies I could find with better resolution cost MUCH more. I'm on full-time vacation (jubilado) so budget is important. (Nevermind that I'm on an eBay spree, buying old lenses -- many of those will be resold to pay for the winners.)

In my film years I owned many: 1934 Kodak Retina; Graflex 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 press cam; Olympus Pen-FT 1/2-frame SLR; various Canon 1/2-frame VFs; Yashica & Minolta TLRs; and an assortment of folders, boxes, etc. But no Pentaxes.

In my digicam years I got mostly Sonys, including the fab DSC-V1; but the newest are a Minolta (converted to IR) and an Olympus (submergable). I got add-on tele & wide & macro adapters, IR filters, effects adapters, etc. But no Pentaxes.

Sure, I'd fondled various Pentaxes over the years, even kissed a couple, but I just never got really serious. But the K20D has me hooked. I started off with a lightweight kit: K20D; DA 10-17; DA 18-250; FA 50/1.4; AF360FGZ flash. Nothing more. I'd expected to spend several months daypacking around Central America, and I didn't want to be overloaded. But my travel was cut short, and I found myself at home with an inheritance and an eBay account. (And it's been too hot ansd smoky here to go outside.) So I've been buying old PK- and screw-mount lenses, getting ready for a shoot-out to separate winners and losers. My lug-around camera kit keeps getting heavier. But I just can't stop, not as long as more PK and M42 lenses jump up in front of me.

I R A PENTAXIAN now 'cause... it's just right.