Just a heds up to all out there. I found a "CPC Auto 28mm Macro CCT" lens on ebay, and put down like ten bucks (about five pounds) on it just for laughs.

Well, I got the lens, beleive it or not. It's actually not a bad lens when used for copy work, flat field and pretty sharp out to the corners.

BUT I didn't check the mount. It went part way onto my *st D, then stuck and wouldn't click on or come off.

I took it to a camera shop, who had no idea what to do. Penatx said to send it in, and I was facing a drive to Connecticuit to get it fixed (not to mention a big repair bill).

Then, doing some research on the Internet, I found a discussion (on Steve's Digicams, I think) about Ricoh mount lenses and a projection that catches in the AF coupler. The poster was able to get his off by slipping a piece of paper between the lens and the camera mount, and pushing in the pin that was causing the trouble.

So I used a raizor to do the same. It seems this lens was meant for Ricoh or Chinon cameras. So I filed down the offending projection and now the lens works fine on my sooper-dooper digital *st D as well as my MX's and K1000. It probably won't work in Auto on Ricoh cameras, but I don't have any of those so what do I care?

But be warned! Examine any third party lens carefully for odd projections and such that could cause problems. You could get stuck in a pickle with a steam locomotive coming down the track!!

On my *st D, I have to set a custom function in the menu system to "allow apeture other than A". Once this is done, my M lenses work just fine, although in Manual mode (after all, they are manual focus and manual metering lenses).

I suspect that on the DS there's a similar function buried in the menus somewhere. RTFM!

I've even used cheap pawn-shop off-brand lenses on he *st D. You get the most use out of a lens with an A setting on the apeture ring, but if you're used to manual metering with your M lenses, then there should be no problem for you.

Apparently, someone has greased the palms of some camera makers to push the new SD format card. I'm hoping that when the D2 comes out, it will take Compact Flash. That's what most of us have, and most professionals use them.

I do know that Lexar's Write Acceleration technology works with the *st D, it speeds things up considerably!! I have no idea if they make SD cards, and hopefully won't have to.

Olympus once had a DSLR that took two kinds of memory cards. Pentax could solve the delimma by outfitting the next digitals the same way, with both CF and SD cards. That would make the transition less painful, if that's where the industry is gong!

If you're using a constant light source, place either a gray card or a Macbeth Color Checker in one frame, as a test shot. Shoot from your normal shooting position, and shoot RAW.

Use the gray card to set the color balance with the first test shot, then set all your other shots to that same color temperatire. I bet it's around 5500-6000 Kelvin.

Interesting....... I have all primes except for the FA 28-70 f/4 and the new 16-45 f/4. A little slow for my taste, but every lens I have is sharp as a tack and has minimal distortion, zooms or primes.

So, my zooms are the newfangled AF lenses, my primes are old M and A lenses. Perhaps this bears out the theory that modern zooms can be as sharp as older primes?

But the 50 f/1.4 A lens seems to be absouutely top-class. I see no need to buy a plasticky new FA 50 1.4. And the 16-45 only works on the *st D, which is probably just as well since it'd crop out the full size frame on the MX cameras.

Many lenses exhibit CA on digital more than film, as the light is ever so slightly scattered by the film base. Another theory is that the small lenses over the photosites cause it, but I suspect with really sharp film you'd still see it. I don't think it's a digital sensor thing.

The only way I know of to combat this is to shoot RAW, and in Adobe Camera Raw there's a tab that will let you find and correct CA. It involves changing the size of the blue channel or the red channel relative to the other channels. It isn't rocket science, but it comes pretty close!

All you have to know is how to use the sliders to make it work.

I found an oddball 28mm f/2.8 "macro" lens (actually, close focusing but not true Macro). It has an odd projection where the AF coupler is on the Pentax brand lenses, so I had to file it off, but it is amazingly sharp and distortion-free.

It is a "CPC Auto 28mm Macro CCT" lens, whatever that is. Just goes to show you never know what could turn up. It even has an "A" setting on the apeture ring, so I can use it in all the various metering modes.

Just be careful with non-Pentax brand lenses. Some of the Ricoh mount lenses have extra things sticking out that you'lll need to cut off or file down, or you could get stuck with the lens halfway on the camera and need to slip a raizor between the lens and body to push in the projection. In fact, I'll start a thread on that subject!

On my *st D, Pentax discourages the use of rechargable CR-V3 batteries as they have a different output voltage than the non-rechargables. I stick with NiMH AA batteries, you can now get 2400 AH batteries, and with the external grip that gives you a reallty long shooting time.

I don't know if the DS or SL can use the external grip.

This is one of the original religious wars in photography. This question has been argued as far back as I can remember (the 1950's).

My personal experience is that:

1 - I don't notice any difference if I use a well-maintained quality filter on the camera, and

2 - Keeping the filter clean is critical, it is now the front element of your lens system, and

3 - Having fallen down a flight of stairs with a VERY expensive lens on my person, I found that after I dug the broken filter's threads out of the front of the lens, it was in a lot better shape than I was!!!

I guess I'm lucky. Pentax USA in Colorado is very helpful, and even has forwarded some of my feature requests to the engineers in Japan. They respond to emails promptly, and will take phone calls.

Now, if the engineers are willing to listen to an American barbarian is another question altogether!