The USB cable has nothing to do with the monitor function - it's most likely a built-in USB hub with ports on the side of the monitor to save rummaging under the desk.

It sounds to me as though your laptop hasn't switched on its external monitor port, although I'm not entirely sure how to go about doing so - generally I open anything mentioning graphics or monitor settings until I find a likely-looking button, then press them until it does what I want!

He does say at the bottom of the listing that it's only a picture, not the actual camera.

But I'm really not in the mood to be fair to someone who is, in ethical terms, committing fraud.

I thought it might be something to do with the smaller area of a cropped sensor compared to a frame of film?

All I know is that with my Samyang 85mm f1.4 I get a very bright viewfinder and it's dead easy to focus manually!

I think the only sensible way for Pentax to offer FF would be if they made a digital LX. Same basic size and weight, WR sealed, and aimed at people who don't like the fairly massive bulk of the current FF offerings. Otherwise they'd be turning up late to an already saturated market.

The predicted 25mm lens for the 645D is a much better idea. I suspect 645D sales will increase as more lenses become available, and this sounds like the perfect lens for the landscape photographers the system seems to be aimed at.

If you're using Paypal to pay for items on ebay then it couldn't be simpler. When the auction ends you simply click "checkout" and follow the instructions on screen to pay.

The problems mentioned affect sellers and people using Paypal to move money around other than for ebay purchases.

In my experience...

Spending their working life with only a dog and a Land Rover for company can often make farmers a bit odd by normal standards!

You can take photos of anything and everything you fancy from a public right of way. You could also consider taking action along that line - see whether others have had hassle from this individual while using the path you were on? Generally local walking/biking/riding/4x4ing groups know very well where to expect trouble while exercising their legal right of way, and it may well be that anyone unfortunate enough to encounter said farmer has a similar reception.

I know of a house in North Wales the owner of which is a well-known spinner of yarns to stop people using the road past their property. When a few would-be users compared notes they found that a horse had apparently "fallen down" three days in a row. Evidently there's a previously unknown heavy drinking culture amongst the equine population!

It is the fast fifty of the digital age - a sensibly priced, very sharp lens giving a useful field of view for day to day use. I now leave it on the camera unless I know I'll need something else.

I'm slightly amazed that Pentax aren't making another batch of them, now the 35/2.4 is gaining popularity.

Go for it. There's hardly a shortage of clean but dead ME Supers which could donate a screen if yours can't be dealt with.

I have a similar problem with an ME, where a load of hair and dust and general detritus has got in between the prism and the screen. I can't fathom how to remove either part without desoldering all the wires around the prism, which is beyond what I'm inclined to fiddle with as it could easily turn a working camera into a brick.

So far I have tried:

Sony PSP with camera and mount - decently stable and easy to use, but not high res and doesn't deal well with changes in lighting or direct sunlight.

Kodak HD camcorder thing on cheap ebay suction mount - good video, lousy mounting (vibration suggested I was driving over corrugated iron when I was actually on a fairly decent road!)

My brother has a handful of bullet cam-type things which are brilliant, but £200 is a lot to spend just to be able to video some roads!