Finally, I just couldn't stand it anymore. All the online reviews, all the comparisons, even the mere knowledge that it was hanging there, lonely in some Akiba Hi-Fi store, just waiting to be bought. So, in a supreme act of mercifulness, I saved it from such a fate. There's one less puppy in the pet-shop now! Like a small child again, I just could not wait to get it home. But not to try it just yet- I left it for about a week with a constant stream of music playing from my computer, 'burning in'.

So how is it? Heaven itself! I have never heard such rich, beautiful tones in the comfort of my home before. Instruments sound just like what they are- each little twang of a string is audible, for the first time I am hearing the emotion of the music directly, feeling swept up in it. But what has to stand out most of all is the sheer beauty that it recreates. It's delicious, it's sensual, and you just want more and more of it. This must be what people mean by a 'musical headphone' and I have certainly been missing out thus far. Sure, my others are impressive and sound good in their own way, but not to this extent. The 595's are known, from online and magazine reviews, as one of the most supremely balanced headphones in the world, certainly in its (not exactly cheap, but not obscenely expensive) price-range. Each genre sounds good, with a decent soundstage, and a delicious smoothness that keeps you hooked. Some people who have tried many a headphone have decided just to settle on this one (though it is not alone in such claims). Audiophiles usually go for something a bit more high-end, but just look at this 595 appreciation thread at Headfi to see how much praise this one still gets.

Or, if you want to hear it from Joe Average rather than a confirmed audiophile, take a peek at the Amazon online reviews here (they are what pushed me over the edge.) If there was something someone might want 'more of', these phones might disappoint. Some have more detailed treble, more impacting bass, or a wider soundstage. What the 595 aims at is a good balance. Traditionally, Grados are known for their speed, crystal-clarity and a very small soundstage. In my experience they are quite a thrill, but I'm not sure how much I could take of their intensity. As you go up the series, the bass apparently improves and the sound gets 'bigger'. By being quite so detailed though, some find them 'fatiguing'. Meanwhile, Sennheisers are known for a broad, laid-back, mellow view of music, a stance often called, 'musical'. Trying out the 580's I could see this, but to be honest, without getting used to them, they simply bored me. I want more action- but I also want a broad sound. Meanwhile, the AKGs are known to be somewhere in between. The 595's are Sennheiser's attempt to bridge their 'Grado-gap' and I for one am enthralled by them.

So, for my headphone quest, I may well just call it quits here. If I want another sound, I can just EQ it in, raising the bass or artificially expanding the soundstage- or just flatten them out (not that I'd want to!). So, how does it compare to my AKG's? They seem to colour the music more, but only making it more warm and 'beautiful', musical. In most cases, even if the music wasn't meant to sound this way, what do I care... it sounds good enough to eat! There is a lot more detail, instruments I didn't even hear before make their appearance and classical is whole worlds better. Having more 'feeling' makes these a must. Yet, like I said, in most cases, not in all!

With hard rock, or the 'rap-rock' of a band like Linkin Park, they just aren't down and dirty enough, not 'grovy' enough, too 'polite'. That's when my AKGs come out and just don't leave my head. They convey that juicy, heavy beat so much better and you can just get down! Watching TV or films is also better with them, I find, as they convey the 'visceral' effects so directly. Whilst the 595's excel; with music, the 240's are much better with sound and certainly have more than enough detail for the task. They are the 'phones that transformed 24 from an entertaining, slightly dramatic series, to a gripping, very enjoyable one. They are also great for those pounding rhythms of trance, anything visceral but nothing too delicate. As for comfort, here the 595's shine brightly. With their soft pads, they just feel so nice on my ears. My AKG's feel good, too, and fit on my ears a bit better, but by making their bassy seal they get hot and as summer approaches they seem to be getting hotter every day!

