So here it is, I finally updated my KM5D. I replaced it by a Pentax K20D, as it is the best choice right now for me, in order to cover my own specific needs.

Here is my new everyday camera (yes, it looks a bit like Dr Frankenstein's camera with its red eye and tilted lens ):


Why I switched...

First, a bit of background in order to grasp how I am shooting.

Three years ago, I was using a digital bridge (Olympus c750), but was annoyed by its ISO performances. Basically, the highest usable ISO setting was 200 ISO and anything higher was usually far too noisy to be pleasing.
During my quest for DSLR I found Dyxum's lens database which told me I would have plenty of choice for lenses including a broad range of second hand ones if I choose a Minolta camera. Lens database, in-body stabilization and an attractive price as shops where clearing Minolta gear sold me over a 5d.

I immediately noticed that the 5d meant way more than higher usable ISO: there was a viewfinder which was actually pleasing to use, and turning the zoom ring by hand was providing an easy and pleasing feeling, totally different from a small low resolution electronic viewfinder and some +/- buttons on the back of the camera. Everything felt way more natural: it was a camera, instead of a disposable electronic device like my previous cameras.

Bought a few lenses I could afford, learned to use this DSLR a bit more, and then... "Oktober fest" 2007 here on Dyxum. I decided to try this "challenge" with one of the few manual lenses I had, the 135/3.5 Sonnar from Carl Zeiss Jenna. This slowed me down a lot, but felt more natural than AF. No more lag when pressing the shutter, and the focus was always where I wanted it to be. Of course it also slowed me down significantly, but my ratio of good photos was way higher than what it was before. Instead of shooting many many pics, I had to shoot only a few ones but better thought ones. The fact that I was not able to zoom also had a good positive impact: after two weeks I started to be used to the focal length, and was able to see more photo opportunities around me than when using a zoom
By the end of the month, I was sold to manual prime lenses.

After a few more months (and a few more lenses), it then became clear that for my current shooting style the important gears were lenses, and that the body was only an accessory which allowed me to use my lenses.

From this point, combined with the releases of the Sony a200/a300/a350 which all removed some features I was using on my 5D, I started to seriously think about becoming "brand independent" regarding my photo gear. The best option in this case was to totally switch to m42 lenses, which would then allow me to using bodies of any brand (with the notable exception of Nikon, unfortunately).

Then, my eyesight decreased a bit more, and I am now unable to shoot without eye glasses. This imply that I can not use my eyepiece magnifier anymore, and so the 5D viewfinder became too small for my taste. My quest for a new body was quite simple, with mainly two possibilities: a700 and K20D. However, the fact that Sony removed A mode from all their new DSLR when using manual lenses really made me think twice about Sony. Pentax, on the other hand, now provides new features each time their are releasing a new camera (like k20D vs k10D), and best of all allows in body stabilization for all lenses, without the need to buy plenty of chipped adapters.

So I decided that I would probably buy a k30D when it will be released, and int the meantime I'd apply the last part of my "freedom" plan: convert a manual Beercan into m42, as this is the only zoom I am sometimes using, and did not found any suitable replacement for it.

But...prices of k20D are being slashed, and Pentax is offering right now a 100€ cash-back on the k20D, so I thought it would be the right moment to update my 5D. (without waiting for the Beercan conversion)

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