The big Gorillapod seems well thought of, I haven't handled one but know someone who raves about them. I did buy one of the compact-type ones for a relative whose photos are often a bit wonky, it felt well made and worked as advertised.

If you want something a bit beefier then look at the Slik Mini Pro range, great little tripods if you're not fussed about being able to wrap the legs around stuff. They weigh next to nothing and are made to the same standard as their bigger 'pods.

I hadn't considered that option. I have a Slik Mini Pro which can serve as a chest pod, that would obviously be easier to carry around than a monopod. The only snag I found when I tried it was that the legs tended to be a bit uncomfortable, so I've been using it as a table top or car bonnet tripod.

If you're after a good "standard lens" for it then look here

I have never seen one that cheaply, it's a well-regarded lens.

That usually means you listed them too cheaply!

I once bought a Winder ME II about half an hour after it was listed. Felt £12 for a near mint working example was pretty fair and snapped it up.

I would love an NFC - they're huge, furry, intelligent and friendly. They are a pedigree breed but they're a naturally occurring one, so you don't get any health problems as a result.

I've never understood why they made the A 28mm f2.8 but dropped the f3.5, even though the slower lens was a much better performer. An A 28mm f3.5, if it had existed, would probably be hugely sought-after now.

I'm now looking at the Manfrotto MN234, it's a simple tilt head with the right fittings costing around £17. Unless anyone says "avoid it" I'll probably order one of those.

Some breeds are well known for that, most kittens do it but get bored. I think adult Norwegian Forest Cats will often play fetch!

MF indoors is usually easy enough - the little green hexagon will pop up when you're in focus. Outdoors I find it a bit harder, as strong light makes it hard to see the indicator (or indeed anything in the viewfinder display on occasion!)

The other one I've heard is "You're not getting the full 10mp unless you shoot RAW"

Now I can sort of see where this idea comes from as the JPG images are smaller files than RAW, so the camera has obviously discarded some information it regarded as meaningless while processing the data. But it's still using the full 10mp of the sensor to produce the image.