Yeah think you should have done some 'light reading' before purchase, guess the middle man Ebay will be happy either way

Are you asking in the hope of a Pentax FF, trying an old Pentax film, or are you purchasing another brand? In which case compatibility/convenience is an issue

Enjoyed your contributions Lemmy - 'its only a tool' is what I've learned on here - keep on rocking

Think it would have to be the SMC A 50 1.7 as well! Of all the lenses (incl Ltd's) and all the money, this £70 ebay job delivers magazine quality, close focuses, low light and good focal length, plus the action is just a joy to use...

Either that or my SMC A 35-105 which has been described well as 'a stack of primes',slightly more versatile (zoom & pusedo macro), but heavy.

All I can say is thank god for these new Set Top boxes, I record virtually everything I want to watch now, then watch it at my convenience and Fast Forward through any ads.

Re. Pentax - as has been said there 'real' camera makers out there who also do not mass market advertise. The Canikon cabal has the market sewn up so that what few ad's PRIC could afford would be like wee'ing against the wind. Hell, I haven't even seen ads for Sony DSLR's, and they CAN definitely afford to advertise if they wanted...

The DA40 is great, I don't find it amazingly sharp but does add a certain overall 'stand out' quality to the enitre image. However it does not do close focusing (no good for walks out in nature), and as a street walkabout lens it's a bit too long (for me). So my original hope of walkabout lens was sunk, I got a DA21 and it is a perfect walkabout, but just doesn't seem to ooze the quality I was expecting of a Ltd.
I had been thinking about the 35 macro as Simon has done - by all accounts very sharp and a little less on length....
Gonna keep the DA40 for the momment and try it in landscape situtions simply because of the edge to edge 'zapp' it has - though I imagine it will go eventually due to lack of use

Certainly good to review and question your direction, but it depends on your self belief and honesty at what stage you think your 'learning' is I suppose. Perhaps just like getting a single image judged in a competition it is good to get your body of work (and website!) critiqued.

You come across 'togs that have whole separate site addresses for their work e.g. one for landscape prints another for weddings. If the commercial route is what your want and believe you ready for then of course as in any area of business a clear strategy would be preferable.

If you want just want a platform, some personal prestige and a 'Contact' page, have your own site and/or join lots of sites. Mark Littlejohn, is another example - while you get the feeling he would quit his job in a heart beat and photo fulltime, he still believes he is learning and has in the meantime seemingly joined every photo sharing site there is and is entering competitions, though of course it certainly helps he takes very popular vibrant and atmospheric images.

I bet when he gets his own website set up he'll get some weirdo sending him an email saying, 'Like your stuff, but really think you need to expand your work, how many long exposures of a tree and some stones in a lake at 4.30am in the morning can one man take?'

As I say, there's all sorts once you put yourself out there, even guys who are really bored at work posting on forums like they know what their talking about.....

WTF? He's come to the conclusion? Well that's nice, did he leave a link to his website? Is he the web-master of Folipic looking after his clients? Is he the President of the International Professional Photographers Freemason Society?

Remember your are putting yourself in the public realm which will leave you open to all sorts, so definitely not too worry, get used yes, but not worry. At least he cared enough to send the email in the first place - LOL

Like all journeys in life you learn by doing, trying all things, if you every did specialise it would be naturally, and if you did specialise you would maybe reducing your potential market which I'm judging is something you definitely do not want to do right now.

Frankly I'm amazed at yourself and e.g. DrOrloff's ability to produce great images over such varied styles and subjects - that's a gift surely?

Wow outstanding stuff, as usual for NG, thanks for the link

Yeah fire down to ASDA and get a cheap black/white bed sheet, they come in handy.

Plenty of info on the the web try searching for 'high & low key photography' in Google for some ideas & tips