Journal timothy's Journal: Glad I've held out on buying the AA SLR of my dreams ... 3
I have come close a few times to giving in and getting a Pentax K2000; have seen it on Amazon (with a kit lens) for just over $500. The K-x, though, which is essentially Pentax's successor model to the K2000 (a few more megapixels, and available in several colors by default rather than as special thing), is available now for not much more, and (the big distinguishing factor, as far as I'm concerned) offers HD video recording. I am impressed by how good SLRs have gotten for video. I care more about still shots, but sometimes video is very worthwhile. (My niece bonking me on the head with her toy sofa, for instance, is best enjoyed as a moving picture.)
At the moment, this is the front-runner candidate for my next camera.
- Pentax mount -- lots of lens options; I am not an anti-kit-lens snob, but it would be nice to get a nice bright pancake lens on this body for everyday shooting, slowly seek out other options.
- I like the ergonomics, and the UI isn't bad (UIs are hard to get right). The K-x veers pretty far toward simplicity rather than feature completeness, but that's OK, IMO. Plenty of manual options are at least available, though I would prefer more of the controls were more immediately available as buttons, switches, toggles, etc.
- AA batteries, just the way I prefer. You may think that's crazy, as is your right.
Maybe I'll end up getting one of these later in 2010 -- would be good for family reunion, work-related gatherings, sister's wedding, travel generally
Pretty amazing; I believe I paid something over $200 for a used Pentax K1000 (film camera, one I really liked -- low-end, but respectable and treasured by many users for its robust construction and simplicity) and a f1.4 50mm lens in the early 90s -- 1992, I think.
According to this random site (http://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/result.php), $200 then had the purchasing power of about $306 now; think how crazy it would have been in 1992 to be able to trade a $150 premium over a cheap used 35mm outfit for what can be had for the equivalent money today. Impressive!
I wonder if there will be any AA-powered 4/3 mount cameras; that's one thing I wouldn't mind some leading into temptation for.
i find that site quite trustworthy (Score:2)
http://www.digitalversus.com/article-362.html [digitalversus.com]
they find the picture quality quite good, but the video barely usable. see their list of reviews for higher rated models.
Re: (Score:1)
Until there are no reasonable choices for it, AA batteries are what I want, though. I don't think any of the non-Pentax options reviewed there are AA-powered. (Priorities vary; that's one of mine.)
I'm quite pleased w/ what I read in that review, and don't care all that much about the video quality; I am likely to get something like a Flip HD Ultra anyhow, for random video opptys. But I do like having the option for (even mediocre) video in an SLR. Would be nice if it was better, I admit, but that's not a bi
I always wanted a Nikon (Score:2)
I could never afford one. As to the lens, it would be nice to have a flatter lens that could be unscrewed and changed out for lenses with different focal lengths.