Of course, with any kind of audio choice, you have a 'horses for courses' situation. Just because I love them, it doesn't prove that anyone else will (although these are a very popular choice and with good reason). I may well reach for a new pair one day, especially to make the very, very most of classical. For this the Beyerdynamic DT 880 pro's or one of the other top of the line units, like Sennheiser's own HD 650's or even (eek!) the AKG 701's. Yet, from everything I've read, these don't just cost (a lot, in the AKG's case) more, they also need lots of good amplification to even sound good. So they can wait for another year methinks. Then, you are squarely in the audiophile territory of silver-lined cables and expensive CD players to feed an appropriate 'source' to an even more expensive amp. For now, I am happy as can be! (Not only that, this Audio Saga has just achieved more episodes than Star Wars!)

*Note- As for amping, I can listen to them for a bit straight from my PC soundcard, but it's not much fun- so much better with my (small) amp. From my phone audio out sounds good, but not as rich. You get such a fuller sound with the amp, that there isn't much comparison. I should add that they are often considered one of the very best headphones to hear unamped around; I'd say, though- don't bother, it's not satisfying... but then again, that's just me.  

Basically, if you have an I-pod, or just love music at home, I fully recommend a good set of cans. To get really good music from speakers requires a ton of money and space to install them, but for not too much headphones can bring you there and more. In a way it’s sad that so many budget sets are on the market that people think that is the going price and miss out on what’s really available. People aren’t hearing anything like the full range of their music and it gets drowned in the murkiness. Of course, what you get will depend on your budget, but you certainly won’t regret upgrading. To start out with, I’d still recommend my Sharp MD-33s, at least over the stock buds that come with MP3 players, or if you want to pay a bit more, the Audio-Technica CK-7s or 9s (the 7s have more bass, from what I’ve heard). Beyond that, the Sennheiser HD 555 has a really good sound for all types of music and also doesn’t need amping, which is something to remember if you don’t want that expense, too. Beyond that, there’s the Sennheiser HD 595, which apparently gets even better amped, or of course my current choice, the perennial AKG K-240s which does need an amp. All of these have lots of ecstatic online reviews, so you can’t go wrong.

Of course, all this is down to personal taste. Over Golden Week, I visited my friend Peter and listened to his state-of-the art, yet groundbreakingly simple Naim setup. Costing in the thousands, it is geared towards total sonic purity, speed and clarity. Each piece of equipment even had it's own seperate power supply, so that nothing could interfere with the sound, as it really is. There's no sound presets or anything to distract you- just the music. Listening to his amped Grado SR 125 headphones through this, I was quite astounded by the speed of it all and the multiple levels of detail. For him, this is what it's all about- a loud, clear aggressive sound, left unsmeared by 'musical' embellishment. I was impressed- but I still liked the warm, large sound of my gear, with it's soundstage and deep bass, something he found muffling. Peter is also an amazing photographer- you can see his stuff on Flickr here- and you can see the same precision, attention to detail and also the will to leave out distracting details. He takes far more pictures than he posts, as do we all, but he is especially careful to only put up his best, which includes black and white pieces. Something tells me this taste for the perfect and the precise is what draws him to Grado headphones as well!

For myself, if I do get another pair of phones, it’ll probably be a full-open one like the Sennheiser HD-595's. I want their large, warm, moving sound, soothing yet impressive and so rich in bass. I want something musical- something that sounds 'good', even if it is in some way different from the original. They may not be as exciting for rock and movies as what I have now, but they can bring music generally to life in a new way, especially classical. I still remember just how much I was enjoying their lesser-priced siblings in Dynamic audio, so having a more ‘fulfilled’ version sounds very attractive. Another thing I’d like, further down the road maybe, would be a tube amp, even a cheap one, as the warmth these give to the music just can’t be compared to what solid-state amps produce, however good their clarity. It gives them that soothing, watery sound that you hear in jazz clubs, or curl up to with a night-time drink. Definitely an old-school feel, no bells and whistles to play around with, but, you know... sometimes that's what you want. Try one at Dynamic Audio and see for yourself! Simple is best.

Well, I've said a lot about choosing my cans previously, today I'll say a bit about what it's like to listen to them. Why am I doing all this? Because sound reproduction seems to be the area where most people cheap out. They'll spend loads on their laptops, CDs, dvd-players or i-pods, but next to nothing on what actually brings the sound to your ears... and without spending thousands, you can't do that all that well with speakers. There is a whole world of sound waiting to be discovered- hearing is believing!As was said in an online review for the K240's, ‘they open up whole universes of sound, I'm not just saying that, it's true’.

