Review 2 of 4
Price Paid:
$1600.00
from Robert White Summary:
As a pro wedding photojournalist, I needed a camera that would give me higher image quality than 35mm, but with all the characteristics and handling of a pro SLR. I compared it to the Contax and Mamiya AF 645 cameras, and really there isn't a great deal between them. The Contax has the better build quality but at a ridiculous price. What sold me on the Pentax was the lenses. Most of the primes are f2.8 which is better than any of the competition. (Hasselblad should really have addressed lens speed when it launched the H1, only the standard lens is an f2.8)The lenses are really great value for money. Superbly sharp even wide open. The Auto/manual focus is easy to switch over and the Pentax viewfinder is a real peach. Lovely and clear and very easy to manually focus with. The autofocus is a little slow compared to my EOS 1V's but easily holds it own against something like a Fuji S2, or a Canon D60.
The real downside of the Pentax for me, are its switches and dials. It is too easy to move things like the multiple exposure, metering mode and AB swithches. Unfortunately the metering mode switch can be moved accidentally when adjusting the shutter speed dial which sits above it. This might not seem like much, but if you shoot in spot metering mode like I do, you could find that the camera is actually in centerweighted mode - this could really screw up your exposures!! A lot has been made of the Pentax's lack of interchangeable film mags. I actually prefer the inserts, they are a lot quicker to change - faster than 35mm in fact.
Overall this is a good camera - not a great one, but nonetheless it produces results which are fantastic. It exclipses 35mm and all of the digital SLR's with it's image quality. Strengths:
Fast lenses, wonderful metering, good build quality, good autofocus for MF, excellent viewfinder and MF capabilities Weaknesses:
Switches and dials too easy to move when working at speed. Lack of a really fast lens like the contax f2 standard. Similar Products Used:
Mamiya 645, Contax 645, Bronica ETRSi, Customer Service:
OK in the UK, a damaged body had to be sent to Europe twice before it was repaired properly
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