That would explain the irrelevant or just plain appalling images turning up on various news sites.

Sadly, until everyone (and I mean Josh with his iphone who's just chuffed to get his photo on the telly) understands that images have a value and some people make their living that way the media outlets will carry on exploiting them. I find the sources asking people to text or email their photos particularly unfair - they're effectively putting both their researchers (who would previously have to go in search of the required images) and photojournalists out of work. If people text, they actually make money from people sending them free content!

My view: If they're going to be making money on the back of my work then I want a cut. Getting decent images is a business expense. Don't like it? Buy a DSLR with company funds and add it to someone's job description along with a training course. Enjoy your industry standard images which conform to all the rules but lack much in the way of imagination or originality...

My Dad managed to drop his K2 off Pen y Fan in a holdall back in the late '70s. He still has it and it still works (must borrow it and put a film through as he never uses it and they seize up if not given plenty of exercise).

I treat my gear a lot more carefully, but have a few items which clearly had a rough life before I bought them. My MX looks as though it was dropped upside down as the top of the prism housing is dinged, it also has loads of scuffs and marks on the chrome but worked perfectly on the last roll of HP5 I loaded.

The 18-55mm isn't a waste of money. There are better lenses around of course, but you won't find anything better for the same amount. Stop it down a bit and it's sharp, it's also lightweight and easy to handle.

The DA 35/2.4 is definitely your next stop if you're after a new standard prime, it isn't so much a case of it being amazing considering how cheap it is as amazingly cheap considering the lens it is!

My sole complaint with the K-m (and any other DSLR with the same setup): It only has one control wheel. I've used a K7 briefly which was much, much simpler in manual mode as you just turn one dial or the other until the exposure indicator is where you want it. The K-m is a pain in manual mode to the extent that I only use it for flash or things like photographing the moon, where you need to meter cleverly to avoid the camera getting it wrong. If only Pentax had returned to the full K mount and proper aperture rings!

I can handle fully manual quite happily on my MX or KX, and in fact find them easier to get on with than digital bodies because the control layout is better. An MX and prime lens up to about 135mm just feels right in the hands. Everything clicks precisely, you can see everything you need to know in the viewfinder with a simple LED display.

I'd just ask for a credit wherever the image is used. I'm quite happy to let non-profit groups use anything of mine they fancy with that proviso. Only seems fair!

That's another interesting one. I have friends who are completely convinced of the existence of ghosts and won't even countenance ideas such as infrasound (has been shown to be very capable of making people feel as though they're not alone), or indeed other environmental factors. I know I've felt very uneasy before now, then felt it lift when the song playing faintly on the radio changed. Evidently sound just at the edge of hearing was causing it.

They've told me all sorts of tales of "haunted" roads. Now, even before hearing these stories I already knew that those sections made me very alert. I know my subconscious is incredibly good at hazard perception on the road and sets off major alarm bells if something doesn't feel right, even if I can't immediately think why. Could it be that roads I perceive as potentially dangerous/tricky trigger others to think they've seen spectral figures? Also, are tales of headless horsemen now turning into headless bikers?

Back to the UFOs, I've had experiences which a more excitable person would probably have put down to aliens. I remember seeing heavy RAF transports taking off at night once. There was no sound until the aircraft were level with me, just lights which appeared to be hovering in the air and moving unfeasibly slowly.

This is the main problem I have with compact cameras. On my K-m I just flick to Av mode, adjust ISO and aperture to taste, and shoot. Because compacts frequently hide these options (if they're even user adjustable) how on earth are you supposed to do things like ultra long exposure shots of water?

Do I believe in aliens? Yes, in an apparently infinite universe it's unthinkable that we're on the only planet with life.

Do I believe in UFOs? Well given they're just something you don't recognise in the air it's a bit like believing in the postman - unnecessary and doesn't make your parcels turn up faster!

Do I believe UFOs are alien spacecraft? No, I strongly suspect that this is a bit of misinformation fed by various government bodies so that anyone commenting on the funny lights in the sky is regarded as a crackpot, thereby avoiding hordes of people turning up with 1000mm lenses to photograph the latest super-secret experimental aircraft which are undoubtedly responsible for the sightings!

I strongly suspect Pentax won't bother with full frame, having invested so much in the 645D. The marketplace is already saturated and taking sales from CaNikony would be extremely difficult no matter how good the product was. Sony have enough trouble doing this, let alone a long-established name which used to be the top marque.

I just think it'd be a waste of R&D money which could be better spent on innovative models like the Auto 110D idea which has cropped up a few times (EVIL using the same lens mount as the old Auto 110). The trick is to make something nobody else has thought of, and a genuinely compact EVIL (as opposed to those other brands where the camera is bigger than a K-m by the time you put a similar lens on would definitely be a step in the right direction.

This any use? Seems the best price for them at the moment.