I can't see a Buy it Now on that one either - can ebay sellers choose which markets to offer B.I.N to?

If you want an 85mm but can't stretch to that the Samyang one is excellent.

I'll second the Red Snapper tripod. I'm about to order their ball head and a spare QR plate for mine (idea being I'll be able to leave one on the DSLR and swap the other around between film bodies), I've had the three section legs/head bundle for a month now and it's great.

Nope, that was for my birthday about a month ago! Also a great lens but that was to be expected, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the Samyang but the favourable reviews all seem accurate.

What happened to Y-mas?

Mine went well, now have new Samyang 85mm f1.4 which is proving rather promising. Smooth bokeh and it's sharp too (possibly too sharp for flattering portraits!)

Welsh Water put the same message in the local press recently - evidently they're getting a lot of calls!

Your best bet with the paint is probably to try your nearest model shop with a sample, they should be able to find something close enough. As for the rubber part, sad to say that you're unlikely to be able to get hold of one short of buying another lens for parts. You can buy various materials which might do as an alternative (leather, lizard hide, etc) but obviously these won't be original.

If it bothers you I'd take it back and get it professionally cleaned. It isn't a problem though - I have film bodies with loads of muck in the viewfinder (trapped between the focusing screen and the prism, so I can't blast it out) and while annoying it doesn't make the camera unusable.

They're not that bad!

Well, they have to preserve it somehow...

"Super Noodles" aren't bad either, especially the bacon flavour ones. They taste vaguely of bacon and don't seem to have any horrific side effects, plus as a solid slab of dried noodles they're easy to store and transport. Certainly an improvement on "Pot Noodle" which I don't feel was really intended for human consumption!

Most of the cases I've heard of here have either involved a PCSO or a rent-a-cop security guard, at least to begin with. When they encounter a photographer who responds by politely but firmly standing up for their rights they will run for a real cop, who then feels that they have to do something so as not to lose face in front of the pretend cop.

Not all PCSOs are bad (I know someone who used to be one). Problem is, the ones who are actually good at the job seem to leave pretty rapidly as the sheer idiotic bureaucracy and petty management drives them spare.