Best trick I've found for garlic bread? 4-packs of ciabatta rolls from Tesco. You have the first one or two as panini (while they're still fresh) then turn the rest into garlic bread (doesn't matter if they're a bit stale that way).

Considering it was my first airshow with a decent camera (RIAT 2010) I didn't think these were too bad:

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/RIAT%202010/IMGP3294.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/RIAT%202010/IMGP3148.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x21/Kingofthemountains/RIAT%202010/IMGP3107.jpg[/IMG]

All taken with K-m and Pentax-F 100-300mm as RAW then tweaked slightly to balance exposure and crank up the saturation on the red a touch.

Regarding the weight problem, might a monopod help? I've done a bit of airshow photography and know that a tripod is right out as you simply can't move it fast enough.

It really depends on the size of the aircraft. I got a great shot of the BBMF Lancaster with my old Pentax-F 100-300mm which is pretty decent providing the light is there. I would like a better long zoom but given how little I use it there are other things on my list first.

I do wonder if the lack of interest in the kit lens is because most of us played with it a fair bit when we first bought the camera, then got bored and moved on to more intriguing oddballs. Mine never leaves the camera bag as it's the only true wide angle I have for digital, but I tend to leave the DA 35mm f2.4 on the camera now as it's smaller and faster.

At least try the DA 35mm, if the focal length suits you it's a brilliant lens and very sensibly priced compared to their other primes. I was a bit uncertain about it at first as I used to use a 28mm prime (manual focus but compact and incredibly sharp so worth the effort) but to be honest the slightly narrower field of view isn't a problem.

The only reliable way I've found to shoot fireworks is with the 18-55mm set at infinity (switch to manual focus) and 18mm. It was a bit damp and miserable to get the tripod out last night and I only let off a handful of rockets before going to bed!

Glad to hear she's improving!

Weirdly I occasionally have the same thing - once I know what's actually wrong with me my subconscious starts making me feel better.

I still remember the similar device used to film Elephants, one of which picked up the "boulder" and took a fairly presentable set of shots of the herd!

Should be ok now - as I said, it worked fine both ways but I thought it was probably best used according to the designer's intentions rather than by fiddling with controls until it did what I wanted!

I've read that this head allows you to use the Arca Swiss mounting plates, I may look at some of the longer ones of those (or at least 3rd party copies thereof as the genuine parts seem to cost more than the ballhead!) with a view to improving the balance with some heavier lenses which lack their own tripod mounting ring.

I'm impressed with the QR plate too, which may sound odd but it's very slim as opposed to the huge lumps of metal or plastic some brands expect you to leave attached to your camera!

Well, after some more playing it seems that the larger knob should be used to control friction with the smaller one locking the ball. I found that if I tried it the other way around the camera had a tendency to flop over when you unlocked it, this way there's still enough friction to avoid that.

Just want some decent weather now so I can get out with the KM and roll of Ilford SFX to take more infra-red photos. The Red Snapper bag thankfully has enough space to store the IR filter, cable release, and spare QR plate too!

What I've worked out so far:

The far smaller knob closest to the base is the panning lock, and the similar one on the side of the head locks the camera mount plate to the head. I couldn't find any instructions in the box but I doubt I've over-tightened anything as I've been thinking in terms of "just tight enough to stop it flopping over".