bozo the clown1

<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one.tcl?classified_ad_id=548508">http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one.tcl?classified_ad_id=548508</a></p>

<p>You don't have to go to Spain to find fishy-sounding deals on an EOS 1Ds:</p>

<p><a href="http://http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one.tcl?classified_ad_id=548508">http://http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one.tcl?classified_ad_id=548508</a></p>

Take the camera in to your lab or camera store and ask them to show you how to load it.

There is absolutely no difference in the lenses. The only thing that might be different is the colour of the warranty card.

Just improving the battery life would be enough of an improvement to justify a "Mark II" version for me!

This sleazy corporation also has their own shill on photo,net, posing as a contributor, to promote their crappy products.

The Tamronica GS-1 was discontinued earlier this year, but dealers will probably have some in stock for a while yet. The good news is, you can probably find some very good prices as dealers try to clear them out.

I've never used the 55mm f2.8, so I can't offer any personal comments on it. I would highly recommend the 45-85mm f4.5 zoom, over any of the prime lenses in this focal length (I found it superiour even to my FA 75mm f2.8). Yes, it's bigger and heavier, but once you see the quality of your chromes, you won't mind carrying it. The 80-160mm f4.5 is possibly sharper than the 45-85, and both take 77mm filters, just like the 300mm f4.<p>

 

Both the FA 300mm f4 ED(IF) and the F* 600mm f5.6 ED(IF) are still very good with the Pentax 1.4x teleconverter (assuming you have a very big, steady tripod, for the 600mm f5.6!). I have never tried the 2x teleconverter. Both teleconverters are manual focus only, by the way.

What part of "planned obsolescence" don't you understand?

weakest point = slow f4 aperture<p>

strongest point = sharper than any Canon wide-angle prime lens<p>

main purpose = taking pictures

<i>"both had the same exact problem"</i><p>

 

That should be your first clue - it's most likely your camera or your technique that's at fault here.

Too little, too late, way too expensive.<p>

 

The biggest Olympus dealer in town has decided not to carry the E-1 system because of the pricing; it simply will not be able to compete with the Canon, Nikon, and Fuji systems (which in addition to being much less expensive, also appear to offer better image quality, based on the reviews of the pre-production E-1).<p>

I was a long-time OM system user, and the OM-4T is one of my all-time favourite cameras. The OM system died, I think, as much because of Olympus's terrible, out-of-touch marketing department as anything else, and I'm sure the E-1 will suffer the same fate. Olympus should stick to what they now seem to know best - cheap P&S cameras.

This is a tough one.

<p>

If you want to shoot with mainly wide angle lenses, the Pentax 645 primes are not that great. I have owned both the manual-focus and autofocus versions of their 35mm f3.5 and the 45mm f2.8, and was not happy with the image quality of any of them. Their 45-85mm f4.5 zoom was noticeably better that either of the 45mm primes. All three of the 35mm f3.5 lenses I owned (one MF, two AF) just plain sucked.

<p>

On the other hand, the Pentax 300mm f4 ED(IF) lenses (both the MF and AF versions) are truly superb, among the sharpest telephoto lens (of any format) that I have ever used. I also owned the 600mm f5.6 ED(IF) Pentax (manual focus), and it is also superb. For wildlife in medium format, Pentax can't be beat (but these premium-quality telephotos are expensive!).

<p>

In the short telephoto range, the 80-160mm f4.5 zoom is slightly better than the 150mm prime lenses, but obviously you lose the low-light capability and shallow depth of field of the primes by going with the f4.5 zoom.

<p>

If your shooting preferences lie more toward the wide end of the spectrum, I would seriously consider the Contax 645 system. You can even get an adapter to use your Hasselblad lenses with that system. On the other hand, for telephoto work, the Pentax system is probably a better bet.

Problems like you describe are, unfortunately, very common with Sigma lenses.

It's pretty rare nowadays to find a sales clerk in a camera store that knows anything about photography. They try to make up for their lack of knowledge with a vivid imagination which, fueled by sales commissions, produces some really remarkable bullsh*t. <p>

 

I think the only thing worse than having to talk to these people yourself, is standing at the counter listening to them lie through their teeth to take advantage of some tyro who doesn't know any better.