Hi,

I am still shocked so many photo specific back packs sell so well. I tried three and they were all very uncomforable as they made my back sweat very quickly...a lot of walking backpacks however are constructed so as to minimize contact with your back and reduce this problem.

I have returned to a shoulder bag and a small North Face shoulder bag for wet weather gear...this combination with one over each shoulder I find much better than any photo backpack.

cheers Steve.

Hi,

Would have to be either Canon 5D MK2 or Sony Alpha 900....the viewfinders are just SOOO much better than any APS sized one.

cheers Steve.

Hi,

I have been BUYING and selling on ebay for 7 years, but I fundamentally disagree with this :

"I'm glad eBay are trying to limit the amount that sellers charge for p&p"

...ebay is in their own words 'just a venue for sellers'. They should not be in the business of trying to fix ANY p+p charges for any sellers...WHY?

1. Because no buyers are forced to buy or win anything..they have free will, if the p+p is too high..DO NOT BID..end of story...if the p+p is not on the listing..ASK before you bid..if you get no reply...do not bid.

2. Because ebay cannot foresee the differing p+p overheads of different sellers...POSTAGE is not the only cost and the other costs can vary widely from one seller to another.

IMO you are missing the point..ebay may say they are doing this to make p+p cheaper (do you really believe them?)...but as I said, the total cost to a buyer will not be any cheaper...sellers will not pay the shortfall themselves and ebay know that. This is all about MORE FEES for ebay.

cheers Steve.M.

Like/repected: Nikon FM series, Minolta XD7, Pentax LX, Contax ST, RTS2 & Aria, Canon F-1n, Pentax K20D, Canon G9/G10, Toyo-view 5x4, Mamiya RB67, Olympus OM2n & E-3, Fuji DSLR's.

Definite milestones: Leica 1, Leica M series, Nikon F, Olympus OM-1, Canon EOS af system, Canon DSLR series.

Hi,

John...firstly, the ebay max p+p charges for books, dvd's etc introduced on 27th Jan 2009 has nothing to do with improving things for sellers or buyers...it has everything to do with ebay getting more fees.

Try and sell almost any book that weighs over about 400g, ie all reference books.. and the ebay sytem will now not let you charge anywhere near enough p+p for it...so the sellers of such items will be forced to ADD the p+p shortfall onto the start bid price...so buyers wil pay the same (roughly) but ebay get more fees, because they will get higher FVF fees from the higher item prices.

Secondly, re the paypoo system...they have for about 2 years now, made it ever harder for any paypoo user to pay or use credit cards via the paypoo system purely because the cc companies charge a fee to paypoo and paypoo do not like that...which is why I use a credit card EVERY time I use paypoo these days, especially as I then get credit card protection if the deal goes pear shaped...NEVER rely on the very dubious paypal protection.

The paypoo system is misleading and ever more difficult to use. They utterly mis-lead every user/buyer who pays with a paypal echeque for example...they do not give the correct and normal clearance times, nor do they let buyers clearly know when they have paid with an echeque, often without even wanting to.

The whole paypal system has been changed over the last two years, it is more difficult to use, slower to use, more expensive to use and more mis-leading then ever.

cheers Steve.M.

Hi,

For an ever increasing number of people, even those who live in very large urban areas it is simply impossible to shop locally.

I live in Walsall, West Mids, population 166,000 (13th largest UK town) and there is just one very small poor Jessops...choice Canon or Nikon...not that I would buy from them anyway.

Birmingham, about 8 miles away..pop approx 2 MILLION and yet central B'ham has only one Jessops and one Jacobs...no Pentax's to be seen in either...so you see the problem..it is quite bizarre that many people in small towns out in the sticks often have more choice than the whole of the second largest UK city.

cheers Steve.M.

Hiya,

A big thanks to all, this has been very helpful indeed.

cheers Steve.M.

Hi,

I am a long term Contax film user and want to go much more digital, I am considering the K20D & the Olympus E-3. Could K20D users please give the honest pluses AND minuses of the camera.

And some specific questions:

1. How many shots from a battery do you get typically?
2. How do you change the ISO and is is fast & easy?..I believe it is menu driven on the K20D, whereas most DSLR's have a simple & fast button.
3. How easy is focus with manual focus lenses? does anyone use a different focus screen in their K20D?
4. Anyone use the Voigtlander SL2 lenses? and how well do they work with the K20D?

cheers Steve.M.

Hiya,

Nicholas advertise hundreds of items they do not have...that is why they try to sell unsuspecting 'buyers' other items. I would not go near them with a barge pole...especially bearing in mind the appalling storage of the items they do have.

If you want medium format gear try Peter Walnes, Jonathan Harris & Aperture.

cheers Steve.

Hi,

Before anyone goes near Nicholas camera in London, I STRONGLY advise you to read the thread below which I started with my own experience of visiting this so-called shop....

http://photo.net/casual-conversations-forum/00N9aH

cheers Steve.M.