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MagicNikon

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Both Pentax and Oly are offering some nice mid level f/4 lenses in addition to the top of the line f/2 zooms Oly has coming out...

Now Pentax just announced an upcoming 55mm 1.4 with silent wave motor....sigh..

I'm kind of jealous....

...just a little bit.
--
If you like what I can do with cards, wait til you see what I do with the limes.
 
If a 55mm 1.4 makes you jealous, you have no idea how bad I would love to see the Ltds in an F mount. As it is I love those lenses so much I had to get a K10D when they went on clearance before the 20D came out, just so I could justify keeping them :)

If only there was a way... even for MF it would be awsome.

Still dreaming
Dave
 
This is exactly why I bought a K10D in addtion to my Nikon stuff.

With the announcement of the K20D, you can get a K10D for under $700. This is a screaming deal and then you can use all of those tasty Pentax primes with in camera VR.

--
Jeff Kott
 
I've long been thinking of going dual-body with Pentax for those gorgeous, VR limiteds, especially the 31mm and 77mm. What Pentax are announcing now is also just what I was wanting to hear from Nikon! Personally I'll be waiting to see how the 20D works out.

It's kind of a shame to be writing this in a Nikon forum, but they'll have to realise that there is no substitute for a bright, affordable lens, suitable for aps use. What keeps me with Nikon is the fact I already have a good collection, including pro zooms and also that the D300 is amazing- including it's autofocus.
--
http://www.pbase.com/gizz
 
I've been with Nikon for a long time and the D100 was my first DSLR, then I went to a D2h, D70s for a smaller carry around camera with my 45P, then D200 which I absolutely love.

I kept reading about the Pentax pancake lenses with envy and started reading the Pentax forums and learned about the FA limiteds. Finally, I decided to do something about it and bought the K10D and a number of the limited lenses.

When I am going on a dedicated photo shoot or doing sports where I don't care about size and weight of my equipment, I still reach for my D2H or D200 and my 28-70 and 70-200. But I always like to have a camera with me and I need a smaller lighter travel package, so I find I actually have my K10D with a couple of Limited lenses with me more often than my Nikon stuff.

In my mind, for people who want to use compact prime lenses in the 14 to 77 mm range, Pentax is the system. It is much more cost effective than getting a Leica M-8 and lenses, but I'm not sure you give much up in IQ and you have autofocus and a lot of other features. I think all the people on the Nikon forum who poo pooed the 3 fps of the K20D are missing the boat. For me, Pentax is not a Nikon alternative, it is a Leica alternative based on the lenses. With Pentax, you get incredible value and a small unobtrusive kit with great IQ.

I still think I'll get a D300 and 24-70 before my next trip to Asia. I guess I'm lucky enough to use both systems. But with the K10D going for under $700, the cost of one decent lens, I don't think a lot of Nikon users have to be jealous of the Pentax lens offerings.
--
Jeff Kott
 
Pentax has produced lenses with in lens motors, but so far none has the faster silent wave or USM motor. If the 55mm f/1.4 has an USM/HSM motor, it will probably be the first Pentax lens to do so. The new lens is reportedly a DA* lens, so it may not cover the 35mm full frame image circle.
MagicNikon said:
Both Pentax and Oly are offering some nice mid level f/4 lenses in
addition to the top of the line f/2 zooms Oly has coming out...

Now Pentax just announced an upcoming 55mm 1.4 with silent wave
motor....sigh..

I'm kind of jealous....

...just a little bit.
--
If you like what I can do with cards, wait til you see what I do with
the limes.
Click to expand...
 
I must say the 60-250 is a nice looking lens. I would not trade it for my 70-200 VR, but I wish Nikon had some lenses in this "mid" range. I would kill for my 18-200 VR to be a constant f/4.
 
valdezrl said:
I must say the 60-250 is a nice looking lens. I would not trade it
for my 70-200 VR, but I wish Nikon had some lenses in this "mid"
range. I would kill for my 18-200 VR to be a constant f/4.
Click to expand...
Some nice f4 zooms would be great (Canon has a fantastic 70-200mm f4 - why can't we?). A 18-200mm f4 would be utterly enormous - but I'd love to have one!
 
Totally agree, just that unlike you, I haven't put anything into action. Maybe I will when I can afford two systems (not only lens and camera, but supporting casts like s/w and accessories too).

