[jbinpg]

For those with access to the latest Shutterbug mag, check out the letters to the editor. Therein you will see a firey letter from our own Lowell Goudge taking the editors to task for leaving Pentax out of a "legacy equipment in the digital age round-up" article in a previous issue. Brought tears to my eyes.

Jack

[Adam]

Moving this to the everything else forum.

[mel]

Lowell, since it's your own writing do you care to share it with the rest of us? I, for one, would love to read it.

[Lowell Goudge]

Thanks guys

I didn't see this post until today

the letter I sent was in response to an article in (I think) the February issue.

Shutterbug used most of a page on each nikon and canon and backwards compatibility and how when canon changed mounts they offerer a few pro's special adaptors, and how some nikons could even meter with old lenses, yet in the paragraph on pentax failed to mention that every pentax body could meter with every lens pentax ever made and that pentax made auto focus adaptors to convert MF lenses to AF. I also pointed out that there were third party adaptors that allowed the use of canonFD and nikon AI lenses, but I think they cut that part out.

Apparently I was not the only one

[Lowell Goudge]

If I can find the article I will scan and post it

[hangu]

Rip 'em a new one, Lowell.

[Lowell Goudge]

Lowell, since it's your own writing do you care to share it with the rest of us? I, for one, would love to read it.

The letter, as printed on pgs 176 and 177 of the june 2010 issue of shutterbug magazine is as follows:

"I wanted to comment on the "Something Old, Something New" article in your March 2010 issue. You go to great lengths to describe converters for Canon, who basically abandoned their users not once but twice, yet you do not describe at all a fully autofocusing tele-converter offered by Pentax that gives you autofocus and additional "reach" on telephoto lenses. In addition, you didn't really describe properly the use of manual aperture lenses on Pentax cameras where "stopped down" metering is achieved with the simple push of a button, making it both easy and convenient, nor do you note that all of this is done with the lens wide open, and that the camera stops the lens down to the preset aperture for exposure. It seems that you are downplaying the backward compatibility of Pentax rather badly.
With respect to older lenses and the cons, whiile you are correct to mention falloff of light at the edges, you should explain that this is due to lens design and early sensors needing the light striking the sensor at close to perpendicular. This has been designed out of many newer sensors, and also is most accute on wide-angle lenses . With respect to reflection and flare from sensors onto the back element, out of 27 lenses I currently own, spanning from early screw mounts up to new lenses with optimized coatings for digital cameras, only one exhibits flare from the sensor reflecting off the back element. So while it might happen it dpes not seem to be a common problem. You should also mention some of the pros, specifically: some older lenses are longer, or faster, than anything available in the current lens line-up offered today and that some older lenses have optical designs that give them much more pleasing bokeh than newer models."

I hope others who find articles written that downplay pentax or incorrectly state functional aspects take the same approach and stand up to be counted

[jboyde]

Yeah, I knew that name sounded familiar when I read that letter. That's tellin' em!

I think I wrote in an earlier post that photo magazines like to downplay the pros of Pentax while amping up the cons. While with the "major" brands its the opposite.

[Lowell Goudge]

Yeah, I knew that name sounded familiar when I read that letter. That's tellin' em!

I think I wrote in an earlier post that photo magazines like to downplay the pros of Pentax while amping up the cons. While with the "major" brands its the opposite.

thanks

the one that got me the most was a UK magazine that did a review of the K10D against nikon, sony, canon, and samsung. Now consider that all the 10MP cameras except the canon one have the same chip.

they rated pentax better than or equal to canon and nikon in every category, ahead of sony, yet in the final selection, pentax and samsung were last.

I was going to write in and ask if they were students of the "new Math". Perhaps I should have, but what is done is done, just never again will I sit by and let obvoius bias go unchallenged.

[Uncle_dad]

Well done Lowell !!!! Thanks for looking after us.....

[Lloydy]

thanks

the one that got me the most was a UK magazine that did a review of the K10D against nikon, sony, canon, and samsung. Now consider that all the 10MP cameras except the canon one have the same chip.

they rated pentax better than or equal to canon and nikon in every category, ahead of sony, yet in the final selection, pentax and samsung were last.

I was going to write in and ask if they were students of the "new Math". Perhaps I should have, but what is done is done, just never again will I sit by and let obvoius bias go unchallenged.

I don't even stand and read the rubbish in the supermarket any more, I'd rather push the damn trolley while my wife throws stuff in !

[hcc]

Well done Lowell !!!! Great to see some nicely worded comments.

I love, and fully agree with, your comment "some older lenses are longer, or faster, than anything available in the current lens line-up offered today and that some older lenses have optical designs that give them much more pleasing bokeh than newer models." Many could learn from this simple statement. We do not need to re-invent the wheel...

+1

[Lowell Goudge]

hey guys, want to join in, or should I have a second go at it.

Look in Shutterbug August edition, towards the back. SOmeone wrote in asking if any DSLR could use their old T-mount lenses and meter.

they recommend several T-Mount to nikon and canon adaptors, but state sadly metering would be done manually.

Seems they can't even read their own articles to acknowledge that every pentax DSLR ever made can meter with T mount lenses.

Either these guys are just plain thick, or shutterbug really does not want to acknowledge pentax exists, even though in the same edition the K-x is the entry level DSLR of the year?