And I thought I'd just done well in bagging a tidy black ME Super for a tenner!

Providing that the lenses are Autofocus then they'll all work just as the new DA lenses do, just remember to set the aperture to "A".

All Pentax lenses will fit their DSLRs, although there are various limitations with the older glass. For example, PK-A lenses will work with all exposure modes but only focus manually, the earlier SMC Pentax and Pentax-M lenses will be manual focus and need stop-down metering. You can even use the M42 mount Takumars with an adapter.

Yep, it's in the Elan Valley but it's Pen y Garreg. Should be up there again tomorrow afternoon as they're having an open day when I'll be able to get into the control tower in the middle (there's a tunnel through the dam to reach it which isn't usually open to the public). I plan to take the (film) KX and 28-50mm zoom as I know that the dam stonework looks very good in mono - see here for evidence (KM, 55mm f1.8, Ilford HP5 then scanned):




Water levels are pretty low up there at the moment - I would say there's a good chance of the normally submerged dam under the Garreg Ddu viaduct making an appearance this year, assuming we don't have torrential rain for the next month or so. We might also see the garden walls of Nant Gwyllt (a sizable house demolished and flooded when the reservoirs were built).

I see what you mean about purple - I left the camera WB on Auto and didn't fiddle in UFRaw, but will keep playing around with this. I'm still working out how to deal with the old perfect sky/underexposed hills problem, there seems to be a very fine balance in using exposure compensation between blowing out the sky and making the subject visible.

If it were any other team they'd be looking at loss of all points for that race and everyone else being bumped up two positions. However, it would appear that Ferrari International Aid are still biased...

I saw Sherlock, wasn't sure what to expect but I liked it. True to the spirit of the originals.

I don't think anyone can improve on the Jeremy Brett series where direct adaptations of the original books are concerned. He and the two chaps who played Watson were perfect in the roles. Watson was never supposed to be a bumbling idiot, he was the educated everyman who the reader was supposed to identify with and in that adaptation his dignity was finally restored.

Eh? I googled that and the results weren't suitable for a family audience!

Here's a test shot from this evening - I've just swapped to shooting RAW on the grounds that you can fiddle with exposure settings after, but I'm still playing around and learning how to process. f5.6, 1/45 sec, ISO 200:




A bit soft, but not too shabby. I can see this lens proving useful for things like long exposures as the A setting will make metering very simple.

I have considered hunting one down as a second body, the only problem I can see is that they only seem to offer .PNG files which UFRaw (the RAW plugin for the GIMP) doesn't seem to take. My K-m will shoot DNG files which UFRaw is quite happy with.

That 18-35mm lens will work on film too, I did think about looking for one on that basis (it'll work with anything that has A contacts, although only certain bodies will allow you to set the aperture).

Well, I've had a quick play with the Tokina 28mm and it isn't at all bad. Focussing is backwards compared to Pentax lenses but at around f4 or so it was decently sharp. I might add a dab of grease to the helix as it feels/sounds rough, but it turns smoothly enough. That depends on my finding a source for suitable grease with an applicator nozzle to keep it under control!

I've been trying the plainest subjects I can find - a whiteboard and a grey sky. I do suspect that it's related to that as I once got a large black mark down one side of the test shot which was roughly the same shape as the edge of the target (a piece of white paper which wasn't completely flat). The rest of that test shot was completely clean.

I have had problems with dust alert showing up dust on the rear element of lenses before now, so I'll check that those are perfectly clean too. I know it's possible to heal it in the GIMP (and I've done so before now) but obviously that's a pain to have to do all the time.

My K-m has started doing some odd things with the dust alert function:

If I check with a zoom set to 50mm or wider it comes up perfectly clean.

If I check with the same lenses set to 70mm/80mm I see horrible marks everywhere (which seem to be in different places every time I try). These are my F 35-70mm and FA 28-80mm W/Power Zoom.

If I check with my 100-300mm zoom set at 300mm it comes up clean!

Any ideas? I'm wondering if it's dust inside the lenses as for obvious reasons I doubt there is dust on the sensor - it comes up clean with the kit lens and the big zoom. I initially wondered if it was dust that was only showing up with a higher magnification lens, but as it comes back clean at 300mm I doubt this is the problem.

I think I've now assembled a collection of all the good, cheap/readily available Pentax lenses. I still check ebay often in case someone lists an ME with a 50mm f1.4 for £30 or similar...

I bought my first non-Pentax lens last week, a Tokina PK-A fit 28mm f2.8. It had a jammed focussing mechanism due to a bang on the nose, but the glass seems mint and I've managed to pop the mechanism back into its groove, so it now works perfectly. I've yet to test it out properly but a couple of brief trials produced some decent results, considering that it was a cheap lens to begin with and has had a bit of a rough life. Nothing like as good as the M 28mm f3.5 but not bad for £7!