Few! not just me then. ... everyone ha ha ha.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this site has become unusably unresponsive?
Not slow as such - in the last day or two I have found it just waits for ages before finally loading the page.
I thought it was just me, because I was working wirelessly downstairs, but I'm back in the office and it's the same.

Pure snobbery from someone with beautiful models and fabulous locations at his disposal. I understood he meant both kinds of diffuser. His kind of work requires a rather more sophisticated approach with lots of pre-production planning and the sort of budgets that allow a shoot to take all day or all week. The rest of us get a model for 1 hour and have to make it count by pleasing the model so that we get paid.

I know what he means though, it is so easy to create really commercial images with big, flattering soft boxes, These images can be a bit boring if you are surrounded by high art and advertising luvies, but Joe public loves the glamour of posing in front of big lights and the results blow them away!
You don't have to fill every crevice with light, but when you do for reasons of flattery the humble umbrella is really handy

the W60 lens is uncovered, but it really doesn't matter.
If you want this sort of camera then you'll love it. But check the image quality and speed (response time) in the shop. Don't take other people's word for it.
It is quite likely that I have missed a vital setting, but I a struggling to capture that crucial moment (even pressing the shutter early) because of the lag.
maybe I need to turn off all the fancy tricks so it can concentrate on doing the exposure and just focusing on the middle of the frame.

It fine, worry not!
The lens elements move inside the body and the front element is recessed enough. I actually put camera down lens side down to protect the screen. I carry it in a sock or my pocket.

inside shots in bad light are exactly the sort of test I've been waiting for, so fire away Clarky! push the envelope - I want to see what this thing can do.
Thanks

Actually looking at it again, I quite like the soft focus on the droplets. The exquisite bowl is sharp enough and because of the compositional twist, the soft droplets are kinda saying, 'I'm not doing the usual thing'.
But having said that, I still wanna see a sharp version so back to the 'shed' Martin.

It will always be tortuous and inferior compared to the real thing.
The thread hasn't been side tracked. The answer for me is no, there will always be a need for a fast lens. Especially if you value your time, the quality of your images and your ability to stay ahead of the masses.
The only grey area, in my view, is the cost of fast lenses as other factors close the gap.
But as I said - Mongoose has nailed it.

Nice twist on the subject.
Well worth another punt I reckon.

You're anwswering your own question BODYHEAT.
Why would you spend all that time creating a mediocre effect when the camera with a fast lens does it much better in 2000th of a second, time and again.

I think Mongoose has nailed it.