[Giklab]

Of course, there *is* a tremendous imbalance in lens availability in my vicinity -- very few excess lenses can be found within 40 miles of me -- but that's because I live in a remote mountain forest, not because I've siphoned-up everything in sight. Not really. I swear it. Honest.

All your lens are belong to us?

No, really, you surprise me with every post. In what way is your forest "remote"? Numbers please!

[monochrome]

All your lens are belong to us?

Somebody set up us the camera? Move Z1-P?

[RioRico]

No, really, you surprise me with every post. In what way is your forest "remote"? Numbers please!

Over 1/2 hour to the nearest WalMart.

I'm at 3500 feet on the western slope of the Sierras Nevada about equidistant between the state capitols of California and Nevada, below Kit Carson Pass. I'm in Amateur Amador County, total population about 30k: 10k in prison, 10k in the Gold Rush towns at around 1000 feet elevation, and the other 10k scattered upcountry between the Mother Lode and the Sierra Crest. The nearest CostCos and Trader Joes and camera stores are about 1.5 hours away, towards either capitol city. Bears and pumas wander nearby. I'm not kidding; bears tear up my neighbor's trash, 200 feet from my front door, and pumas prowl my in-laws' property, 2 miles away. And coyote packs howl around the golf course just 1 mile away.

Mileages are deceiving. East-west (up- and down-country) routes are twisty but direct. North-south routes are almost non-existant, not crossing the high ridges and steep canyons. Stockton is 50 miles and 1.5 hours away, downhill; Fiddletown is 20 miles and 1.5 hours away, across the grain of the terrain. Another measure: Driving to that nearest WalMart, 35 miles round-trip, costs almost US$10 in fuel -- and this in a car (crossover) that gets 30mpg on the flats. Thus remoteness is a function not only of distance but also of economics: going anywhere ain't cheap.

We recently spent a 3-month sojourn on the US-MX border, at our old adobe (now sold) in vertical Bisbee Arizona. Driving 1000 miles there and back, and living in town with flatter terrain and closer resources, cost us less than staying here in the forest. THAT's why I'm remote. And rare. Oh, am I rare!

[Macario]

Group photography, all shooting the same thing. That is something I could never enjoy. For me photography is singular pursuit, or maybe with one other person. Obviously to each their own. That's why I could never shoot antelope canyon or some of the other "signature" landscape shots. I'm too much of a contrarian. I'm the guy that would put a wide lens on and take a photo of the mass of photographers shooting at the landscape.

Actually, yu would be suprised how many different photo's there will be taken if you go out with a group. I have gone many times with my photoclub on shootings. And everytime you will hear the same things. Where did you shoot that? I didn't see it, it can't be there. And even photo's of the same subject, will be alot of times very different.

[ComputerControlled]

I recently "found" another angle to shoot the Public Market sign here in Seattle, i've since seen more photos of the same angle pop up. Even if you TRY to find a unique angle on the same tired subject, forget it. Its all been done before. Ah well...

[SpecialK]

I was in New York City for a week. Had three camera-related conversations.

1. Someone noticed my camera and said "shooting with a dinosaur?" before realizing it was, in fact, a DSLR.

2. One of the guard/guide people at a museum noticed me and asked, in a Germanic accent, "what mode are you shooting in - P?". I said yep, because I was. He asked if I had a K100, and I said no (thinking K1000). Then I perked up and asked if he meant K100D, and he said yes. He said he had a "55-18" and 50-200 lens. I said, uh-huh and nodded. I said I had a fisheye, and handed him the camera to take a look. He sort of held it out like a P&S so I indicated he needed to look though that little window on the top. I zoomed the lens as he looked. He then sort of followed me a bit, and suggested it would be neat to lie down and point the camera up at the ceiling. I nodded, took a shot of some Roman columns and showed him. As I was leaving he said he would look for a fisheye lens.