What's amazing is it really feels like hearing the original performance, something I have never felt before. The bass, which seems to move around you, is simply amazing. If I am gushing, it is because listening to my ‘mere’ MP3 sources through this is something akin to a religious revelation. The music is so vibrant and detailed I wonder why millions haven’t already purchased this phone. Well the simple answer to that, if the AKG website is to believed, is that they in fact have and that it is the most widely used phone in recording studios today, partly due to it’s versatility, but mostly due to it’s uncanny ability to seamlessly play a wide variety of sources. I am hearing sounds, like ambient birdsong that I never noticed before. It is not at all fatiguing to hear all this, as it just adds to the richness. What startles me is the sense that this is how the original was intended to be heard. Yes, it’s pretty deep.

Listening to Oasis, I can hear the guitar solos so distinctly I can really appreciate them. The gravelly singer’s voices have the full emotion the song speaks of. I found listening to Phil Collins especially moving- the songs hit home in a way they never had before- you can hear the very sincerity in his voice. Another amazing experience was listening to Robert Mile’s Dreamlands, where ambient sounds like birdsong and stormy rain are all around you, with a powerful, almost kinetic effect. The bass is simply unbelievable- it rolls, it travels… it’s simply there and so very musical. I have truly never heard, or perhaps just never noticed, anything quite like it. I just never knew the bass in music really sounds like this. Each and every piece of music I’ve heard is so much more detailed, intense and beautiful than I’ve ever heard before, I really sense it opening up for me like never before, almost as if I’m hearing the pieces for the first time.

I just watched an Episode of 24 with them on (Season 4, Episode 13). I was happy watching that with my regular surround speakers, which admittedly are pretty low grade, but pleasant, which seemed to emphasis the ticking clock and explosions well enough. Nothing could have prepared me for what I found through these. Each bass line or drum beat is incredibly clear and tight, adding exactly the punch that the drama requires. Not only that, but they sound just like the real instruments. I previously thought they were synthesized, but this puts no doubt as to their reality. At times, I can actually imagine the musicians, as I can hear that each note is slightly, ever so slightly different from the next. Which, of course, in real life they are… we just rarely get a chance to notice it. The bass also sounds like it is coming from the sides, at quite a distance, enveloping you like clouds of mist, whilst the voices, each one incredibly nuanced, come from the center, in front of you. It all sounds so… natural.

In the gun-battle with the commandos, each shot came through exactly as if it were happening, each falling shell case was exactly clear and precise. Also, where they came from, how near or far away they were- all this was quite obvious and distinct, whilst the background music came from further away. Although this was just a stereo recording (and this being on a 160 kbs mp3, it holds incredible detail), it put my experience of surround speakers to shame- the events were taking place all around me- not just in front or behind, but to the sides and above and below. This gives a fully enveloped feeling, which for one shows just how well the soundtrack was originally recorded. Helicopters didn’t sound just like choppers- they are helicopters, and when a wall muffles them, they sound exactly muffled by the wall, not just quieter. Each sound is individual and distinct, giving a very intense, powerful experience, yet all the while entertaining and not distractingly detailed. One amazing touch was the office scenes at CTU Headquarters- you can hear the background chatter so clearly that, if you listen, you can sometimes hear what is being said. Now that’s clarity!

Since then I’ve watched various films with them and some episodes of Lost and each time been fully drawn in. I’ve also listened to Pink Floyd again, enjoying the larger sound these can provide. Funnily enough, they sound really good on my mobile phone, so if I want a convenient way to listen I just jack them into that. It's all something of a revelation, well worth the price of admission!

For indoors, what I really wanted was a nice, open or semi-open headphone. I’d tried the Audio-Technica’s ATH-AD700 at Bic Camera when they first opened in Kashiwa years ago and it amazed me with its open, airy soundstage, something I’d never heard from headphones before. ‘Soundstage’ is the sense of the sounds around you, placed where the original instruments were, which is usually better on open designs. Headphone soundstage is something like surround-sound on your ears, and can be very refined, as there are an infinite number of directions and distances that the sounds can appear to come from, including above and below you. How this can all come from a stereo recording, I don’t know, but it really does.  

