Hello, All:
As a retired advertising art director, my affinity for Pentax began with two Spotmatic bodies in the late 60's. They were my introduction to learning the art & craft of photography by controlling the functions of shutter speed and aperature
manually. I worked with a number of pros in Chicago studios who used the venerable Nikon 'F' systems and Hasselblads, plus the view cameras for large-format work. I asked questions to the point of being bothersome, but, because I was genuinely interested
(and their client), they freely passed their knowlege on to me.
In the mid 70's, one of my employers offices
(there were 5) had a Hasselblad with a couple of lenses that was not being used. I asked that it be transferred to the home office where I put it use shooting jobs that were within my capabilities and where the budget would not allow the day rates of the real pros. What a system!
And what a learning experience.
My last film camera was a Contax 139 Quartz with Tokina lenses. It was sold on eBay to a photography student in Ohio whose college instructor stipulated:
"35mm-film-manual controls". She was thrilled to find this camera, which I practically gave away.
I came back to Pentax with the purchase of the K-10D. I chose it because of the weather sealing and it's ruggedness. Yes, it is heavy and it's image quality suffers in low-light conditions, but I love it's intuitive menu. I chose Sigma lenses for it and have been quite happy with the system. That is until I ordered the K-5...
Wow! 16.3 mega pixels coupled with the Pentax DA 200 fixed-focus lens is a major leap in image detail. And noise does not become a factor until the ISO gets well beyond what I had to accept with the K-10. Finally, there's a Pentax that's rated up there with the big guns and it's receiving accolades from those who used to consider Pentax an "enthusiasts" camera. I'm keeping the K-10 because I love it and it provides an excellent backup.
And now, to find this world-wide group of Pentax users to share experiences with...that's icing on the cake. Count me happy to be among you!
Gary
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