I'm hoping for some clear blue skies combining with a day off in about four weeks time - want to get out and use that roll of Ilford SFX and the infra-red effect only kicks in with strong sunlight.

Plus as soon as those conditions occur after some heavy rain I want to get back out to Llyn Brianne. Thinking the spillway might look rather interesting in a long-exposure IR shot (as well as on digital).

True, I did think 10-16mm would be a weird zoom range for medium format! It might translate as "645D released next year?" or similar.

It seems to be implying that they're for the 645D? Or at least the headline has "645" before the Japanese characters, and there's a line between the lenses and the K-x/K7 on the same page which I'd take as separating unrelated items.

On a vaguely on-topic note, how does the 150-500mm Sigma behave? My Dad is looking at one for his K7 as it's roughly half the price of the 50-500mm and he already has the kit lenses covering 18-200mm. Logic states that the 150-500mm should have better IQ as it has a shorter zoom range, but I'd just be interested to hear what others have found.

I've noticed that too. I know someone who has a Sony Alpha with (we think - they're both 10mp) the same sensor as my K-m, and there's a definite difference. It might be because the K 28mm f3.5 I was using at the time will cheerfully embarrass brand new DA Limiteds let alone a Sony zoom, but the different electronics coupled to the sensor would also come into play.

A sensor is only half of the system. I bet Pentax use a different filter in front of theirs (they'll want to SMC coat it, and there's no way they'd let Sony in on that) as well as naturally developing their own electronics to drive it.

I don't think we'll see much of it after April?

Not only do they seem to be used in completely inappropriate situations (I've seen people walking along a former railway trackbed with them, looking utter wallies!) but they also do a lot of damage to trails. The problem is that the spiked ends make holes, which then fill with water and freeze. This breaks the ground up and speeds erosion.

I do use my monopod for a bit of extra stability when scrambling over gnarly ground but aside from that it's generally over my shoulder.

Slik seem to make decent gear, I haven't handled that particular model but I have an ancient lightweight tripod and a current "Mini Pro" tripod which are well made.

Annoyingly 7dayshop seem to have stopped selling the monopod I bought from them a while ago, which is brilliant. Light, extends to my height, has a retractable spike and doubles as a walking pole for scrambling up and down gnarly rocky bits where you want a bit more reassurance that you're not going to end up lying on top of what used to be your camera!

The wheels went ok, and those are presumably aluminium alloy so I'm hopeful. I've got a rotary wire brush to clean the corrosion off with and get a good key, then I'll get a coat of primer on before it gets a chance to corrode again. Only snag is that I need a dry week or two to make sure I don't have excess moisture about, especially when I come to sort out a dodgy corner on one door skin (wire brush, prime to see what needs doing, fill, prime).

I'll be putting chequerplate along the lower bodysides afterwards, so the finish isn't that important. I regard it as training for the other bits which will be visible!

I've got a load of aluminium bodywork to sort out this summer - want to deal with all the flaky bits before they get worse, and there are a couple of distressing pitted areas in the back door (lurking below the handle).