A bit busy to look at it but I doubt the market is so out of whack that it is 2 to 3 times better per dollar than the Rebel XTi or Nikon’s similar offerings, or the level above that. But if you think so, then it’s a good camera to buy.

I’m afraid I find old manual bayonet lenses to be of minimal value these days. Frankly, the autofocus in modern lenses, if it picks the right target, is better at it than I am, though that depends on the quality of your focusing screen, something you don’t get much of in the base level cameras.

And no, you won’t keep the camera for 15 years, or even 5. For most of us these are like computers. The old computers don’t stop working but we don’t want them after about 2-3 years.

Newer cameras down the line will be giving you

• More resolution (which you may not care about)
• Less noise (which you care about)
• Higher sensitivity with that less noise (which you care about if you ever handhold, shoot moving objects or night shoot)
• Higher dynamic range and even near-infinite dynamic range, which you care about unless you do nothing but studio work with complete lighting control
• Bigger better screens, better live review, better UIs.
• All of this in smaller, lighter packages
• Cheaper