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02-09-2017, 10:00 AM   #211
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Pentax needs more new buyers than long term supporters such as myself. We bought Spotmatics less than two years before the release of the K mount but stayed with Pentax when we moved to autofocus. Currently I do not see any new Pentax lens purchases in my future and as I seem to be more and more moving towards shooting medium format film , I am happy with my K5IIs. The company needs to be considered modern and the AF needs to be improved and a larger lens selection being sold by the stores. If it means that once again I am sort of left behind then so be it. If the cameras stop supporting screw drive lenses then I will pick up the newest discontinued cropped body that does support it.

I certainly do not get the felling that Pentax is planning on shutting down or even slowing down in the foreseeable future. But they do need to be able to grow their base, preferably while supporting us old guys (collecting OAS already). But what do I know, my largest camera was made by a company that went belly up in 1926 and my favourite camera is a model, the Hasselblad 500 C/M is a model that the only new item you can buy for it is a digital back.

02-09-2017, 10:08 AM - 1 Like   #212
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
And Canon were big enough and successful enough to p*** off all the FD lens owners and get away with it, Mistral.
But it was also necessary. FD was a dead end.
02-09-2017, 10:10 AM   #213
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QuoteOriginally posted by ffking Quote
In public perception, what is repeated most often is what is true - the actual reality doesn't matter. As long as people believe those things,
Mass perception is a very real phenomena, one that manufacturers quite readily fuel and feed. Once upon a time we all thought we needed
10x optical zooms, or so we were told and so many bought into. Same holds true for 'more megapixels', though slowly more and more
shooters are realizing that they've had plenty of megapixels for a few years now. Some of the current must have magic pills include
big, fast lenses with superb corner sharpness(*), 4k video (soon itself to be old tech), and mirrorless.

I for one am quite keen to see Pentax offering a quality range of products that are distinctive from the competition. As a consumer, I like
to think I'm intelligent enough to decide what is important for my needs and not be dictated by 'public perception'. Will I applaud a well
executed Pentax mirrorless body? You bet. Would I welcome a new mount? You bet, though it must have backwards compatibility
which means a stellar K-mount to mirrorless mount adapter(**). Do I want Pentax to become a Caninkony clone? No.

(*) It's not hard to imagine that in the not too distant future someone will realize that their images lack 'pop', and the trend for corner
sharpness will give way to lenses like....., the FA77. Bring on the HD D-FA77!

(**) K-mount mirrorless is a false path.

Last edited by tvdtvdtvd; 02-09-2017 at 04:09 PM.
02-09-2017, 10:11 AM - 1 Like   #214
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QuoteOriginally posted by aurele Quote
Well, canon 40/2.8 and 24/2.8 are really small with USM motor in it... just sayin'
Sure, but if I understand correctly those two are STM lenses- fly-by-wire AC stepper motors needing CDAF. They're better for smooth, silent video AF. HSM uses PDAF, better for still - and the 24/2.8 HSM is by no means a small lens.

The STM lenses are certainly not Limited class either.

[Added:] Let's be perfectly clear here. I like my gear; I like Pentax; I have no intention to change brands; but I can't understand their brand strategy, product strategy, distribution strategy or future glidepath. At one time I thought I understood. KP is a fourth Line or price point? OK - didn't see that one coming.

Maybe it is just here in the US (see the PF WPPI hands-on), or maybe it doesn't matter that I understand.


Last edited by monochrome; 02-09-2017 at 11:00 AM.
02-09-2017, 10:31 AM - 1 Like   #215
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Pentax and the young

While I fully accept that at 47 I am part of Pentax existing demographic I would have thought Theta is a big success for them in the youth market as are cameras such as the WG-M2. The issue I guess is the absence of a high quality and sexy travel/compact lightweight camera like an Olympus Pen-f or a Canon M5 or Fuji x100. Something you can take out on a night out with friends or to a day trip hiking without needing to lug a whole system with you but which delivers great pics. That's the kind of camera that appeals to younger people I would have thought.

For SLR's I've never really understood the obsession with prime lenses actually. Even as a teenager in the mid 80's with an ME Super the first lens I bought after the 50mm f1.7 was a Tamron 80-210 f3.8 and later a 24mm Tamron f2.5. If I'd been able to afford the 24-70mm f2.8 or whatever in those days that is what I would have chosen over the 24mm. High quality zooms come incredibly close to the best primes and I suspect are more appealing to the young who favour compactness and flexibility. I'm off to Milan for the weekend and will probably only pack the 24-70mm f2.8 for the K1 or if I want to travel lighter the K3 with Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 because it's so light and good. The truth is that Pentax might well be about to launch a bunch of primes but that is I suspect mostly targeted at their older anorack wearing user base. Even I am far more interested in the 15-30mm f2.8 than any wide angle 24mm f2.0 they might make and I do wonder how many of the people crying out for primes will in reality buy them.

I did buy the 77mm f1.8 but at £800 had to really really think about it even as somebody who does a lot of portraiture! In fact I find myself shooting my 24-70mm on the K1 90% of the time and the 77mm stays on the shelf. Any modern high quality ring motor equipped 24mm f2.0 will likely be as expensive as a 77mm limited and at that price you're well on the way to owning the 24-70mm - far more flexible, optically very good and covers a wide focal range for a weekend in Milan without needing to carry a 24mm, a 35mm, a 50mm and an 85mm.

