Dan,

Yes I spotted the dirt, but couldn't be a**ed to clone them out!

I tried taking pictures with the aperture manually set to diffent stops from F32 down to F2.8, and in this configuration (everything + kitchen sink) on the body the resulting image shows the same depth of field. There was one combination of not-quite-everything that allowed proper setting of the aperture. I should have kept notes - will just have to experiment again!

Galoot,

I hadn't thought of connecting all my macro pieces together to see what the result was. So I attached my Tamron 90mm Macro lens to a Pz-AF 2x Teleconverter to a vivitar 2x Macro focusing teleconverter to 12mm + 20mm + 36mm extention tubes and vivitar 6000 ring flash with the results:-







It only seems to work fully open at F2.8. Exposure 1/180, ISO 200. Field of view is 4mm on the longest side. No cropping. Just need to work out how I can support this monstrosity so I can focus properly. Anyway if it carries on raining it'll be a project for tomorrow.

On the subject of Sigma lenses "almost working" with Pentax bodies, I believe (and am prepared to stand corrected) that Sigma do not pay Pentax royalties for full information about how the bodies communicate with lenses, but reverse-engineer to gather that data. Therefore they may not be privvy to all the details of the lens-body communication. However It doesn't appear to have had any adverse effects on the way my 12-24mm 1:4.5-5.6DG EX and 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 APO DG perform, which is they communicate perfectly.

Hmm, never thought to try a polariser filter on a macro lens. 'scuse me while i go and give it a try!

To haul this thread back to the photograph what lens / settings was it taken with? Good depth of field too. Did you use a tripod?

Graham, if you are six hundred and sixty six years old, then I am seriously impressed, beast or no beast!

I bought a pentax courtesy of the often maligned people at Jessops. I had used 35mm compacts for many years and wanted to get into SLR. I had just recieved my yearly bonus and wandered in to the shop in Slough (next to Anne Summers )

Explained the situation and the shop assistant directed me to the MZ-10 with 28-70 mm lens. I never looked back. I have been totally happy with that decision, still use that body on occasion and due to my investment on other bits of pentax gear cannot see myself changing (lottery wins excepted).

Maybe we need to form LBA Anonymous? At the first meeting "My name is George and I haven't bought a lens in a month..."

Of course Al Gore may be wrong http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/11/warm11.xml



EDIT:

Just found this today:- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/03/01/do0102.xml

I'll watch out for the Bats next week, as I'm off to spend time in Langdale and Wasdale