3. Young man in front of me in a fast-food line asked if my camera was as good as a Nee-kon. I said they are all about the same. He said he had a D3100 Nee-kon (and I think he mentioned megapixels) and it was really sharp. I nodded.

[Weber]

Someone noticed my camera and said "shooting with a dinosaur?" before realizing it was, in fact, a DSLR.

I've had that sort of experience too, although mine were much more touching-- middle-aged folks with graying hair who used to shoot Pentax in the film age spotting my K-5, coming up to me and saying, wow, Pentax is still alive? They always look visibly touched when I tell them that indeed, Pentax is still here.

Always makes my day.

[minahasa]

Today, a ex-canonian friend of mine received his second-hand K10D in his mail.
Convert ops accomplished..

[aurele]

Convert ops accomplished..

hé hé hé !! we will rule the world

[Cameltrader]

I guess Pentax is more popular in Europe than in the US. Of course Canon and Nikon are by far the most common, but you do see Pentax quite often. All serious photography stores in my city sell all Pentax lenses and accessories.

However once an old friend from Washington D.C. visited me in Slovakia and asked me when he saw my DSLR; "Pentax?!, is that one of those old soviet cameras?"

I recently had an American eBay seller refuse to honour a sale "because she was a patriotic, God-fearing American whose father died fighting Hitler's forces, and damned if she was going to send American Technology to a Communist living in Austria!"

[eddie1960]

I recently had an American eBay seller refuse to honour a sale "because she was a patriotic, God-fearing American whose father died fighting Hitler's forces, and damned if she was going to send American Technology to a Communist living in Austria!"

Why am I not surprised by this in the least. Last time my wife was in the states for meetings (pre obamacare) health care came up - "you've got that communist medical system up there don't you?"

She answered - yep and we live in igloos and the skiing is great in July :

[aurele]

Why am I not surprised by this in the least. Last time my wife was in the states for meetings (pre obamacare) health care came up - "you've got that communist medical system up there don't you?"

meet two american girls last summer, they were about to enter university. France is, for them THE communist country nowadays. When i asked why she said : only communist country can offer public transport, school, justice, and health at such low price, compared to US.

[eddie1960]

meet two american girls last summer, they were about to enter university. France is, for them THE communist country nowadays. When i asked why she said : only communist country can offer public transport, school, justice, and health at such low price, compared to US.

Odds are after living there they will be enlightened. At least if they were entering university in Paris. If it was just that summer trip before school then I'm less hopeful

but this is veering dangerously close to P&R

I did see a guy shooting a Pentax KR at a wedding i went to the other day (guest, the 2 man cheapo tog team were using D7000's and cheap VR lenses and cheap 50 - the kr had a 16-50 on it)

[panoguy]

I recently had an American eBay seller refuse to honour a sale "because she was a patriotic, God-fearing American whose father died fighting Hitler's forces, and damned if she was going to send American Technology to a Communist living in Austria!"

She must've thought Austria is that giant country in the Pacific... with the kangaroos, etc. Full of commies!

Long time ago I brought mil-spec night vision goggles from the US into France. (Gen 3, which was export-controlled from the US at the time.) Go figure, I got picked to have my bag searched by the Doane (customs) and Gendarmerie (a branch of the army), and they asked if I knew NVG technology was US export-controlled. I lied and said "non," but then they just laughed and said France already had better technology coming from the Netherlands so good luck selling it!

Oh, and keeping with the thread, I rarely see Pentax cameras in the winter, but come summertime they are everywhere on the necks of Asian tourists visiting Toronto. Not that rare!

[eddie1960]

Oh, and keeping with the thread, I rarely see Pentax cameras in the winter, but come summertime they are everywhere on the necks of Asian tourists visiting Toronto. Not that rare!

I see them pretty regularly in Toronto actually. I think it is because we have a lot of retailers for the brand (they don't always do a good job with them but it is available) combined with the number of student photographers thanks to Ryerson, OCA, George Brown et al