Looks to me Pentax is an even more photographer driven company than Nikon, if you know what I mean. I am already in heaven using AIS on D300. Can't image how sick it is to have old Pentax on K10D with VR and auto aperture.

Still hope Nikon learns a thing or two from Pentax, then maybe I can stop the envy.
Jeff Kott said:
I've been with Nikon for a long time and the D100 was my first DSLR,
then I went to a D2h, D70s for a smaller carry around camera with my
45P, then D200 which I absolutely love.

I kept reading about the Pentax pancake lenses with envy and started
reading the Pentax forums and learned about the FA limiteds. Finally,
I decided to do something about it and bought the K10D and a number
of the limited lenses.

When I am going on a dedicated photo shoot or doing sports where I
don't care about size and weight of my equipment, I still reach for
my D2H or D200 and my 28-70 and 70-200. But I always like to have a
camera with me and I need a smaller lighter travel package, so I find
I actually have my K10D with a couple of Limited lenses with me more
often than my Nikon stuff.

In my mind, for people who want to use compact prime lenses in the 14
to 77 mm range, Pentax is the system. It is much more cost effective
than getting a Leica M-8 and lenses, but I'm not sure you give much
up in IQ and you have autofocus and a lot of other features. I think
all the people on the Nikon forum who poo pooed the 3 fps of the K20D
are missing the boat. For me, Pentax is not a Nikon alternative, it
is a Leica alternative based on the lenses. With Pentax, you get
incredible value and a small unobtrusive kit with great IQ.

I still think I'll get a D300 and 24-70 before my next trip to Asia.
I guess I'm lucky enough to use both systems. But with the K10D going
for under $700, the cost of one decent lens, I don't think a lot of
Nikon users have to be jealous of the Pentax lens offerings.
--
Jeff Kott
Click to expand...
 
Jeff Kott said:
I've been with Nikon for a long time and the D100 was my first DSLR,
then I went to a D2h, D70s for a smaller carry around camera with my
45P, then D200 which I absolutely love.

I kept reading about the Pentax pancake lenses with envy and started
reading the Pentax forums and learned about the FA limiteds. Finally,
I decided to do something about it and bought the K10D and a number
of the limited lenses.

When I am going on a dedicated photo shoot or doing sports where I
don't care about size and weight of my equipment, I still reach for
my D2H or D200 and my 28-70 and 70-200. But I always like to have a
camera with me and I need a smaller lighter travel package, so I find
I actually have my K10D with a couple of Limited lenses with me more
often than my Nikon stuff.

In my mind, for people who want to use compact prime lenses in the 14
to 77 mm range, Pentax is the system. It is much more cost effective
than getting a Leica M-8 and lenses, but I'm not sure you give much
up in IQ and you have autofocus and a lot of other features. I think
all the people on the Nikon forum who poo pooed the 3 fps of the K20D
are missing the boat. For me, Pentax is not a Nikon alternative, it
is a Leica alternative based on the lenses. With Pentax, you get
incredible value and a small unobtrusive kit with great IQ.

I still think I'll get a D300 and 24-70 before my next trip to Asia.
I guess I'm lucky enough to use both systems. But with the K10D going
for under $700, the cost of one decent lens, I don't think a lot of
Nikon users have to be jealous of the Pentax lens offerings.
--
Jeff Kott
Click to expand...
This is right on the mark, as Pentax is making a rangefinder-style system here and in fact are refining this with their lens road-map, rather than going all out for AF performance (who knows, maybe they can't).

Having in-body VR also helps, as it makes lenses so bulky, such as Nikon's new 105mm macro. I also haven't done anything yet, but I really think the two systems could compliment each other well. Maybe Nikon never will go down that route, as even if they do make brighter primes, they might be really expensive 'pro' ones (and not be stablised to boot).
--
http://www.pbase.com/gizz
 
I currently use a D50 with 35mm and 50mm primes. If the D40 could autofocus them, I would have got it, as I am a traveller and small size is so important to me.

I am seriously considering moving to Pentax for their pancakes, before I buy a Nikon 20mm prime to round out my set.

I really wish Nikon would go out on a limb and make a D40 sized body that autofocused the non AFS lenses, had good high ISO performance, no flash to keep the weight down. A real basic, stripped down street and travel tool. I'd buy 3.

I know it probably won't happen.
 
MagicNikon said:
Now Pentax just announced an upcoming 55mm 1.4 with silent wave
motor....sigh..

