That's a little worrying - my brother left his Panasonic bridge camera with them to be repaired a week or two ago!

Ours doesn't either, I mean when he finishes his round he'll either be walking back to the depot or one of his colleagues will pick him up. Well, that's how ours seem to work anyway!

This seems to be pretty normal - the theory is that there's less fabric to dry out, and as they're on the move pretty much continually they don't get cold. Probably ok for a postie as they'll be going back to a warm van or depot at the end of the round, but I think I'll be sticking to my warmest trousers, bomber jacket and Russian-style (fake) fur hat!

I think the main problem with modern lenses is (indirectly) auto focus.

The older manual focus lenses had a much nicer focussing feel as the manufacturers were able to damp them with thick grease or similar. AF lenses need to move very freely to avoid over-stressing the motor. I know I wouldn't want to use any of my AF lenses in MF for this reason.

I'd love to shoot landscapes, aircraft, ships and vehicles. I really wouldn't have the patience to do portraits or weddings!

I know someone who uses the larger Gorillapod with a full frame DSLR, they don't seem to have any trouble. I might well consider buying one in the future.

I'm currently waiting for a used Slik 500G to turn up. Not expecting wonders as it's a lightweight tripod, but for £8.50 including post in what was described as perfect working order I can't really argue. Reviews I've seen suggest that it was pretty popular with backpackers/photo journalists/etc in years gone by. I just want something I can sling in the back of the car for long exposure landscape photos that looks fairly inconspicuous.

My old Velbon is great, but rather too bulky to take out and about. The quick release head is annoying too, as I don't like leaving the mounting plate on the camera and it's therefore a pain having to fit it before using the tripod.

Check for corrosion on the inside of the battery cover, that seems to be a common problem. Presumably because most cameras are stored upright, so when old batteries leak the acid runs down onto the cover.

Just to add, before you dismantle anything, if the new batteries don't fix it immediately then make sure you have them the right way up and that the contacts are clean.

Open the battery door with a coin, not a screwdriver! I've seen some horribly damaged battery doors caused by people attacking them with screwdrivers and carving the slot up when the blade slips.

As the great sage once said:

"Man with short lens have nothing to prove"

I chose Pentax as my Dad had owned a K2 since before I was born. As a result, I was able to borrow a Zeiss telephoto zoom when I bought my K1000.

I didn't have many lenses that I wanted to use on digital, but after looking around the K-m seemed to be the best camera for the money. I've since dug out my old film bodies, bought a few more, and added more lenses to the pile.