I auditioned a lot of cans before I made my choice, spending hours testing them one against another. The venue for all this was back at Dynamic Audio, where they have loads of models ready to try on the rack and a very nice guy helped me choose. At first I did it with my friends waiting patiently nearby (thanks to them for that!), but it was taking so long I ended up going back by myself to have another listen. I wasn’t just looking for the quality of sound they could offer (something which the higher end ones are obviously better at), but also the type of sound, one that would suit my needs and my ears. One issue I cam up against was the ‘impedance’ of them.  

Generally, the higher the ohm rating, the more amping they need to get a decent sound. Not all of them will sound good straight from an MP3 player or PC soundcard, especially the very best ones. (Interestingly here, some of the older portable CD players have good amps built in them and are still quite sought out and I find that my Nintendo DS Lite has fantastic sound, maybe something to do with amping it’s powerful little speakers.) Some also need more amping than others, so you can end up spending as much again on the amp- something I really wasn’t about to do! You can buy a Ferrari, but it’s no fun getting stuck in traffic jams in it.  

After seeing their rave reviews from the audiophiles on the ‘Head Fi’ site, I tried some very well-respected cans that some really love- like the Beyerdynamic 990dt and the Sennheiser HD 580, but they just didn’t have the right sound for my ears. The 990dt was separating the left and right signals just too much and there was hardly any soundstage (though the bass is gorgeous). Meanwhile, the 580 just sounded too boring to me, though I know many audiophiles like it for classical. Having done more research online since, the Beyerdynamic 880dt and the Sennheiser HD 595 seem to be more up my street. You kind of get to know how fussy you really are with these things and believe it or not, there are people far fussier than me out there! 

The model numbering system is a very strange thing, as there are so many types of headphones, you also need to know which series each one is in. Some go for a clear sound which is good for classical, others for an energetic, lively sound that rock or techno benefit from. In general, though, the higher the number, the more refined the sound, bringing with is the need for good amping to bring out the bass. At this level, the bass isn’t the blurry pounding that just makes music more enjoyable- it’s rich, deep and most of all, musical. Some people go even further, going for new cables and insisting on the very best CD and SACD players. For me, music without much bass is no fun at all, however accurate it is, which made the higher level cans and their attendant amps too expensive to consider. So I suppose I have to admit here- I’m no real audiophile on that level, it’s all about happy compromises for me. Still, I do love to listen to music and want something close to the original to listen to. I’d gone this far and I wasn’t going to go home in failure!

I was really very fond of the mid-ranking Sennheiser HD-555, for it’s smooth, warm laid-back feel and for just being so enjoyable to listen to, but just wasn’t happy with it’s blurry midrange. Apparently, according to online reviews I read, the 595 makes up for this shortcoming without needing too much amping and if I do get another pair, they’re high on the list (but pricy, ouch!). Another phone I tried again was the ATH-AD700, a fully open phone with an incredible soundstage and very good sound- but with not so much bass and also it seemed to be lacking a little in the higher frequencies. Having an amp made me want to reach beyond it and go for something remarkable. Unfortunately, it’s big brother the AD-1000 seemed to really need a powerful one, it just sounded too light without one.

It was an ear-opener to see the different qualities each phone offers, not only that they are better with particular types of music, though there may be something to that, but their various sound-stages, ways of handling bass and of course the effect their differing impedances have. Being able to try different amps adds another layer to the mix. Tube amps give the music a warm, smooth quality that none of the solid-state variety can compete with, for all their range and detail. Yet, at the higher levels that detail can be a real ear-opener, too. I wanted some cans that would sound even better as the amps went up in price, but still sound fantastic with a lesser amp. After listening for hours, with the very kind support and assistance of the shop staff, I narrowed my choice down to just one phone. It simply outshone the others in its range by a long-shot- to my ears at least. It had the perfect mix of bass and soundstage I wanted. I am pleased to say that it now has me speechless in amazement. Well, practically speechless, which is why I am writing this at all!