I'm kind of jealous....
Click to expand...
I'm not. The DA* 55 has been announced two years ago (well, not announced, but on the public roadmap since then) and just like almost any other recently introduced Pentax lens has been delayed again and again. They finally "showcase" it at PMA, but still cannot say when you can actually buy one.

Honestly, I prefer the Nikon way. They do not offer everything I'd like to have now, but at least they don't make empty promises ...

-- Markus
 
Pentax also announced two new lenses to be introduced in near future: 15mm/2.8 which is not that interesting considering nikkor 14-24, but also 30mm f1.4 which is simply great!
--
----------------------------------------------------------Talkontar
D 4 0
1 8 - 5 5 f 3 . 5 - 5 . 6 n i k k o r
5 0 - 1 5 0 f 2 . 8 s i g m a
3 0 f 1 . 4 s i g m a
S B 4 0 0
If You don't have anything better to do, please view my galleries:
http://picasaweb.google.pl/witosz
 
The 15mm f/?? is a limited though and as such could well be pancake style. If it's not then at least it should be able to outperform the current SMC 12-24/4 and SMC 14mm/2.8 in terms of image quality.
 
by why you might get so excited about the 55mm 1.4 being SDM then i remembered the D40, luckily pentax haven't tried this in lens AF only trick yet, the next generation 18-55 isn't SDM compatible so i guess we're safe for a bit longer at least.
 
Jeff Kott said:
This is exactly why I bought a K10D in addtion to my Nikon stuff.

With the announcement of the K20D, you can get a K10D for under $700.
This is a screaming deal and then you can use all of those tasty
Pentax primes with in camera VR.
Click to expand...
Yes indeed. I bought my 77 (which I had been dreaming about) to complement the 49mm right before Christmas when Adorama had a fire sale on the K10 and the ltds. Got $200 back in rebates too, topping it all off in the end I think I spent about $850 for the 77 and the K10.

Its nice to have, the limiteds on the K10 produce a picture that is very akin to what I was used to on my Oly film camera in terms of tone and temperature. I view the pentax in a playful light, its the light, easy camera I carry when I just want to shoot and go. Its a joy to use and its a nice break now and then from the D200. Its only drawback is that the screwdriver on the 49 (and a tad on the 77) makes it a bit noisy for quiet places, but sometimes the image quality is just worth it.

-Dave
 
Dave Dall wrote:
R.
Dave Dall said:
Yes indeed. I bought my 77 (which I had been dreaming about) to
complement the 49mm right before Christmas when Adorama had a fire
sale on the K10 and the ltds. Got $200 back in rebates too, topping
it all off in the end I think I spent about $850 for the 77 and the
K10.
Click to expand...
Dave.

It's amazing how similar our Pentax stories are. It was a string of rebates that pushed me over the edge. I have a Nikkor 85 1.4 that I used to love for portraits. The Pentax 77 limited gives me equal or better image quality and is about half the size and weight. I know it's 2/3 stop slower, but due to shallow depth of field, I usuallly stopped my Nikon 85 1.4 down to 1.8 anyway. Since I got the 77 Limited, I don't use my 85 1.4 much.

--
Jeff Kott
 
Jeff Kott said:
I have a Nikkor 85 1.4 that I used to love for portraits. The Pentax 77 limited gives
me equal or better image quality and is about half the size and weight.
Click to expand...
I have actually relegated my 85mm 1.4 for more nature oriented work, though I often stray to the 105mm or back to the 28mm. The 77 has become almost a dedicated portrait lens here too. In many ways I wish I could combine the two systems. I would love the use of the ltds on the Nikon, but really want a 180mm f2.8 legend for the pentax body. So here I sit with two systems and only two arms and two eyes and 24 hours in a day!

-Dave
 
Dave Dall said:
I would love the use of the ltds on
the Nikon, but really want a 180mm f2.8 legend for the pentax body.
Click to expand...
Yep, we're on the same wave length. When I am using my Nikon stuff, I often take along my 180 2.8 instead of my 70-200, which is the real "Beast." But I think your wishes are going to answered in a few weeks with the DA 200 2.8. Here's a link:

http://reviews.photographyreview.com/blog/smc-pentax-da-200mm-f28-edif-sdm-lens/

Initial reviews indicate this lens is outstanding and I've looked at the specs and it's approximately the same size as the Nikkor 180.

--
Jeff Kott
 
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