You just need an ME Super or MX and a few rolls of film to go with it now!

My suggestion would be that members wishing to take part in a macro megatest find a mutually acceptable venue and meet up. Take the same shot from the same distance with the same camera and you should be able to get some fairly scientific results.

You may however get some odd looks when you start shooting a lens test chart in the beer garden at Wetherspoons!

Nah, I'll stick with the A3000. I already have it, it cost me next to nothing and the limited functionality is not a problem for what I'm aiming to do. I would rather bolt an £8 camera to my dashboard than something worth much more!

IIRC the only AF bodies which will leave leaders out are the MZ-S and Z-1? Both are just a bit too good for the use I have in mind.

That motorised time lapse rig is very clever but would be a bit bulky on the dashboard! My plan is to get the camera mounted as low as possible, peering just above the windscreen wipers. It won't be a distraction that way. Triggering it manually will be fine as I will only be using it while stationary.

A rethink after going into one of the flightcases...

Amongst my collection of Pentax bodies is an A3000, which is much like an ME but with a built-in winder and the option of using full Program mode with A series lenses (or Av with everything). It has a built in winder using a couple of AAs, but the rewind crank is still manual (crucial for me as I need to leave film leaders out so they'll go into my daylight dev tank). It also takes a standard cable release thread.

I'm therefore thinking that the A3000 with an air release would be the quickest and simplest solution. I've been meaning to buy one for a while to play around with, that and the mounting for the QR plate wouldn't cost much. I've yet to sort the actual dash mounting part out but that shouldn't be too tricky.

Interesting - I did have something of a problem with noise but put it down to the shot being underexposed. I was using an M series lens and when stopped down to get the 30 second exposure the metering wasn't behaving (ok down to f11 or so but not at smaller apertures). Next time I'll insist they stay still for longer while I use digital preview to get it right!

In a suitably long exposure you have to stay still for a surprisingly long time to show up. I was messing around with a couple of friends last year (trying to make it look like one of them was being strangled by a ghostly figure) by the usual trick of a 30 second exposure and getting the "ghost" to stand in the frame for the right length of time then jump out. It took a couple of tries to make them show up at all!

I have things somewhere in the system which were sent conventional parcel post in mid December, and have yet to turn up! The problem here is usually the next office up the chain, as obviously our posties can only deliver what arrives on the lorry.

If you can't find someone to lend you a Pentax flashgun for a quick test then have a nose on ebay for an AF160, I've got a couple of these and paid under a fiver including post each time. They're tiny and a bit underpowered but have a safe trigger voltage and will activate the "flash ready" light on Pentax DSLRs, so ideal for testing.

Also worth considering are the Metz 45CL-1 and Pentax AF280T (these can be found for well under £60 in working order but you will need to watch and wait).

Beware the Metz 45CT-1, early versions have a trigger voltage which will fry DSLRs. The CL is an updated version with lower trigger voltage.

I'm reminded of the tale of the baker on the Titanic, who as the ship began to go down decided he was going out in style and got sozzled, before throwing deckchairs overboard as makeshift rafts and then stepping off the stern as it went under. He survived despite spending hours in the freezing water!