You certainly can't go wrong with a Nikon in any variant or combination. My older brother still uses his older Nikon film camera, though I can't recall the specific model. Your Nikon EM is a work of art in simple black. My Pentax ME Super is black with natural aluminum casing on the upper part. I'll see about taking a photo of it.
No Gilliatt, the cost included an 18-55mm kit lens. I have been trawling the Internet for comparisons in price and quality and there is a vast amount of interesting material on just about every camera you can think of. The prices differ greatly from one retail outlet to another and there are bargains to be snapped up. I have just seen the Pentax K7 for sale on Amazon at $1,336 with the aforementioned lens. The reviews that I have read all give it a very favourable reception. The Nikon D3000 has all the features I want except Live View, so I am checking out others that have that facility, but the range is large and the overall specifications so vast, that it will take some time to wade through them before making a choice. I am not in the market for the K7 adaptability but a fairly basic DSLR This is the D3000. And this is my SLR:
One other item i meant to pass on regarding your comment on my picture of Chaco Canyon. You are correct in your observation of people's perception of history over here. many people, including Americans are not aware of the cultures that thrived long before the fisrt Europeans set foot on the continent. Here is a thread I posted some time ago that you might find interesting: http://www.online-literature.com/for...t=chaco+canyon Gilliatt
Brian, I wonder if the $1,273 (U.S.) for the K-7 was the body only cost. If so, then that is very high ! My cost was about $750.00 (US) body only. I went ahead and included one 16 - 50 mm lens from the "DA *(star)" line which cost nearly as much as the camera. To give you some comparison costs my total bill was $1,700.00 (U.S.) that included: - the camera body - 16-50 mm lens (DA star line) - 70 mm UV filter - 70 mm Circular Polarizing filter - additional manual on the K-7 prepared from a photographers persepctive. By the way, check out the Pictures by you thread. I posted a few initial shots.
I just checked out the Pentax K7 DSLR and it shows the cost at $1273 which works out at £837. To give you some idea what I am looking at, the Nikon D3000 costs just £349. There is a more costly version , the D5000, which has more pixels and special functions at £479 but I don't want to go to that price. The problem is that, notwithstanding the photos shown in the brochure, I don't know what the camera will actually do until I use it. My current, and only, SLR was chosen for its light weight and on recommendation from a customer survey magazine called Which. I guess that I just struck lucky, but will that happen again?
The one hitch to using my older Pentax lenses on a DSLR, is that I must use the manual setting on the camera due to the fact that the older lenses do not have the autofocus electronics. But manual is good seeing's how I'm an old fashioned type bloke. I too had read a couple of online articles regarding digital technology as it pertains to B/W and how it just isn't quite up to par as compared to film. I intend to prove them wrong ! hehe Speaking of...the UPS truck is here.
Hi Gilliatt, I was out walking by the river Thames today in search of more pictures and eventually finished up in Kingston, a nice medium-sized town on the outskirts of London. Whilst there, I went into a well-known camera shop and spoke to a very well-informed assistant who told me that NIkon don't do interchangeable lenses except at the very expensive end of their range. There are, however, some cheaper Nikon DSLR cameras available with a versatile lens which might do the trick. One interesting thing he mentioned is that digitals are not as good for black and white photography, and that B/W film is still reasonably available in the UK despite recent publicity to the contrary.
Gilliatt I thought you would stay with Pentax, especially now that you can use your original lenses with the camera. It makes a very big difference in cost and gives confidence in using what you know suits you. I was talking to someone recently about DSLR cameras and he recommended doing the same, but my camera is pretty old by now and I don't know whether it will be possible to use the same lenses. I will have to enquire with Nikon. Anyhow, good shooting and I look forward to seeing the results.
Brian, I am now further in debt and all it took was a few clicks of the mouse! The sentimental strings to Pentax were too hard to break. You guessed it; I purchased a new camera. Permission was received from higher authorities at 1900 hours today. So...which camera? I opted for the new Pentax K-7 DSLR. Beyond the sentimental ties, there was in fact a pratical reason for selecting the Pentax. According to Pentax, all past lenses either manufactured by Pentax or designed to fit older Pentax cameras will fit the K-7. i.e. - the "K - Mount" design. I currently have 4 lenses for my ME Super. However, I went ahead and included a new 16 - 55 mm lens with the order. Looking forward to my new toy. Gilliatt
I don't know when they built the second wall but it was probably to make sure that nobody was able to take advantage of what may have been a more relaxed approach to Western visitors. The individual seen standing in no man's land is probably a policeman or soldier; not the best way to spend Christmas day. I haven't seen the spot where some members of the July plot were executed in Berlin but I managed to trace the spot on which Hitler's Reich Chancellery stood in East Berlin and where he committed suicide. Unfortunately, the photo is stuck in an album. I have also seen the prison in Munich where Ernst Rohm and other SA leaders were executed in the Night of the Long Knives. Attached is an interesting item which puts the plot into perspective. http://www.historytoday.com/MainArti...&amid=30262215
