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10-01-2009, 10:54 PM   #1
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Lens vs. Bodies

One of the Late Great Hebbert Keppler's articles in POP Phothograpy was on the number of Pentax bodies and the lenses he aquired over the years. He had his favorite lenses that occupied a number of bodies from film to digital.

In closing he said" the lens are the keepers........"

This forum is evedent of that. Look at the number of threads in the DSLR section vs. the SLR Lens section and you will see what I mean.

10-02-2009, 09:15 PM   #2
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'The lens is the jewel and the body is just a tool'.Does that sum it up for you?????
10-02-2009, 09:28 PM   #3
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My thoughts exactly.
10-04-2009, 06:53 PM   #4
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except that in the old days the body didnt matter because you could put any type of FILM into the camera.

with digital each new upgrade usually brings in better sensors. Be it reduced noise or increased dynamic range.

so... its not as clear cut as that.

10-04-2009, 06:58 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gooshin Quote
except that in the old days the body didnt matter because you could put any type of FILM into the camera.

with digital each new upgrade usually brings in better sensors. Be it reduced noise or increased dynamic range.

so... its not as clear cut as that.
I agree completely; my film camera records verbatim what I see, dependant on the type of film used. On my digital rig, I'm sometimes dissappointed that, say, a sunset has been ruined by an over zealous white balance correction.

If you look at high contrast areas of older cameras you'll often see bleed where you don't get that now.
10-04-2009, 07:31 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by keyser Quote
I agree completely; my film camera records verbatim what I see, dependant on the type of film used. On my digital rig, I'm sometimes dissappointed that, say, a sunset has been ruined by an over zealous white balance correction.

If you look at high contrast areas of older cameras you'll often see bleed where you don't get that now.
Easy to fix - set your WB to the temp your film is at (most likely daylight) then shoot away...
10-04-2009, 07:36 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by keyser Quote
On my digital rig, I'm sometimes dissappointed that, say, a sunset has been ruined by an over zealous white balance correction.
Are you shooting jpegs? If so try shooting raw and then you can apply whatever wb you desire in your raw converter.

10-04-2009, 09:25 PM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gooshin Quote
except that in the old days the body didnt matter because you could put any type of FILM into the camera.

with digital each new upgrade usually brings in better sensors. Be it reduced noise or increased dynamic range.

so... its not as clear cut as that.
How much better can we go? We aint there yet? ISO 1600 with zero noise huh? 30 megapixel sensor that rivals medium format? Were will it all end?

Oh I know, technology is an ongoing thing and progress will be made to make better bodies but my point and Mr. Keppler's was lenses are the keepers and the bodies are the ones we change out. Good glass is good glass and thats why I was referring to the amount of posts on the SLR lens forum vs. the DSLR forum.

You get your body and it may be obsolete within two years while lenses are the ones we tend to keep because camera manufacturers tend to keep to good ones in production longer. If it aint broke, don't fix it!

Last edited by res3567; 10-04-2009 at 09:47 PM.
10-04-2009, 09:30 PM   #9
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But that's no reason to halt development of higher-specced tools, nor does it inspire consumers to invest in the company if there's nothing better to offer.

I take your point Rob, because I too find technology to be driven too powerfully by the demands of the over-zealous consumer, but that's business.

I still love the results I got from the old *ist D's 6Mp sensor, particularly in those long night exposures. Gorgeous.

It ain't broke, but it's not being fixed - it's being improved upon...
10-04-2009, 09:50 PM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ash Quote
But that's no reason to halt development of higher-specced tools, nor does it inspire consumers to invest in the company if there's nothing better to offer.

I take your point Rob, because I too find technology to be driven too powerfully by the demands of the over-zealous consumer, but that's business.

I still love the results I got from the old *ist D's 6Mp sensor, particularly in those long night exposures. Gorgeous.

It ain't broke, but it's not being fixed - it's being improved upon...
I was referring to the lenses, Ash. Yea better bodies will continue to be built and it is cool to watch technology as it progresses. But with lenses it seems that if they make a winner, it is a while before they improve upon it, (and that goes for all the camera manufacturers).
10-04-2009, 09:56 PM   #11
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(Great) Lenses are forever IMO.
The FA ltds will always be hard to beat in every facet.
Don't know if the DA ltds stand up well to them but even with lenses, consumers still drive the market - lots of Pentaxians keen to expand their already obese collection of lenses...
10-05-2009, 05:17 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by res3567 Quote
How much better can we go? We aint there yet? ISO 1600 with zero noise huh? 30 megapixel sensor that rivals medium format? Were will it all end?

Oh I know, technology is an ongoing thing and progress will be made to make better bodies but my point and Mr. Keppler's was lenses are the keepers and the bodies are the ones we change out. Good glass is good glass and thats why I was referring to the amount of posts on the SLR lens forum vs. the DSLR forum.

You get your body and it may be obsolete within two years while lenses are the ones we tend to keep because camera manufacturers tend to keep to good ones in production longer. If it aint broke, don't fix it!
when you say we, are you saying WE PENTAX, or we all of digital sensors.

the D700 sensor IS better than the K20D sensor, with usable dynamic range all the way into the 3200's

how about 14 stops of DR like b/w negatives.. Fuji came close, and then disappeared for whatever reason

so yes, Pentax has a long way to go before you can start bringing up marginal benefits.
10-05-2009, 04:38 PM   #13
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I understand the concept of a light tight box and all that. However, there were some revolutionary developments in the film days that set the trends of camera design. Little things like the instant return mirror, ttl metering, open aperture metering, contrast light metering etc. In addition to that was the aesthetics and ergonomics.

Regardless, in my "working collection" of film bodies, I have certain lens(es) matched up with certain bodies.
10-05-2009, 09:31 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Ash Quote
(Great) Lenses are forever IMO.
The FA ltds will always be hard to beat in every facet.
Don't know if the DA ltds stand up well to them but even with lenses, consumers still drive the market - lots of Pentaxians keen to expand their already obese collection of lenses...
Yea Ash, as I started this thread, those lenses (the Ltds. was the FIRST thing to come to my mind. They are still VERY popular among us Pentaxians as well as the DA and DA* series lenses. I love my Taks and my SMC series manual lenses as well. The lenses, if made properly, are definatley the keepers while he bodies will become obsolete over a short period of time. That was what Mr. Keppler made his article about.

My whole point was looking at this forum, there are at least two thousand more threads in the lens section vs. the bodies section. Once you get a body you like, then it is all about collecting good lenses that will be of high quality and last a very long time(hopefully). You may end up buying more bodies to complement those lenses just because of the new technology.

Last edited by res3567; 10-05-2009 at 09:39 PM.
10-05-2009, 09:37 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Gooshin Quote
when you say we, are you saying WE PENTAX, or we all of digital sensors.

the D700 sensor IS better than the K20D sensor, with usable dynamic range all the way into the 3200's

how about 14 stops of DR like b/w negatives.. Fuji came close, and then disappeared for whatever reason

so yes, Pentax has a long way to go before you can start bringing up marginal benefits.


We Pentax. Yes I know we are way behind the two big boys (Canon and Nikon) when it comes to our bodies. But I think our lenses are of very high quality and in some cases even beat those giants when it comes to IQ IMHO. Yea we need better bodies to complement our great lenses and the K7 is a LITTLE step closer.

We aint there yet!
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