Please do not tar all low cost airlines with the same brush.

We use Monarch to fly to Spain, they have always been superb. Once, due to lower price we tried Ryanair...NEVER AGAIN. They are a nightmare from hell. Far more petty rules than any other airline, loads of hassle, the one time we flew with them, they had by far the largest check in queue I have ever had to deal with and many passengers had real problems with the rules, many had to empty luggage at the check in.

The girls at the check in did not work directly for Ryan and were saying to avoid them like the plague due to constant problems for passengers.

Hi,

I had the Sigma 50-150mm with my previous Canon outfit and it is superb. I do think the supposed advantage of WR lenses is very over hyped, photographers have been using non WR lenses in all weathers for decades and not exactly having lots of problems.

google or ebay for 'army bag' or 'military bag' or 'army surplus bag'. Or some of the outdoor clothing brands eg North face and others make outdoor shoulder bags. Just add an insert from Domke/Billingham etc.

What's wrong with Fred Chan?

There seems to be a couple of important lessons to be learnt here.

If you buy any item, your contract is with the retailer. You should deal with them only. If you have any problems with the retailer then the UK consumer laws protect you. NEVER be fobbed off by any retailer sending you to the door of the manufacturer.

Also, yet again in this brave new digital world, the early adopters get stung, both financially and otherwise.

I have had the same experience as Hefty. Sold approx 200+ items in my time to the far east and almost always had very business like and very polite buyers. I did however after a while decide to not sell to China...after a couple of issues with buyers there.

"I think it comes down to this:

We all like Pentax and want them to succeed, but we get annoyed when they do silly things in marketing or release products that could be so much better"

Matt, you are totally correct, that sums up my intentions and motive exactly, shame others just assumed I was bashing Pentax for the sake of it, which is entirely incorrect.

We all only improve via criticism....

"Alternatively, they could have a no-gimmick stand comprised of quality goods and staff with a sound knowledge of photography, something that stands as a metaphor for the brand itself?"

Agreed, however, properly applied marketing is not a gimmick....and I did not once suggest Pentax have a 'gimmicky' stand full of jugglers or feathers! It's not gimmicky to properly and effectively promote your products.

When applied like Sony did, then yes, that was gimmicky..but you know what? There was a queue of punters all round the stand USING the Sony cameras supplied by Sony taking shots of that juggler you took offence to and whilst you think this is gimmicky, it got potential buyers using Sony cameras, which is half way to selling them one.

...For any business, successful marketing is ESSENTIAL and like it or not, Pentax is a business. The digital market is far more competitive than the film world. Leica almost went out of business because they failed to appreciate this and I would hate Pentax to make the same kind of mistake.

If all Pentax do, is to try to sell to those already 'converted' then they risk losing market share and I would not want a choice of only two major brands of SLR.

cheers Steve.

....and having a few brochures lying around is not exactly best use of a very expensive stand.

"The K-5 wasn't being pushed over and above the other cameras I agree, but why should it?"

Hefty..It seems you are not a marketing guy.

The K5 should be pushed over & above the others because:

1. It is a new model
2. It has had stellar reviews.
3. It is pushing the boundaries ie top ISO
4. Because Pentax UK spent £1000's on the stand, which is a marketing opportunity.
5. Because Pentax want to increase their market share.
6. Because it is the first Pentax DSLR actually being recognised by most reviewers that DOES beat Canon & Nikon.