The AKG K-240s (‘s’ for studio) is a fairly recent remake of a 30-year old design, making a studio reference headphone that operated at a staggering 600w impedance; which is practically impossible for any usual equipment to drive; work at a mere 55w. That being said, having tried it unamped, though it has some impressive qualities, especially the level of detail and airiness, there just isn’t enough emphasis on anything to make for a pleasurable listening experience- a condition called ‘flatness’. However, amped, even with my little Dr Head, it is simply breathtaking. The phone seems to be fairly transparent and certainly has enough openness to show the differences between all the sources, without colouring them too much with itself, the warmth coming from the amp.

It is a semi-open design, so it has advantages of each type. The large, round cups make a great seal over your ear, such that I can only hear very nearby noises (though I’d never try these on a train!) and that the bass is full and powerful, but not especially deep. Yet the open element ensures a good sound-stage, most probably not as broad as its fully-open cousins, the K501-K701 series (which are said to faithfully reproduce whatever venue the recording was made in!), but nevertheless broad enough feel free and interesting. There was a rich, broad sound, without the issues that a lot of ‘better’ phones would have with my equipment. I had made my choice, so now it was time to go home and enjoy them.

The next mission was to choose two new pairs of cans (headphones in slang); some buds for traveling and an open or semi-open one for indoors. This may well sound greedy, but as I had the amp, I thought I may as well use it to full in each situation. Inner-ear buds work by plugging into your ear with a rubber seal, reducing other sounds to mere murmurs. Despite having a freer sound, opened up headphones are the last thing you need for riding the train. Not only do they emit whatever you are listening to, probably annoying your fellow passengers, but they also let in all the rumbling noise of the train. Some people go so far as to get noise-canceling headphones for this. They analyse low-frequency noises around you and produce an equal and opposite one to them, essentially giving you a silent background- well, as silent as they can manage. The only trouble for now is that most of those models aren’t the best ‘phones, but the price is high, as you have to pay for the noise-canceling unit as well.

After a brief browse and a lucky find, I ended up getting Audio-Technica’s ATH-9, a new model still only in Japan. A quick check of online reviews was enough for me. I liked the fact that they boasted of having balanced drivers, as I wanted something more warm and ‘beautiful’ sounding. My Sharps are simply amazing in their deep levels of bass. But what they lack is everything else, which gets smothered in it, leaving vocals in a muddy swamp. The ATH-9s are a whole different story (note- this is all written after ‘burning them in’, i.e. having them running so they smooth over, for about 48 hours). Without the amp, they are a bit lacking in bass, which makes them hard to hear if there are train sounds around, but still good in quiet places- volume is certainly no problem. Amped, they get a much more lively sound, even more warm and full then they usually are- and I think this fullness comes from the presence of the mid-range.

They really helped me to appreciate my classical collection anew. Whilst listening to Mahler symphonies on the PC whilst writing, I could really feel the emotion of the music as it moves and changes. On my Sharps such pieces often ended up feeling boring and dark, but here they were full of vitality. Vocals really come to life, too. Going for walks with these in Hondoji, temple taking photos of the sakura, gave me the impression that the singer was right nearby, each word earnestly meant. They ‘open up’ the music, filling you with inspiration. One other thing that is remarkable is their soundstage. You don’t get the ‘closed in feeling’ that my Sharps have which sometimes made me a bit claustrophobic… but then again, you don’t get the deep, sub-sonic bass that trance or hip-hop music needs. They also seem to let in outside sounds a lot more, however I put them in my ears.

