A LX sized dSLR, does it exist?

[PatrickMP]

<p>Prior to dropping another load of cash on more film for my next trip, I put some serious thinking into why I like to shoot film so much. Part of it is the tactile quality of film, and part of equipment size & user interface.<br>

I do the majority of my shooting with a pair of Pentax LX bodies and two lenses. I'm not a big fan of zooms, mainly because zooms of adequate quality and speed (i.e., 24-70/2.8L from Canon) are huge and bulky. That said, the dSLR arena has gone through a number of changes since I last looked..<br>

Can anyone recommend a dSLR system (preferably Pentax or Canon since I have both already) that has the size and simplicity of a Pentax LX? Looking at some of the specs for Pentax bodies they are near LX size (although a little deeper, likely due to the built in grips), but having no friends that use Pentax gear I have no idea if they are any good. I know that Canon bodies are getting smaller as well ("Rebels"?), but how are the Canon primes in terms of size and usability?<br>

And what about zone focusing (or hyperfocal focusing, whatever people wish to call it). I'm a big fan of fixing my lens focal point at a certain point, setting to a certain aperture and letting physics do the "speed focusing" for me. None of my Canon lenses have adequate (in my opinion) markings for zone focusing. In extremely quick (or low-light) situations I still believe that zone focusing is superior since you aren't waiting on the AF to catch up, and you don't get the annoying infra-red checkerboard pattern from modern AF systems (or has that changed too?) projecting onto your subject.<br>

Any comments welcome!</p>

 

[peter_molettiere]

<p>Hyperfocal focusing with Canon primes is possible, but I have to say most of my lenses only have the smallest aperture marked. To be fair, on a lens like the 135/2, the f/32 marking is so close to the current focus marking as to make putting other markings in between difficult.</p>

<p>Zone focussing at anything other than minimum aperture (largest numerically) and/or hyperfocal is really just guess work. I mean, you can still manual focus to a set distance, but you have to just kinda know what aperture you need to get a certain depth of field. Not hard, really, and probably no big deal, considering that you're already guessing at the distance.</p>

 

[r.t. dowling]

<p>Be sure to check out the Pentax forum here at photo.net -- you'll find many happy, helpful Pentaxians who can answer any and all of your questions about the current lineup of DSLRs from Pentax:</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/</p>

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