*Ltd or Body Upgrade?

After selling my narrowboat (sob) I have a little money to spare, and since the boat was my home of 5 years, I am going to treat myself a bit.

My quandary is whether to get one of those da*Ltd lenses I have been lusting after - the 15 or 21mm, or upgrade to a K-7 body. I find the DA* pancakes very desirable, but with the 15 and the 21mm, my 16-45mm zoom does also offer reasonably similar iq although with the drawback of size and weight. The K-7 would seem to offer better high iso and faster performance than my K200d so there would be a more obvious advantage.

I can always indulge my love of primes with A and M lenses, which I think look the part on a K-7 (always thought little primes looked strange on K200/K20ds).

Personally I would wait and see what occurs next month at Photokina. I would still be using my K10D but for the K-7 coming up at a stupidly low price.

I think you're right. If they announce something interesting, the remaining K-7 prices may drop a bit.

A DA21mm came up recently and I was thinking of going for it, but as desirable as it is, my 16-45 is pretty good at 21mm, and if I want to travel light, I have a 24mm MF prime.

Aim for both Will? You probably could, if you tried a Kx instead of the K7. It's no slouch in low light! You'd nearly have the 15 with the difference.

There is a da 21 for £250 in the classified ads (listed under the shop button) at the moment.
I had his da 35 it was delivered in very good condition.

Jim

As well as the new body/bodies, there are persistent rumors of a new lens coming out at Photokina possibly of the DA* 'fast normal' (ie f2 and somewhere between 24 and 30mm) variety.

The K-x is lovely, and I have had a go with it alongside the K-7 - both feel really well built, and there isn't as much difference between the pentamirror and pentaprism viewfinders as I had expected. (In fact I could hardly detect any!)

But is it a genuine step up from the K200d? The improvements seem more marginal than if I went for the K-7. Some k-x test images seem a bit soft - but that's possibly the noise reduction in jpeg mode.

>>>Thanks Jim - that's cheaper than the one I was looking at!

No problem, the 35 was in excellent condition, so if the 21 is the same, it will make a good buy for someone.

Jim

The best answer is usually: buy glass. Lenses keep their value better and do not go out of style. Whereas there is always a new body just around the corner.

There are a couple of exceptions. First, if you are very active the ergonomics, especially the dual dial system, of the K10D / K20D / K-7 might be a big improvement. Second, if there are particular features you need that are not available in your current body. Like the intervalometer in the K20D or video in the K-7.

I'd agree with this, I certainly wouldn't be buying a new body with Photokina just around the corner.

Regards,

John