Overall, I’m very happy with my choice, as I can now enjoy the more delicate music wherever I am. I can feel it around me, not just casually listening to pass the time. Still, it feels a little strange to use these at home, as you are always conscious of them in your ears. Also, like trance, they don’t do much for heavy rock music (pop is a bit better). All this left me with a gap… a pair of over-head cans and the difficulty of choosing amongst them…

On a lighter note, back to my current hobby (aside from photography)- musick! The more I was listening to music, the more I wanted a better way of hearing it. Going to Hi-Fi shops in Akihabara, I could treat my ears to the sounds of so-called ‘high-end’ systems and really, there is no comparison between these and the usual consumer equipment. True, it is smaller and better than ever before. But the quality of sound is often tinny and small- not only that, but it lacks the details of the better-made stuff. Often you’ll see features like ‘mega-bass’ advertised, which artificially add bass to the music. Whilst this may make it more enjoyable, it doesn’t help the fact that most equipment simply can’t reproduce the rich and moving bass of the original. So, I set off on a quest to get somewhere closer to that golden dream of ‘hi fidelity sound’, not just as an advertising slogan, but as an aural reality.

Auditioning speakers there was really no doubt (albeit without a subwoofer present) that the larger, more expensive ones sounded many times better. They sound rich, dynamic and amazingly detailed. If you take a moment to really listen, you can hear each instrument distinctly, each having its own placing and ‘colour’, being so similar to hearing live music. The music becomes a whole, living universe that you are getting wrapped up in, they are just that close to the original. I started to realise why audiophiles are into them. The only problem, of course, is their equally large price. There is a way to have amazing audio, though and at a price that doesn’t break the bank- a pair of good headphones.

Soon Tristan, who was over from Australia at the time and also wanting a more satisfying experience and myself soon found ourselves in possession of portable headphone amps. “Portable what?”, I hear you cry. Well, this is something we’d both read about many times before, but didn’t really believe you need. Aren’t headphones supposed to do all the work themselves? Well, no, they actually can’t and the best headphones, or quiet equipment need really good amps to reach their potential. They turned out to be pretty hard to find- the floor assistant at Bic Camera hadn’t even heard of them, even though they sell some very expensive headphones there. So destiny took us to that place we know and love so well… Akiba.

After a quick visit to the newly opened shopping mall in Otakanomori, where we met various staff and had some fruit juice, we were off on the sleek Tsukuba Express. We gradually found our way to the one place we could find there which had the item… ‘Dynamic Audio- Pro Shop 55’. This place really is headphone heaven- they have perhaps a hundred types here, along with every conceivable amp to try them out on. Most amazing are the tube amps- old, analogue designs with a rich, lush, sound. We each left with a Dr Head Headphone Amp. Made in Korea, they can run for around 8-14 hrs on their rechargeable batteries, depending on the settings. As soon as I got home, I had mine opened up and switched to the ‘hi-fi’ mode and was experiencing some definite benefits, even on my Sharp MD-33.

The music had a much richer bass than before. Everything was ‘bigger’ and wider. It wasn’t just a case of more volume, there was more amplification, which is different. Smaller details were easier to hear, but most of all, the music had more of that ‘energy’ I could hear in the better speakers. It was much more enjoyable to listen to, more of a sensual experience. The only thing was that these ‘phones are good, but in the low end and I knew that there was a lot more enjoyment to be had with better ones. I was using the expensive, high-octane petrol at last, but it was going in a Yugo. So the next chapter was the far more testing one of choosing better headphones…

 There’s a marvellous new DSLR (digital SLR) out soon, that promises to be the most fully-featured yet released; not only that, but it is coming out at the same price of others that don’t have even half its features. And no, for once it's not a Nikon or a C*non. The beautiful creation I speak of is the forthcoming Pentax K10D, one of the only such cameras on the planet to have both a 10 mega-pixel sensor and built-in dust-protection and anti-shake technology (signified by the SR red SR logo on the body). This means that you can take shots with a longer shutter speed, such as in twilight conditions, whilst hand-holding the camera, especially using longer lenses that accentuate camera-shake more. True, you can also use a tripod or even a monopod, but who wants to bother with that when there is a way around it.

 This camera follows hot on the heels of Sony’s A100 Alpha, converting a Minolta camera when they bought the company up, which has similar features but, fatally in many people’s eyes, has a tacky, plasticy body that’s unpleasant to hold (IMHO) and lacks the weather-seals of the Pentax. In reality, this particular battle, for the share of the DSLR market that isn’t controlled by market-leaders Canon and Nikon (very much in that order), is becoming a tussle between Sony-Minolta, Pentax-Samsung and a limping Olympus, whose innovative yet noisy 4/3 mount offers little in quality gains.