I thus don't really get it when people bleat about the lack of Pentax lenses even in full frame unless you're a birder who wants a 400mm f2.8. They already offer full focal length coverage in high quality lenses from 15mm to 560mm so what more do most people realistically need and why? A fisheye of course and perhaps an 85mm f1.4 for commercial portrait shooters and maybe some fast prime telephotos for the birding crowd but beyond that I'm struggling to see what people need.

Jonlg
02-09-2017, 10:41 AM   #216
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QuoteOriginally posted by jonlg Quote
A fisheye of course and perhaps an 85mm f1.4 for commercial portrait shooters and maybe some fast prime telephotos for the birding crowd but beyond that I'm struggling to see what people need.
Canikon is so dominate in the wildlife/birding market that any effort beyond the 150-450 is really wasted. If I had known that I was going to get into wildlife photography as much as I probably wouldn't have bought into Pentax. But I was buying in at the low-end and the K-x represented a much better value at the time compared to the D5000 or T1i...
02-09-2017, 10:49 AM   #217
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Sure, but if I understand correctly those two are STM lenses- fly-by-wire AC stepper motors needing CDAF. They're better for smooth, silent video AF. HSM uses PDAF, better for still - and the 24/2.8 HSM is by no means a small lens.

The STM lenses are certainly not Limited class either.
I can only speak of the EF40/2.8 STM and the DA 55-300 PLM.

The Canon STM in the 40 lens is significantly louder than the PLM, sounds like a smaller DC drive (think 16-85 or 18-135). It's still not a large shrieking noise, but very audible.

Speedwise it's also quite a bit slower than the PLM, but personal judgement might be impacted by the noise. But I am sure it is not on par with the Pentax speedwise. Maybe just a little bit slower, but you feel it.

Yes you can use the Canon using PDAF normally.

No you dont want to use it if you ever focus manually, due to the weird focus by wire thing. Not pleasant at all, feels like powerzoom. Definitely not on par with the PLM.

I do not believe we should assume the name of the type of a drive tells you its features. Possibly other STMs are faster or more silent.
Think of Nikons "AF-S" in the new 105/1.4, which basically is an clone of an SDM micromotor.
Or the "USM" in a Canon 85/1.2. Compared to that the DA*50-135 is a speed demon.
Each lens is different.

02-09-2017, 10:53 AM   #218
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
Sure, but if I understand correctly those two are STM lenses- fly-by-wire AC stepper motors needing CDAF. They're better for smooth, silent video AF. HSM uses PDAF, better for still (...)
Not exactly:

- Stepper motors can be used in conjunction with either PDAF or CDAF; with PDAF they are as quick as DC / Micro USM motors but not as fast as HSM / Ring USM motors
- HSM / Ring USM motors are perfect with PDAF but don't work well with CDAF.
02-09-2017, 10:56 AM   #219
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If you are not spending that much for wildlife the DA*300/4 is a great value and the 560 is more than ok at its final price.

I prefer prime lenses, it's more a matter of taste and feeling than a matter of age.
02-09-2017, 11:17 AM   #220
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mistral75 Quote
Not exactly:

- Stepper motors can be used in conjunction with either PDAF or CDAF; with PDAF they are as quick as DC / Micro USM motors but not as fast as HSM / Ring USM motors
- HSM / Ring USM motors are perfect with PDAF but don't work well with CDAF.
Watch this video in large and with sound turned up and you know why we have STM and PLM drives now, even if they are slow:
02-09-2017, 11:19 AM - 1 Like   #221
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I really miss the good old days long, long, ago when dissing Thom Hogan was considered a worthwhile pastime.
02-09-2017, 11:23 AM   #222
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QuoteOriginally posted by beholder3 Quote
Watch this video in large and with sound turned up and you know why we have STM and PLM drives now, even if they are slow:
If you want silent - go manual (apart from the swearing, that is) ;D
02-09-2017, 11:29 AM   #223
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QuoteOriginally posted by redrockcoulee Quote
Pentax needs more new buyers than long term supporters such as myself.
And here is the main core to my problem. Younger people doesn't want old lenses, corky and nerdy solutions etc. They want something that is fast, easy to use, have good video and looks good. I work with this on a daily basis..So i see this all the time.
02-09-2017, 11:29 AM   #224
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My question for the experts remains - does the direction to modernize the DA Prime lineup, especially the DA Limiteds, necessarily obligate Pentax to end the current screwdrive form factor and replace it with a (presumably) larger form factor?
02-09-2017, 11:32 AM   #225
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QuoteOriginally posted by lukulele Quote
I really miss the good old days long, long, ago when dissing Thom Hogan was considered a worthwhile pastime.
Who is that? Isn't he a famous wrestler? What does he have to do with this thread?

---------- Post added 9th Feb 2017 at 19:36 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by kenspo Quote
And here is the main core to my problem. Younger people doesn't want old lenses, corky and nerdy solutions etc. They want something that is fast, easy to use, have good video and looks good. I work with this on a daily basis..So i see this all the time.
That is why Canon M cameras (with what? 5 lenses total? fastest is F3.5?) outsell the Sony toys (for "the pros" with the "fast lenses"). All without 4k video (). But with touchscreens. Many even without viewfinder.
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