Misplaced decimal point perhaps? £9.99 sounds a bit more realistic!

I find the fact that it behaves differently according to the aperture a bit odd, leading me to suspect that there's something funny happening there (rather than just a misaligned infinity setting). The lens is held at f1.8 for focusing so the aperture you set shouldn't make any difference, as this is only stopped down to when you actually press the shutter.

I prefer primes for walkabout use as they're smaller and usually lighter, but if I need anything wider than 28mm I have to use a zoom. With telephoto lenses it's less clear cut as I'll use either depending on what I think is the best focal length for the job. The only long primes I have are a 120mm, 135mm and 200mm, so if I need anything in between those or longer than 200mm (or with AF) I have to use the zooms.

This is why I don't like automatic gearboxes much. In a manual car you've always got the option of stopping at the top of the hill, putting it in the lowest possible gear, then coming down on engine braking without touching any pedals. Works superbly on any loose surfaces if you're worried about being able to stop at the bottom.

I love it - it's as if the DDR saw other brands with motor winds and bulk film backs then decided to make their own using leftover bits of T-34!

Well I could...but I think the girl I'm planning to stay with might rather object to my turning up with four random people!

Just been slightly baffled by fuel cost calculators. Apparently it will only cost me £42 or so to drive 322 miles (diesel being £1.33/l here and the car I'd use returning 46mpg), which seemed wrong but has withstood checking on a few sites. Given a single train ticket (second class and changing at least once) was £133, guess which I plan to do!

My view is based on a good condition original copy of Tubular Bells on vinyl compared to the same album on CD (I think it might have been the remastered version but not sure). I just noticed much more detail in the vinyl which is presumably cut off the CD due to not being quite loud enough or at the correct frequencies to make it onto the digital recording. My hearing is odd though - I can hear CRT monitors/TVs when switched on, and "ultrasonic rodent repellers" drive me spare (they also don't work).

You don't get the crackling or pops either. I've had them on a couple of disks which I simply rinsed under the tap then dried out, after which they played perfectly. My collection lives in a DJ-style flightcase which keeps the dust out.

Speed control seems to be something of a variable on turntables. Mine has one of those built-in strobes with marks for different speeds/power frequencies on the edge of the turntable itself and a couple of dials to fine-tune it. I can usually get it pretty close to spot on with a bit of fiddling. It may only have cost £30 on ebay but it was evidently a very well-specified piece of kit in its day!

After a quick look it turns out my amp is a Marantz PM4001. Well worth a look. While I'm not an audiophile I have done a bit of professional sound engineer work before now, and I know when something sounds right. I can turn this up loud enough to shake the walls without clipping or other problems!

I've said it before, the 35mm f2.4 is the modern answer to the old M 50mm f1.7. It's a standard lens affordable by every DSLR owner which is capable of producing images to match the best of the competition, when used properly. You really aren't wasting money buying this lens. My only tiny complaint is that it should maybe have been a wider angle, as I found 28mm very pleasing in field of view terms.

It won't beat the LTD all the time but on the right day it'll come very close indeed. Given it costs around a tenth of the price I think that's something of a bargain!