All this leaves me in a very frustrating position. I have invested in loads of very high quality Nikon and Nikon-mount third-party lenses. Yet my D70 body, despite being little over a year old, seems quite dated compared to the newer Nikons and especially the aforementioned ‘dream’ Pentax. I currently shoot in 6 mega-pixels, which has been fine, but it won’t print very large if I wish to, doesn't leave any room for cropping and, more importantly, is considered insufficient for many stock-houses, who insist on at least 8 (though this was really to keep out all the amateurs when all the consumer models were 6-meg.) I want 10 meg, pretty badly and Nikon has the D80 with good features but a plasticy body and the much more satisfying D200 (with a similar quality to the k10d, but at one and a half times the price) in this- but without anti-shake, without dust-cleaning (which is a very annoying necessity on my class of camera). The anti-shake is a really attractive feature as in the Pentax cameras this will stablise all the lenses, including fixed lenses like the 35mm, whereas with Nikon you have to choose from a few extremely expensive lenses to have this feature.

So what to do? Get the D80 and hang on? Invest in the D200 and forget about the new features in Sony and Pentax, even though I’m paying more? Or make my second camera a Pentax, sell off some of my Nikon lenses, and gradually build up a collection of Pentax lenses to use with it? I am sorely tempted to do this, extravagant though it may sound. With all the money they make on VR/IS lenses, Nikon and Canon are unlikely to offer in-body stabilisation any time soon. Which means a choice between either paying the big bucks for the lenses, or continuing to miss shots that with the VR would be fine.

Another advantage with Pentax is that they (unlike Sony-Minolta) have been working hard to produce a range of lenses that are uniquely tailored for high-quality digital use, i.e., the 'DA' digital primes. One of these is the soon-to be released 70mmDA pancake, a small and portable lens perfect for digital portraits at the equivalent 105mm that people were using on film cameras, almost as good as their already-acclaimed 77mm, with it’s beautiful bokeh. These are the type of  lens I want very badly, but Nikon has yet to make as they are focussing on their zooms.

Pentax’s prime lenses are very attractive in themselves. They have an affordable and compact 14mm (no-one else does), a small 21mm, a (large) 31mm, the 40mm pancake, the forthcoming 70mm pancake and then the gorgeous 77mm. Many a photographer is dreaming of just what they could do with all of this, as with prime lenses less is certainly more. They’ll also have a new batch of special-for-digital zooms coming out next February. They really are serious. And so am I- baring any unforseen problems with it I will for sure be getting one, along with the following lenses- 35mm F2, 77mm F1.8 Limited, a Tamron 90mm macro (to replace my Nikon one) and the Sigma 17-70mm for general useage. all this will come to less than a nikon with a similar level of features and of course I'll have that stablisation with all my future lenses!

There was a time when I was eagerly awaiting the successor to the Fuji S3, with it's superior high dynamic range, hoping for a higher megapixel version when they started using the Nikon D200 body. yet like many I was very disappointed to learn that they'll stay with the 6 MP Super CCD sensor, even if they will be refining how they read its data. So you could say that all my anticipation for the Fuji was suddenly transferred to the Pentax. I won't be leaving Nikon just yet, though, keeping it for the excellent zooms and so I have a two-camera system. Yet if many more feel the way I do, that even after years of loyalty they aren't properly catering for their prosumer (neither strictly amateur or professional) users, they they should be quite worried. Because by not moving quickly enough with emerging technologies such as in-body stabilisation, and charging too much for the kind of pro features that prosumers would very much like to have too, they are becoming harder to recommend to first-time users. Probably, in time they'll introduce this at an affordable level, so I'll partly be keeping my excellent 2.8 aperture nikkor zooms for this day- and also using them in the meantime as the superb portrait lenses that they undoubtedly are. Hello Pentax, but not quite bye-bye Nikon.

The Pentax K10D will be released in Japan on November 30th. Friends of mine have already bought or are considering the K100D, its 6-megapixel, stabilised baby-brother and one of the most popular of the budget DSLRs now.