Whatever happened to Pentax?

"Sander" wrote in message
.. .
Doug Jewell wrote:
nospam wrote:
pentax sdm lenses won't work on earlier
cameras, such as the k100d.

They work, they won't autofocus. Which is the same situation you will
have with Nikon if you mount a non-AFS lens on a D40/D40x.

Not only do they work... they will autofocus too!
The pentax DA* lenses have a double AF system.
On cameras that support it they will use SDM and on older cameras they'll
revert to the old screwdrive AF.

SR.

Damn Pentax is awesome, what a great feature.

"Jeremy" wrote in message
news:8iUAj.4259$Y33.3118@trndny07...

Pentax introduced the prototype Spotmatic at Photokina in 1960, describing
it as having a TTL spot meter. The camera wasn't actually released till 4
years later, and it featured an averaging meter, but Pentax kept the
"Spotmatic" name. The camera was neither "Spot metering" nor "automatic."

That notwithstanding, I still have my original Spotmatic IIa from 1973,
and it looks in mint condition and performs flawlessly. I've accumulated
22 SMC Takumar lenses over the past 35 years, along with another 11 camera
bodies, bellows and other accessories. I use them all, and have no plans
to "go digital." I scan my films and am quite happy with that
arrangement.

The lenses are superb, and it would cost a fortune to replicate the system
in digital if, in fact, such prime lenses were even available.

Not bad for equipment that has been in service for a third of a century!


Yes, it's a great camera. In fact, I was reading an article a week or so
back which touted the Spotmatic as one of the best cameras to use when you
visit a developing country.

The author's point was that, if you only have a digital, and if your camera
/ memory cards fail, you might not be able to fix or replace while in that
country. Yet, film tends to be available, and the Spotmatic has a proven
reputation for reliable service in rough conditions -- even 30+ years after
production.

You're a lucky photog...

Dudley

In article , Pudentame
wrote:

Not soon, but not impossible either. Nikon swore for years they were
never going to offer a full frame digital, and look at the D-3.

actually, nikon never said that they would never offer full frame.
what they said was that they weren't planning on it until it was cost
effective to do so.

"Pudentame" wrote:

I don't know if the market is really there for medium format digital,
since all the MF digital I know of on the market are actually crop
sensors, none of them actually 6x4.5, 6x6, or 6x7.

(Note that the actuall MF frame sizes are 42x56, 56x56, and 56x70mm.)

The current "cropped" MF digital sensors are 36x48, which is exactly twice
the area of "FF", and so does have a theoretical advantage. It also turns
out that MF lenses are razor sharp on 5D density digital sensors, so 24MP
and higher images that are painfully sharp corner to corner are a piece of
cake for MF digital. Anything 24MP and over in FF is going to be a stretch
for even the best Nikkor or Canon lenses at anything other than f/8 or f/11.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

Pudentame wrote:

It appears to have been almost ready for market when Hoya acquired
Pentax.


I doubt that very much. It was always a low priority project and
never looked likely to be released to the market.

Pudentame wrote:

I certainly agree with you on that, but everything I've read so far
indicates they're not resting on their laurels The new K20D is a good
improvement on the K10D.


I agree. The K20D also has the first Samsung CMOS sensor in APS-C
format. Samsung's first effort is so good that subsequent Samsung
sensors are likely to be *well worth waiting for*.

The best news is that Sony's stranglehold on the market for APS-C
sensors has been broken. The already announced Sony 24.6 MP full
frame sensor for 2009 is interesting, but let's not forget that a full
frame sensor with similar pixel density to the Samsung CMOS for the
K20D would have approximately 30 MP.

A 30 MP full frame Pentax K1D? That'll do nicely!

On Mar 10, 12:39 pm, "David J. Littleboy" wrote:

the area of "FF", and so does have a theoretical advantage. It also turns
out that MF lenses are razor sharp on 5D density digital sensors, so 24MP
and higher images that are painfully sharp corner to corner are a piece of
cake for MF digital. Anything 24MP and over in FF is going to be a stretch
for even the best Nikkor or Canon lenses at anything other than f/8 or f/11.

and at that density and stop-down, one will likely start to hit
diffraction limits anyway...

"Doug Jewell" wrote:

Have you heard any word on the much rumoured 645 Digital?
If/When that comes out, that should really make people stand
up and take notice of Pentax again as a serious pro brand.

I think it's pretty much dead. Pentax is no longer distributing
medium format gear to the United States, and discontinued European
distribution in 2006. Part supplies in the U.S. are extremely
meager; it took me over two weeks to locate a focus screen for my
645n. I ended up selling my manual focus 645 for parts after I
couldn't get it repaired.

While I think there was a marketing window where the 645D could
have succeeded, too many potential customers have already switched
systems.

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

"Michael Benveniste" wrote:

While I think there was a marketing window where the 645D could
have succeeded, too many potential customers have already switched
systems.


I wonder how many Hasselblad H Series DSLRs have been sold? How many
Mamiya ZD bodies? That data might give some indication as to the size
of the potential market.

I suspect that the market is extremely small, and that a sensor with
rather more pixels than 18 million would be needed for Pentax to
compete in it.

"Pudentame" wrote in message
...
Tony Polson wrote:
Pudentame wrote:

I certainly agree with you on that, but everything I've read so far
indicates they're not resting on their laurels The new K20D is a good
improvement on the K10D.


I agree. The K20D also has the first Samsung CMOS sensor in APS-C
format. Samsung's first effort is so good that subsequent Samsung
sensors are likely to be *well worth waiting for*.

The best news is that Sony's stranglehold on the market for APS-C
sensors has been broken. The already announced Sony 24.6 MP full
frame sensor for 2009 is interesting, but let's not forget that a full
frame sensor with similar pixel density to the Samsung CMOS for the
K20D would have approximately 30 MP.

A 30 MP full frame Pentax K1D? That'll do nicely!


Yeah, but in the meantime, I'm trying to get everything I can outta' the
K10D while I save up for the K20D.

Personally I think waiting for the K30D would be prudent.